Using A Cornelius Keg - First Timer

[ChrisA]

I have a batch of lager in primary at the moment and am about to finally use my new corny keg for the first time but have a couple of questions that I am hoping experienced brewers would be able to help me with?

My setup:
Corny keg that will be stored in a fridge.
Soda stream bottle connected to a gas regular that will be strapped to my keg http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections/ada ... regulators
Beer out connected to a 3m length of line with a picnic tap on the end (this may change see below)

My questions:
1. I will initially be using the soda stream bottle to carbonate and dispense my brew (lager) and wondered how often I will need to replace the 425g bottle?

2. My fridge is set to chill my beers at around 8-10 degrees Celsius (approx. 46 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and after reviewing the pressure/temperature chart on this forum ( viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55498 ) I am planning to initially hit the keg with 30PSI to seal it then after 2 minutes drop it down to 15PSI. How long will it take to achieve the required level of carbonation when stored in the fridge? Should I leave it connected forever more it at 15PSI assuming it provides the desired amount of fizz, apart from when I’m actually dispensing it when I am planning to turn it down to 5PSI?

3. I am intending to leave the co2 bottle connected to my keg while not in use but wondered how I would know when the bottle is running low? Should I see a consistent drop in pressure when looking at the gauges (it has two one for in and out) or one day will I just see it drop to nothing?

4. I do currently have a picnic tap but am thinking of purchasing a purlick tap from Norm instead as it will fit neatly in my setup and avoid me having lots of extra line to balance the pressure. (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORNELIUS-TYP ... 33910fa703 ) The purlick tap connects directly to the kegs beer out offering an inbuilt flow control and in theory will allow me to pour a pint with the desired amount of head without having to alter the PSI when dispensing lager. From what I have read it seems as though this will work but wondered if anyone had used these and could let me know if they did perform before I potentially waste £60?

Cheers Chris

[och29]

Afraid I'm in too much of a rush to answer the rest but make sure your SodaStream adaptor fits your regulator. I got one and it didn't!

[ChrisA]

No problem och29 thanks for the warning. I actually had the same problem initially when I purchased it from Co2Supermarket.co.uk

If you still require one I ended up getting the replacement from co2 art and it fits fine.

Chris

[Fil]

Hi Chris.

hope this helps..

1) back of envelope math based on a 6.5kg bottle lasting me over a year with at least 2 kegs attached nindicate you should get a couple of months kegging out of the diddy cylinder. £20 for a gas refil and £30 for a reg are not a bad investment.. take the family to stonehenge for the day and pop into andover patio centre on the way for a no deposit LIQUIDE AIR co2 bottle

2) pressure conditioning.. as temp and pressure measurements are at best approximations the kegging charts and the like are just guides..
with a keg fridge tho u dont need to whak up initial pressure use a kegging chart to determine the temp and pressure to set, and leave online for a week and it should be conditioned without any waste. you will expend your tiny co2 bottle much quicker using a high pressure to speed condition, due to the venting and deconditioning you will probably have to do to remove excess condition if you dont hit the sweet spot 1st off.

3)- I dunno but would guess its gonna be a fairly sudden drop off in bottle pressure???

4) 10m of 3/8" beerline wont have much of a restricting effect on keg pressure at serving point so 3m wont do much either. its the 3/16" micro line u need for that job. Im not a fan of the perlik type taps, i had one (without flow control) supplied with my first corny set up, attaching directly to the keg it was PANTS,
and poured nowt but foam.. and the flow control dalex style taps i now use are brill upto pressures of about 6-8psi but over that are a real pita as u cant quite set em and end up fiddling to pour every pint in the keg. the purlick flow control may? be superior?? but i wouldnt gamble on it, i would urge u to go the 3/16" micro line route, being thin it coils up neatly and is easily hidden behind a keg and is much less of a gamble imho.

for a lager you may want to consider temps closer to 5-7C to serve, the lower temp will allow u to maintain a higher level of condition..

[och29]

That's where I got mine, thanks for the tip... might just do that!

[och29]

Also, for Q3 there will be a sudden drop in pressure at the end of the bottle. However by that point you'll be at the end of the bottle. Since bottles are filled based on the weight of the CO2 added then you can weigh the tank periodically to see how much is left.

There is only so much a flow control tap can do... I have three and struggled to get my serving setup right for a while. I ended up going for a length of thin line but if you're looking for something compact then you can get inserts for corny out tubes which restrict the flow, their basically the inserts for 2 part mixing nozzles



Haven't tried them myself but worth investigation and might allow the perlick to do the rest.