Silly n00b questions

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Hey all, another kegging newbie with some stupid questions.

I’m nickel and diming my kegging setup, buying a piece or two here and there when they’re on sale. So far I’ve got 2 scratch and dent ball locks and I just ordered two Perlick faucets and a Johnson temperature controller. My long term goal is an upright kegerator with 6 taps and ideally more room for carbonating. I’m alright with letting kegs get carbonated under serving pressure for 2 weeks or so or using priming sugar.


Here’s what’s on my mind:

1) Should I bother with a secondary regulator or just go with a manifold? I don’t anticipate having 6 beers on tap at all times (soda, wine/cider, kombucha will likely occupy 1-3 taps), so that means it would make good sense to have better control over carbonation levels right? I’m currently leaning towards having a 3 way secondary regulator, each with a splitter (6 kegs with 3 different pressure settings). Does that seem pretty reasonable?

2) If I carbonate a soda at a high carbonation level, does that mean I have to keep that same PSI when it is ready to be served? In other words if I keep gas on a soda @ 20 psi until it reaches equilibrium, does that mean if I drop the pressure to 10 psi for serving the gas line could be filled with soda from pressure in the keg, or am I thinking about it wrong?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Hey all, another kegging newbie with some stupid questions.

I’m nickel and diming my kegging setup, buying a piece or two here and there when they’re on sale. So far I’ve got 2 scratch and dent ball locks and I just ordered two Perlick faucets and a Johnson temperature controller. My long term goal is an upright kegerator with 6 taps and ideally more room for carbonating. I’m alright with letting kegs get carbonated under serving pressure for 2 weeks or so or using priming sugar.


Here’s what’s on my mind:

1) Should I bother with a secondary regulator or just go with a manifold? I don’t anticipate having 6 beers on tap at all times (soda, wine/cider, kombucha will likely occupy 1-3 taps), so that means it would make good sense to have better control over carbonation levels right? I’m currently leaning towards having a 3 way secondary regulator, each with a splitter (6 kegs with 3 different pressure settings). Does that seem pretty reasonable?

2) If I carbonate a soda at a high carbonation level, does that mean I have to keep that same PSI when it is ready to be served? In other words if I keep gas on a soda @ 20 psi until it reaches equilibrium, does that mean if I drop the pressure to 10 psi for serving the gas line could be filled with soda from pressure in the keg, or am I thinking about it wrong?

1.) If you want 3 pressures, you need 3 regs. Unless you want to futz with opening and closing shut-off valves and adjusting a reg for different kegs.

2.) Backflow valves.

 

[Subdivisions]

you can keep your soda at the same pressure just use longer lines. About a foot of 3/16" ID line per psi should balance it.

 

[doug293cz]

If you cut back the pressure on the soda after carbonation, it will lose CO2 and become less carbonated over time.

Brew on

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Thanks for the replies

If you cut back the pressure on the soda after carbonation, it will lose CO2 and become less carbonated over time.

Brew on

So there's no danger of liquid getting into the gas lines, even if the pressure in the keg is greater than the pressure in the line? Or is it advised to bleed off pressure before connecting the lower pressurized gas line?

Also, is there a big advantage to carbing with CO2 instead of priming sugar? It seems that using priming sugar would be easier and cheaper than letting the CO2 tank do all the work

 

[doug293cz]

Thanks for the replies

So there's no danger of liquid getting into the gas lines, even if the pressure in the keg is greater than the pressure in the line? Or is it advised to bleed off pressure before connecting the lower pressurized gas line?

If the liquid level in the keg is below the gas inlet tube, then the chance of liquid getting into the gas line in minimal. However, having check valves in the gas lines between the regulator and the keg is a good failsafe to have.

Also, is there a big advantage to carbing with CO2 instead of priming sugar? It seems that using priming sugar would be easier and cheaper than letting the CO2 tank do all the work

If you prime the keg, then you will usually end up with more yeast on the bottom of the keg, and may have to dump (or choke down) more yeasty beer before the keg starts running clear. You can also do fining (eg with gelatin) in the fermenter prior to kegging in order to to get clearer beer into the keg. Fining will reduce the amount of yeast remaining, which will likely increase the time required to carbonate. And, you can't do accelerated carbing with natural carbonation. CO2 can be pretty cheap, depending on where you live. I can exchange my 20# tank for $18. You have to make your own decision on force vs. natural once you know the trade offs.

Brew on

 

[DC_0602]

I too am starting my keezer build, where did you find the best prices on the stuff you already purchased?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

If the liquid level in the keg is below the gas inlet tube, then the chance of liquid getting into the gas line in minimal. However, having check valves in the gas lines between the regulator and the keg is a good failsafe to have.



If you prime the keg, then you will usually end up with more yeast on the bottom of the keg, and may have to dump (or choke down) more yeasty beer before the keg starts running clear. You can also do fining (eg with gelatin) in the fermenter prior to kegging in order to to get clearer beer into the keg. Fining will reduce the amount of yeast remaining, which will likely increase the time required to carbonate. And, you can't do accelerated carbing with natural carbonation. CO2 can be pretty cheap, depending on where you live. I can exchange my 20# tank for $18. You have to make your own decision on force vs. natural once you know the trade offs.

Brew on

Thanks for the reply!
So in a nutshell, I can spend a few extra dollars and get disconnects with check valves for the few kegs where the carbonation will be higher and be alright. And, priming sugar may not actually be the cheaper alternative, but even if it is I should expect to lose at least a pint or two to yeasty beer.

DC so far I've bought 2 scratch and dent kegs, two Perlick faucets, and a Johnson Temperature Controller from homebrewing.org. The prices are definitely competitive (especially the scratch and dent kegs when they're in stock), especially when they go on sale. They also have a rewards program where after you spend $200 they give you a coupon for $10. It isn't a huge amount or a huge incentive on its own but if you get some of the bigger ticket items through them it will cut down on the overall cost.
Have you found any good bargains?

 

[DC_0602]

Nice, I just keep my eye on homebrewfinds.com