After starting to brew professionally 3 years ago, I got out of home brewing because I didn't want to bring my work home with me. However, after doing some pilot batches with a local home brewer last week, I got the bug and I'm about ready to start up again. I started piecing together a new home brew set up today and I've only got a few things left. I need to get a chest freezer for fermentation temp control and a water filter. I'm really looking forward to brewing things that I don't get to brew at work. I'll probably be more active on the forums and I'm super excited to re-join the home brewing community. I do have one question about transferring beer from carboys (I used to just use an auto-siphon from buckets to kegs). I bought some carboys and caps, and I would like to be able to transfer cold crashed beer without moving the carboy and disturbing sediment. For those of you that transfer that way, do you use co2 to push the beer, and if so, what psi is safe to use on a carboy?
Welcome back! I don't do this often but have some experience from doing it 5-6 times. Be patient and transfer at 3-6psig. There is no risk of ugly stuff at this pressure, and if you're fermenting cool, foam from the dissolved CO2 will preclude going faster anyway unless the receiving vessel is sealed and becomes pressurized during the transfer (just like at work!). I'd guesstimate safe from bodily harm transfer pressure at 12-15psi for glass carboys, 50psi for Better Bottles and 90psi between kegs, allowing for some possible inaccurate gauges. Obviously, these pressures aren't practical, just alarm points if something goes wrong.
Thanks! I won't have to worry about clogging because I will be going from carboy to carboy (I'm one of the weirdos that secondaries).
Be sure to keep the pressure relief valve open on your keg when going from carboy to keg. Not doing so will cause pressure to build up in the carboy = splode
Welcome back, OP. I don't have an answer to your question, but I just want to say that I/we will look forward to your insight as a professional brewer when you contribute to this forum. Happy to have you here.
I drill an additional hole in a bucket lid, adding a grommet. I have a small grommet sized stopper when not in use (you could also use an additional airlock. I then run a 3/8 racking cane through one hole, purge the cane, tubing and headspace, then connect to the liquid out post on an empty, purged keg with dry hops already in a paint strainer bag inside. I connect CO2 via a 3/8 tailpiece to the other hole and slowly add pressure until liquid starts to flow through the cane, around 2-3 psi. I also vent the prv on the keg a little at a time to keep the flow steady. I know some people accomplish the same with a larger drilled hole and a two hole stopper.
I don't exceed 2 psi. The carboy caps blow off at higher pressure and are the safety pop off in this case. A web search says the caps pop off at 5 PSI. By some guy named Drew. http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/racking-co2
One more quick question on this. How are you getting the tailpiece in the hole where the airlock was without introducing oxygen or am I understanding this wrong ?
I flush the racking cane with CO2, and then flush through the cane into headspace with the hole open. That might be excessive. I do just jam the tailpiece and cane into the holes (a little silicon tape on the tailpiece makes for a tighter fit) and there is some opportunity for O2 to enter but far less than siphoning with an auto siphon.
I wouldn't trust that guy Btw...did i see your mug in the latest Zym?! To the OP, glad to hear you got the bug again. My piece to add in here is that I start with the regulator on 0 and slowly dial it up to ~3#s, it let's me know if something is amiss. Also, have these disconnects which makes life a lot easier
Yes, that was me in the mead experiment group shots. Old guy in the red shirt if someone wants to look.
