Managing pressure in a King Keg

[Haversham]

My home brew education continues. As always, I've scanned the forum several times to try to find a straightforward answer to my question, and while I've picked up a ton of useful information on the way, I can't find exactly what I'm looking for, so I'll ask.

I've just fermented my first two brews. One is in bottle, and I also have a King Keg with 40 pints of Woodforde's Wherry which I don't plan to drink for several more weeks. My question is what is the best pressure to keep the beer while carbonating and conditioning? After a few days in the KK, the gauge started approaching 15 PSI. This seemed high so I reduced pressure to about 12. Every morning I check the pressure and it's around 14, so every morning I reduce to about 12. Is it OK to do what I'm doing? Even with the rubber escape valve, I'm reluctant to just let the pressure build too much as I don't want to risk a leak. I'm presuming that at some point carbonation will stop and the pressure won't increase. Will it stay where it is until I start drawing beer? In the conditioning period, when I'm not drinking it, should a high pressure be maintained? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Clint]

The keg will vent when it hits its maximum working pressure. How much priming sugar did you use?

 

[Buffers brewery]

What @Clint says. I leave my KKs for 2 weeks at 20C to carbonate letting any excess pressure vent through valve, then reduce the temperature to 12C to condition for as long as it takes.

 

[Haversham]

The keg will vent when it hits its maximum working pressure. How much priming sugar did you use?

Sure, but as I said, I'd rather not wait for it to reach its maximum. The pressure is already pretty high. I'd rather manage it more proactively. I was asking whether it's OK to adopt this approach. I added 80g of priming sugar to the barrel before filling it.

 

[Haversham]

What @Clint says. I leave my KKs for 2 weeks at 20C to carbonate letting any excess pressure vent through valve, then reduce the temperature to 12C to condition for as long as it takes.

I don't have the means to manipulate temperature reliably. I'm not planning to start drinking it for another 6-8 weeks so I'm relying on a natural drop in ambient temperature to help me along. The KK is in my garage where the temp has dropped gradually from around 22 to 18 over the past couple of weeks. So I'm happy with the temperature. It's the PSI I'm interested in.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It’s absolutely fine for you to vent some pressure

 

[Buffers brewery]

My question is what is the best pressure to keep the beer while carbonating and conditioning?

If you want your beer well carbonated then the maximum pressure, around 15 psi, the KK will allow.

I reduce to about 12. Is it OK to do what I'm doing?

Yes, but reducing the pressure may effect the level of carbonation.

at some point carbonation will stop and the pressure won't increase. Will it stay where it is until I start drawing beer?

My experience is that after a couple of weeks carbonating, the pressure levels off. It might reduce slightly if the KK is chilled.

In the conditioning period, when I'm not drinking it, should a high pressure be maintained?

I do to maintain level of carbonation.