Force carbonating with 16g co2 bulbs?

[willycoolj]

How many 16g bulbs would it take to force carb a corney keg, would one work with a good shake or would a air stone fixed to the gas ball lock be better, can't get do big CO2 bottle set up


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dutto]

I think you are being very optimistic.

I've recently carbonated 20 litres of cider in a Wilco Keg and after 4 x 8g capsules (one or two days apart) it was carbonated to my taste (not very gassy) but the 32g of CO2 hadn't even lifted the 15psi relief valve.

Secondly, you must be extremely fit if you can pick up a Corny Keg with 19 litres of beer inside it and give it a "good shake" without getting a hernia. :whistle:

 

[JapanBrew]

I would not know. I just knew I was getting kegs so ordered a regulatory and got a tank. It's way cheaper.
As for picking up your keg, don't need to. Just lay it on its side, turn on your favorite song and rock it back and forth for the length of the song. Done.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewin..._many_16g_co2_cartridges_to_force_carb_a_25g/
This is from another place. I assume you have a gizmo for attaching the cartridge to the keg.

 

[willycoolj]

I have one of these


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[willycoolj]

Will prime with sugar then use 16g bulb charger for pouring, while one corney is ageing I will have one ready to drink plus have bottled some as well


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[dad_of_jon]

That's the sort of thing I use to expel air from my bottling bucket(BB). I first put about 400ml chase spring + 150g(ish - depending on style)of brewing sugar into a pan and boil then pour into the fv. once the priming solution has cooled I empty the contents of a 16g cartridge into the BB. I rack onto the solution. So I use those bulbs but not to force carbonate.

 

[zippy40]

Will prime with sugar then use 16g bulb charger for pouring, while one corney is ageing I will have one ready to drink plus have bottled some as well


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Priming with sugar would reduce your cost significantly and carb it up lovely too. Then just do as you say and give a boost to start pouring.

 

[willycoolj]

Will the primed beer be same carbonation all the way down the keg till I have finished it


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JapanBrew]

Will the primed beer be same carbonation all the way down the keg till I have finished it


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Priming just carbs your beer. Dispensing it will need co2 to help maintain carb as you drink it. If you drink it fast, then no issues. If your a slow drinker, stick to bottles.
My kegs are 10 liters and after I drink some and know it'll be a few days till I hit some again, I'll hit the pressure up to 30 psi let sit for a minute then disconnect and store in the fridge. The carb stays real well that way. Just don't forget to relieve some pressure when you connect up you taps again or you'll get nothing but foam.

 

[Bigcol49]

Will the primed beer be same carbonation all the way down the keg till I have finished it?

Hi!
If you leave a bottle of beer open, it will lose its carbonation. The CO2 dissolved in the beer will come out of the liquid into the atmosphere.
In a keg the same thing happens - pressure decreases in the keg as you dispense your beer. If you don't drink the keg of beer quickly the CO2 in the beer escapes into the headspace. To prevent this increase the pressure in the headspace using a CO2 bulb.
One way to keep the pressure drop to a minimum is to keep the beer as cold as you can get it (without freezing it, of course).
The other factor to consider is that you will not be able to dispense your beer if there is insufficient pressure in the keg.

 

[willycoolj]

Thanks I will make sure I keep up the pressure in the corney


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Ale]

I always thought you needed a cylinder of CO2 for a corny keg rather than bulbs which will soon work out more expensive. I dont have one though.

I may go this route myself. I saw the comment about picking it up and shaking it to force carb, no problem, my dumbells are 20kg each for all round use and up to 27kg for bicep curls (one arm at a time) so a corny keg with beer is no problem. as long as I put my belt on to support my back.

 

[zippy40]

I always thought you needed a cylinder of CO2 for a corny keg rather than bulbs which will soon work out more expensive. I dont have one though.

I may go this route myself. I saw the comment about picking it up and shaking it to force carb, no problem, my dumbells are 20kg each for all round use and up to 27kg for bicep curls (one arm at a time) so a corny keg with beer is no problem. as long as I put my belt on to support my back.

you can carb with CO2 bulbs but it would be very expensive. I wouldn't worry about lifting it up to shake it though - just lie it on its side and rock backl and forth - it will absorb the CO2 just as quick.

 

[PerthRod]

I just had my first go at force carbonating in a corny keg. I did a John Bull IPA kit then dry hopped with 25g Cascade and 25g Summit.
5 litres went in a mini keg primed with 20g sugar (still to be drunk) and the rest in the corny keg.
I used a Hambelton Bard CO2 cylinder to carbonate. (the corny has been fitted with an S30 valve) and filled it till gas started to escape through the pressure relief on the S30 - keeping it in the fridge and topping up the pressure every couple of days for a week. I used about half of the bottle of gas (100-150g) and am well impressed with the result (if anything - perhaps just a little too much carbonation).

 

[willycoolj]

I got 2 corney kegs so I prime with caster sugar and put in warm cupboard for a week or so then put in shed until the other corney is empty, I use 16g CO2 cartridges , I don't use a lot coz I don't mind low carbonated beer, i connect the party tap and pull off 1/2 pint of gunk then degas and put CO2 charger on and gas it, its ready to go then plus I always have bottles full as well, but wouldn't mind another corney on standby as well [emoji481]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JapanBrew]

I just had my first go at force carbonating in a corny keg. I did a John Bull IPA kit then dry hopped with 25g Cascade and 25g Summit.
5 litres went in a mini keg primed with 20g sugar (still to be drunk) and the rest in the corny keg.
I used a Hambelton Bard CO2 cylinder to carbonate. (the corny has been fitted with an S30 valve) and filled it till gas started to escape through the pressure relief on the S30 - keeping it in the fridge and topping up the pressure every couple of days for a week. I used about half of the bottle of gas (100-150g) and am well impressed with the result (if anything - perhaps just a little too much carbonation).

That's a good way to go. Long time under pressure in the cold is a good way to condition as well. The tastes seem to meld and come out better. I can't fridge and gas so when I keg, I force carb while rocking the keg back and forth. Takes about 3 minutes to fully carb. Then I put the keg away for a week or two. But if you had to drink it now you can. I had a party coming and did one that way. It was still good beer but not the best.

 

[Braufather]

Major bump!

For some reason my main regulator wont carb but can still do enough push gas though to purge or serve beer( long story). as ive got quite a few 16g capsules to hand im trying to work out how many needed to carb 19 litres. i reckon about 3. i know this nis an old thread but it came up on a search so thought i would ask again?

is there a calculator on this? how many g of co2 to reach 2.4 carbonation on 19l etc.

 

[zeptobrewer]

I'm not sure how efficient the process is and what losses you can expect...

I can tell you that 19l of CO2 at room temperature and pressure weight 35g, so 2.4 vols would weigh 84g.

Never done it, not sure what the real world problems are, but that would get you in to the ballpark!

 

[Drunkula]

For 2.3 volumes and a beer that was kegged at 20c you need 54g for carbing then another 86 for serving - so around 3 of those bulbs to force carb.

You'll lose some beer to gunk if you prime with sugar. I've no idea how much those bulbs are so you'll have to work out if losing beer and adding extra conditioning time is worth it.

is there a calculator on this? how many g of co2 to reach 2.4 carbonation on 19l etc.

I wrote one in Excel. If you want I'll tidy it up and put it in its own sheet and put it on google docs. It even tells you how much sugar to use if you want to force carb using a 'sugar engine' which is basically a pop bottle linked via a hose to the keg.

You get to force carb with sugar and not lose any of the beer to sediment and it works very, very well.