mini corny kegs with regulators and CO2 capsules

[Braufather]

I use the little 9L kegs. i started off using sodastream bottle with an adaptor and regulator. force carbing will use a reasonable amount of co2, so force carbing with the little bulbs would be really expensive way of doing it. sodastream bottles are about �£12 a refill.

i have now got a 10kg co2 tank for force carbing, it's only about �£20 a refill but in no way portable. If i do take the keg round someones house i take the soda stream bottle. you could however use bulbs purely as a dispensing option.

thinking of using soda stream bottles via my mini regulator. as far as i can tell i just need a conversion widget for about £20. easier to source refills etc

 

[JapanBrew]

If the 19 litre corny wasn't carbonated could i just use gas to push it through. Having a few 19 litres cornies all carbed and ready to drink could be dangerously tempting for someone who already probably drinks more than they should!

Yes you can but being carbonated does a few things. One, under pressure, the yeast slow down. The second is more of long lasting. Kind of preserving it. If some small nasties had gotten in, they can’t live under the pressure or at least multiply.

 

[Braufather]

Good point. Didnt think have that.

How long would it last uncarbed but with little blast of CO2 now and then to purge it? Also if it was carbed, could you leave it and forget about it, without a regulator until you need it?

 

[Fil]

leave unconditioned beer in a corny with less than sufficient co2/pressure to condition the beer @ the lowerst temp its gonna hit and you run the risk of resulting in 0 +ve pressure in the keg and loosing lid seal integrity as the co2 is absorbed by the beer.

if you want to stash unconditioned beer then your better looking at crusader kegs than cornies as the large lid/oring feature of the corny means its is not a suitable vessel to use without maintaining +ve internal pressure for the lid seal.

 

[Braufather]

leave unconditioned beer in a corny with less than sufficient co2/pressure to condition the beer @ the lowerst temp its gonna hit and you run the risk of resulting in 0 +ve pressure in the keg and loosing lid seal integrity as the co2 is absorbed by the beer.

if you want to stash unconditioned beer then your better looking at crusader kegs than cornies as the large lid/oring feature of the corny means its is not a suitable vessel to use without maintaining +ve internal pressure for the lid seal.

so does it need to be connected to a gas supply on a permanent basis? or once its carbonated can it be left unconnected?

 

[Fil]

so does it need to be connected to a gas supply on a permanent basis? or once its carbonated can it be left unconnected?

once conditioned you should be able to leave the keg off gas ok BUT still bear in mind the 3 way relationship between pressure temperature and optimum condition level as indicated by the kegging charts
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...=xbA22cKg6g1riDhoRe225w&bvm=bv.58187178,d.ZG4

So if say left in a garage or shed and a sharp unexpected frost occurs DO go out and check the kegs have retained pressure and top up if necessary, a simple pressure gauge attached via a short length of gas/beer line to a grey disconnect is a useful lil tool and will allow you to check on keg pressure levels and top up as necessary..

Of course if your kegs do absorb extra co2 due to cold storage they will also be overconditioned so agitating some co2 out of suspension durring the transit into a smaller vessel may be desierable, keeping a note of any gas top ups could help id any over conditioned kegs..

 

[JapanBrew]

Gil is right. After hearing stories of leaking corny kegs I’m kind of happy that, with an exception of one, all my kegs are sanke kegs. But that’s more of a geography problem since it’s really hard and expensive to get corny’s in Japan. I’m sure if I was over there, it would be the other way around.
But the route of this issue is, you need to pickup your drinking pace. I can’t keep my kegs full. Every time my friends hear I kegged a bunch, a week later, right on cue, “house party at JapanBrew’s house!” 12 hours later, no beer!

 

[Braufather]

Ok, so carbed the 9 litre, last Monday ( only took two capsules) and served perfect pints from the fridge. Great head retention, great carbonation so no looking back.

So next step is I ordered an additional 19 litre corny, regulator, soda stream adaptor and picked up some soda stream bottles today.

A few questions

Regulator looks like it needs a screwdriver to work it which seems odd? And I seem to recall you can’t use the bottles on their side which may make it difficult to set up given the weight of the regulator. Anyone any tips?