Size of Cornelius Keg for 11.5L batch

[davidgrace]

I am thinking about getting a Cornelius keg. I do 11.5L batches and would like to know what is the best size corney keg for that batch. I would do 10L batches if there is a keg more suitable for that size than 11.5. Would a 19L keg be too large for a 11.5L batch?

 

[HarryFlatters]

IMO, 19 litres would be best as you purge the headspace with gas anyway, plus it gives you scope if you ever plan to do a 5 US gallon batch.

 

[phildo79]

You can buy 12L corny kegs but then you are stuck if you want to scale up. They are also more expensive than 19L kegs.

 

[Mangold]

10 - 12 L corny kegs are really expensive.

In comparison to the 19 ones.

You could always look at 5l growlers / 5l stainless steel mini kegs. I have a couple of these and they are good.

 

[Drunkula]

Get a 19 litre corny, put three 2 litre pet bottles full of water inside - boom!

 

[marshbrewer]

Serious question, why can't a normal corny be filled to 11L and just be purged with CO2? Other than size, what would the advantage of a smaller corny be?

 

[The Baron]

As JJSH says I would use a 19ltr corny and just purge the headspace with Co2. The 19ltr will give you future room for bigger brews and be no more expensive than a smaller corny as for some reason they are more expensive

 

[obscure]

I have a couple of 9.5L corny kegs and love them but you pay a huge premium for them. I also have several five and four litre stainless steel growlers, the nice thing with these is you can pop them in the fridge.

 

[Drunkula]

Other than size, what would the advantage of a smaller corny be?

Only saving would be using less co2. About 25p per keg. Stuff in pop bottles or 6 litres of marbles or household knick knacks and you're back in play.

 

[phildo79]

Only saving would be using less co2. About 25p per keg. Stuff in pop bottles or 6 litres of marbles or household knick knacks and you're back in play.

They may be more expensive than normal cornies but you don't need to buy a larder fridge to house them. And, I suppose, if you were someone that only made 10L batches, this would seem to make sense.

 

[crowcrow]

Only saving would be using less co2. About 25p per keg. Stuff in pop bottles or 6 litres of marbles or household knick knacks and you're back in play.

I'm really tempted by one as it would let me get a 3rd in my keezer without moving the gas outside and drilling holes in stuff - but I think due to cost I'll go for another standard size one. Is it really 25p a keg though? I have a 6kg tank was £10 to fill - only done 5 kegs so far (and at least 1 2litre fizzy water bottle a day) but no idea how long it will last me, had assumed cheaper than 25p a keg, but that wasn't based on anything ore than a guess!

 

[Drunkula]

6kg tank was £10

I was basing that on £18.99 for a 6.35kg fill up.

I wrote a calculator very much like the priming calculator that works out how much gas is left in the beer after fermentation. Basically every volume of co2 per litre takes 1.96 g of co2. So priming a litre of water to 3 vols will cost you less than a penny if you get a fill for £10.

For a beer at 20c it's got 0.86 volumes per litre - you work out what it takes to get it to the carb level you want, like 2.3 volumes, then there's keeping the keg at that pressure as it empties... anyway, for me a whole keg carbed and served is 42p, for you 22p.

 

[phildo79]

Here's a question - do you use less gas by force carbing for 5 mins than you would if you used the set and forget method?

 

[HarryFlatters]

Here's a question - do you use less gas by force carbing for 5 mins than you would if you used the set and forget method?

I'm just guessing, but liquid at a set temperature can only absorb so much gas, so I'd assume that the same volume of gas is used irrespective of the method of carbing, giving other constant variables.

 

[The Baron]

This is not a scientific answer but it does go a long way. My first gas cylinder lasted me well over a year. I have 11 cornies but at that time I was probably running with 3 plus in a kegerator

 

[crowcrow]

Cheers all - had no idea really I was just planning to weigh it now and again - good to hear we are saving on the fizzy water vs 20p a bottle from the supermarket (plus all tbe plastic waste!)

 

[Drunkula]

do you use less gas by force carbing for 5 mins than you would if you used the set and forget method?

No. You'd only use more gas than you'd ideally need by over-carbing it during the high-pressure shake.