Natural Carbing and Serving Pressure

What is the reason you want to carb it naturally? I have heard opinions ranging from half to the same amount as bottling, but have never done it so I have no clue. Whatever you do, make sure to purge and seal the keg with Co2.

Also, this is going to take more than 2 weeks. It will take just as long as bottling which is 4-6 weeks in my opinion.

 

Split the CO2 at the regulator with a "T" or "Y" connector or splitter and set up 2 CO2 lines from that. You can have a commercial hookup on 1 CO2 line and ball lock or pin lock on the other for your corny keg.

Disconnect your current keg for a day and connect your corny to the CO2 to force carbonate. Crank to 30psi and let sit for 24 hours then purge pressure and connect both kegs at serving pressure, mine is around 10psi and after about 5 days it's carbonated and ready to drink. I know every system is different so your 30psi force carbonation may be 9-12psi since I think it's 3 times serving pressure but that doesn't seem like too much force to carbonate in my opinion.

 

Carbonation is usually done in 2 weeks, but since you have reactivated the yeast I think it takes a couple more weeks to re-clean up.
There are other methods to "quick carb" the beer as well. You can almost instantly carb the keg by rolling or shaking with the Co2 attached. Time to get a second tank

 

Are you sure the regulator youre using is accurate. 5ft of 3/16th" line should create about 10psi of flow resistance and allow you to serve at 10 psi. Usually storing beer at only 4psi would eventually lead to under carbonated beer as the co2 in the beer comes out of solution to try and balance the pressure. If your regulator is working correctly it would be cheaper to get longer serving lines so you can dispense at carbing pressure (~10-12 psi) then to buy an extra tank and regulator that is only used for carbing beers.

 

I have a single regulator that I have split in order to have 2 kegs hooked up. Going a day or two without draft beer is easily doable so you can force carb a 2nd keg and then hook both back up at serving pressure to have 2 beers on tap. 2 days without draft beer is well worth doubling your draft beer offering IMO. I would like having a dual gauge regulator to have 2 different pressures but don't see the expense worth enough. I would also love a double tap tower so I don't have to open the door for a picnic tap but don't see that expense worth enough quite yet...

 

I have the same regulator and you're right, it is a pain in the ass. The first one they shipped me was faulty (along with 2 bad draft towers, but that is a whole other story). I find it doesn't instantly settle on a pressure. For example if i turn it up it will quickly jump and then slowly rise for a few more minutes. The tiniest tweak can lead to a big change in pressure. Now I just get it dialed in and forget it since my carbing pressure and serving pressure are the same. All I do is hook up the co2 and let a new keg sit for a week and it is ready to go.

 

a dual gauge regulator won't do this for you. In order to have two different pressures, you'll need at least two regulators. Either a primary and a secondary, or (better, but more pricey) a primary and two secondaries.

 

Sorry, wrong wording. I meant to say what you said as in adding a secondary regulator to my regulator. Or just getting a 2 Product Dual Pressure Regulator. Anyway, I don't see enough benefit for the $70-$100+ purchase. I'll be getting a double tap tower 1st but don't even know what that is going to happen.

 

Im new to kegging. If im reading this right when force carbing the beer needs to stay hooked to the gas? I kinda figured you could hit it with the appropriate pressure then unhook. No?

 

I disconnect the beer that I already have carbonated because I don't want to hit that with high pressure. I then attach my keg of flat beer that I siphoned after fermentation has completed and connect it to the gas and hit it with 30psi for 24 hours. I then burp out the pressure and keep it hooked up to 10psi and hook up the keg that is already carbonated and I have been drinking from to its gas line at the 10psi as it's my serving pressure. Then after 5 days I hook up the liquid out to the keg that I just carbonated and can now pour from both.

 

The thing is while beer is being carbed it is constantly taking co2 into solution so the pressure in the keg needs to be replenished until you reach your desired level of carbonation. Once it has been carbed you can unhook it and be fine. There are methods using high pressures where you may be able to get away with hitting the beer with a single shot of co2 and unhooking it, but it isn't something I have ever tried. It is my understanding that if you are going for a fast carb you hook up your co2 at higher pressure and just leave it connected fora shorter amount of time.

 

Definitely go with the force carb Joe. I usually "set it and forget it" for a couple of weeks at ~ 15psi and use the shut-offs to regulate the serving keg but the high pressure shake method works too. Once you get the hang of it, you'll never prime with sugar again....BM me if you still have questions

 

Or dual primaries.

 

You're right. (it's also cheaper than two secondaries)

 

Cornykeg.com has a dual pressure regulator, (primary, 2 secondaries) for $51.95.

 

If you mean this...
http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=750162&showprevnext=1
That would be a dual primary (no secondaries) regulator.

(I don't mean to nitpick, but a lot of times people are confused between primary and secondary regulators, and they are physically and functionally different.)