How do I get my corny to work!

[NickW]

i had a sneaking suspicion you'd be ditching the plastic barrel once you got yourself a cornie... they're great innit?

I have no idea if they're great :lol: , I've not used it properly yet! Havent had it pressurized long enough to tell! But I can see its potential :)

Got the co2 canister set to open now, and I'll give it a go tomorrow!

Just thinking - where am I able to refill these co2 canisters? - Also, am I wasting more co2 keeping it in the open position? - or is it neglibable?

 

[BrewStew]

if you've got no leaks, it wont use any more pressure than if you were to just top up every day.

no idea.. that's why i rent my bottles from BOC. they do emergency swap overs 24 hours a day on my account with just a 1 hour callout time

 

[NickW]

Cool!

What do you get from them? .. and how much is it?

 

[BrewStew]

i get 20kg B or SB bottles (both same weight, just different shapes).. they're about £14 for a refill/swap (non emergency call out cost) and £4 per month rent. emergency call out would be expensive... but it's nice to have the option if i notice the guage starting to drop in the middle of a party.

 

[NickW]

Ah good stuff.. how many times a month/year do you have to get one swapped out?

 

[BrewStew]

the first one lasted a year, but the second one ran out after 2 months cos of a leak. they quote that they're good for about 20 firkins, which is about 40 cornies, which isn't far wrong.

 

[NickW]

Sounds pretty damn good!

I'll have a word with norm tomorrow see how he does his.

Thanks again stew :)

 

[BrewStew]

no worries :)

 

[Vossy1]

crE, when you first add C02 a corny the pressure will go to what you set the regulator at. If you then turn the regulator off you will notice the pressure dropping slowly over a period of time. Assuming you don't have a leak this is perfectly natural. The C02 in the canister is absorbed into the liquid and the pressure on the C02 reg falls.
If you keep opening the reg tap as the pressure falls, you should start to notice that the pressure is falling less and less until finally it doesn't fall at all. This is when your liquid is saturated with C02 and it can't absorb any more gas.

At room temp it can take a long time to saturate, even at chilled temps it can take days.
You could of course leave the C02 reg tap open to the corny, but if you have a leak you run the risk of losing all your C02.

Force carbing works well but make sure you have purged all the air from above your beer/cider before trying it, if you don't you run the risk of oxidising your liquids!
To purge the corny after filling turn the gas off at the regulator screw, attach the gas post to the corny then open the prv.
Slowly turn the reg screw until you hear C02 coming out of the prv. Leave the gas escaping for about 30 seconds then close the prv and start pressurising the corny as you want.
It's also a good idea to do this before filling the corny to prevent possible oxidation when adding your liquids.

 

[pansub]

BS

''i might be writing a cornie How-to at some point after all this''

Please, Please, Please
an idiots guide for me please

 

[Vossy1]

''i might be writing a cornie How-to at some point after all this''

That's on my to do list, but please feel free BS :lol:
Only joking..it's on its way soon

 

[ni9e]

BS

''i might be writing a cornie How-to at some point after all this''

Please, Please, Please
an idiots guide for me please

And for me I'm desperate for something shiny :thumb:

 

[jamesb]

There must be some chemical in homebrew that turns us all into magpies.

 

[NickW]

What are the risks or oxidizing?

There was roughly about an inch at the top left of air.

I've already pressurized my cornies! They're in the outhouse now.

 

[Vossy1]

What are the risks or oxidizing?

Typically your beer will taste stale. You'll probably get away with it and it's too late to worry about it now anyway

 

[jamesb]

Ah. Before filling, pressurise the cornie a bit, let it settle for a couple of minutes then let the pressure out. CO2 is heavier than air so will stay on top of the fluid as you fill it up. Then when full, pressurise up a bit again. Leave for a minute or so and then let the pressure out (taking all the air out with it). Then pressurise as normal.

Clear as mud eh?

 

[Vossy1]

Yep, and usually the aggitation of filling will liberate some C02 from your beer/cider and this will sit on top and do as jb says

 

[NickW]

Fresh!

Thats very useful to know.

Speaking to Norman - he said a great way to carbonate a liquid (he doesnt know that much about beer) is to initially pressurize to about 40psi. -- BUT, pressurize through the "output", rather than the input. You will need to change over the john guest connectors to do this. This way, the co2 penetrates the brew better - from the bottom.

Put in a cold place, 7 days later depressurize the keg, then repressurize to 12-15psi through the normal input.

As he said, 12-15psi just sitting on the top of a brew can just carbonate the top bit of the brew, and leave the rest flat. He said at 40psi in a coldish place will carbonate a lot better.

Dont know what you guys reckon to this - but it makes a lot of sense to me!

 

[Vossy1]

Speaking to Norman - he said a great way to carbonate a liquid (he doesnt know that much about beer) is to initially pressurize to about 40psi. -- BUT, pressurize through the "output", rather than the input. You will need to change over the john guest connectors to do this. This way, the co2 penetrates the brew better - from the bottom.

It would work better than simply adding the C02 to the top of the keg, but due to the size of the C02 bubbles coming out of the dip tube I'd say the benefit would be minimal. Most gas to liquid mixing benefits from aggitation and the smallest gas bubbles you can create, colder temperatures also aid C02 retention in the beer.

The major draw back with doing it the way Norm says is that if you get beer going into the regulator, for whatever reason, it will need stripping and cleaning. At the very least I'd mount a one way valve in line, but personally I wouldn't risk my regulator.

Put in a cold place, 7 days later depressurize the keg, then repressurize to 12-15psi through the normal input.

I think after even one day somewhere cold most of the C02 would have been absorbed and you wouldn't have 12-15psi left.

As he said, 12-15psi just sitting on the top of a brew can just carbonate the top bit of the brew, and leave the rest flat. He said at 40psi in a coldish place will carbonate a lot better.

You need to top up to 12-15psi as often as possible until the gas reg reads a constant 12-15psi.
Forcing with 40psi at first helps get C02 into solution faster than 12-15 psi would initially.
Typically I would top up every time I pass my keg, probably 3 times or more a day and it can take up to a week for it to hold steady at 13 deg c.

 

[EskiBrew]

Just thinking - where am I able to refill these co2 canisters?

I get mine from a local bar supplies wholesaler - have a look in your yellow pages. They supply me a large CO2 cylinder for 7.50 a go - there is no monthly rental fee. I simply take back the empty cylinder and they exchange it for a full one. :thumb: