Proud new cornie owner - more questions!

[Bazz]

Hi all, everyones been really helpful in helping me get set up with my cornies, and now i have everything i need to get started (i think!). I have one keg, CO2 6.5kg bottle, all the connectors, regulator and plenty of beer/gas line.

Firstly, should the beer/gas line fit into the connectors quite so easily, all i did was push it in, i'm a bit concerned that under pressure it'll fly out and spray beer and gas every where.

Second, right so i add my beer after crash cooling for a few days into my clean cornie, i don't need to add priming sugar as i can force carbonate, right? and to do this i simply pressurise the cornie to 40psi, after releasing the blow off valve a couple of times to clear any oxygen out, and then leave for a week?
Then serving, release the pressure again and re-pressurise to 12psi and then we're good to go?

Do i need to leave the CO2 on or do i just top it up every now and again as the pressure drops?
Should i release the pressure every time before connecting the CO2 and beer out disconnects?
Is there anything else that i should be aware of before i do something stupid?

Thank you all in advance

[Jim]

1. I take it you're using John Guest connectors? If you doubt their hold on the tubing, try pulling it out - you shouldn't be able to do it unless you simultaneously press down on the retaining collar.

2. Pretty much yes, though you will get a lot of carbonation using 40psi for a week, and lots of foam if you serve at 12psi. I find about 5 for serving is quite enough and I store at about 10psi once carbonated.

3. Don't leave the gas bottle on between sessions - unless your system is completely leak-free (unusual) you'll go back to find an empty gas bottle.

[Bazz]

Thanks Jim, if 40 psi for a week is too much (i'm talking bitters and pale ales here) how much and for how long? Oh, and does the beer filled cornie need to be kept cold to carbonate, my education so far has come solely from Youtube!

[Jim]

I use 20psi for about a week to carbonate (that's at about 13C).

It's pretty important to keep the keg cool for force carbonation (maybe that's why you've come across higher pressures being recommended) because the higher the temperature, the harder it is to get gas into solution.

[Brewedout]

If you search for a carbonation chart you will find the correct pressure for temperature and beer style. I don't faff around with different pressures, I select the desired pressure and wait. It may take a little longer to carbonate, but beer needs conditioning time anyway. You will find that the carbonation charts are not perfect as they don't take account of the length or diameter of your beer line. Use the chart as a guide and increase or decrease the pressure as required, making a note for the next time round.

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[Kev888]

Different styles of beer are generally given different amounts of carbonation (but as a home brewer, don't overlook what you yourself prefer). And the amount of carbonation a specific pressure causes depends on the temperature of the beer at the time. Somewhere on here theres a carbonation chart that brings all that together for you; it possibly leans towards higher carbonation than traditional british tastes prefer but its a good start.

40psi seems quite high; unless you're carbonating warm lagers, there may be a couple of other reasons why it came to mind. Firstly, after closing the corny and purging the head space, its a good idea to give it a blast of pressure (say over 20psi) to cause the lid to seat and seal properly; corny lids seal by internal pressure so a decent initial blast is helpful - though a few seconds is sufficient. Secondly, the force carbonation charts and methods are for sustained pressure and assume it is left long enough to reach equilibrium, but some prefer to carbonate more quickly by using much higher pressure (and even rolling the keg around) BUT for a short period. I preferred the former for consistency but it is temperature dependent - if you don't have a way of ensuring reasonably consistent keg/beer temperatures the faster method may be well worth considering.

When dispensing with CO2, the same thing continues. If you can regulate the temperature of the keg and dispense at the same pressure it was carbonated at (assuming the normal/slow method), then you could leave the gas on without anything changing. But turning off the gas between dispensing sessions is still worth it IMO for avoiding major losses from any gas leaks. If the beer varies in temperature or your serving pressures differ from the carbonation pressures you may want to only turn the gas on when needed - drops in carbonation are no biggie but increases in carbonation (say if the keg cools down) can cause foaming. But check that you haven't let the pressure drop so low as to let the lid pressure seal to fail.

You shouldn't need to release pressure before connecting/disconnecting the disconnects. There may be a tiny escape of gas and beer from the corny but (except in the case of leaks) the posts almost instantly seal themselves. Similarly, the gas disconnect should seal itself to stop loosing your CO2, but IMO is a temporary measure and I'd turn the gas cylinder off if not connected for any length of time.

[Evvo]

I always turn my gas off. Ever since I had a mouse chew through my gas line and empty a bottle overnight.