Keg carbing question

Beerbelly

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I'm looking for help with setting carbonation & dispense settings for my system. I have a full-size fridge with (2) 5 gallon corny kegs, a 5 gallon Co2 tank, a KegCo dual regulator for independent PSI adjustment, and 3/16" i.d. gas lines; one is 5' long, and the other is 10' long.

I remain confused about properly setting carb levels vs. dispense levels. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
i carb for 24 hours at 40 psi , burp kegs and serve at 10-12 .
Your system will work slightly different to mine depending on lift height and serving temp .
Getting a draft system balanced may take some fiddling , mine does pour a bit slower than most but pours a perfect pint
 
Carb level and dispense level will balance to be the same if left alone. Are you looking for carb levels for a specific beer style?
 
My understanding is that a short dispense line & lower PSI is generally used for traditional ales, and a longer line & higher PSI is used for higher carbed ales, like wheats. That's how I set up my kegerator. But my beers don't seem to have the carb levels or nicely rising bubbles that I see in brewpubs. I'm looking for the proper carb/dispense relationship that will give me a nice, carbonated dispense without an overflowing head.
 
My understanding is that a short dispense line & lower PSI is generally used for traditional ales, and a longer line & higher PSI is used for higher carbed ales, like wheats. That's how I set up my kegerator. But my beers don't seem to have the carb levels or nicely rising bubbles that I see in brewpubs. I'm looking for the proper carb/dispense relationship that will give me a nice, carbonated dispense without an overflowing head.
I want to follow this. As a new kegger myself, I'm going through the same growing pains. Last one I carbed at 35 psig for a day, took it down to 10 psig for a couple days, and it seems alright. Serving at 8psig. I use 3/16" lines at 5'. First 1/2 pint is really foamy and then it's good until the tap warms up again. I've looked at balancing formulas and sites... Nuclear power makes more sense.
 
I must have got lucky then , from day 1 i had a good pour
i have taps mounted directly through fridge door so all lines and shanks are chilled
taps are 450 mm higher than centre of kegs ( 18 ")
4 m of 5mm ID line ( 13' of 3/16 line )
serving at 5-6 C ( 45 F)
carb @ 40 psi first 24 hours then reduce to 10-12 psi until it blows
if i was serving a wheat or similar i'd have to just bump up serving pressure a touch

Bit early in the day here for a beer but in the interest of science and sharing knowledge i shall have to go pour myself a beer now and take a pic , this will be a first pour in 36 hours and still deciding which beer to start with

English IPA just ummm because i like and need a keg empty for a very tasty American Amber

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I run all my inside diameter 5mm lines at 4.5 meters a bit over 3" per meter that's like 15" I serve at or around 10 rearly under. I find my lighter beers I have to be carful:rolleyes: not sure why maybe how well or bad they were brewed some naturally foam up better than say an ale. But a one two finger head is good anything over turn down that,pressure and be careful not to burst carb to long to high it can tTake ages to correct.

Love your idea mark of the coils at the door my keggorator is a mess of coils loosely flung here and there.

Just for kicks see pic of pour just now
 

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I like neat , i should trim the tails on all the cable ties but meh ...
Getting a system balanced is a matter of line resistance Vs Temp Vs pressure
I fill an imperial pint in 18 seconds vs my local commercial pub filling it in 13 seconds ( yes i timed it ) They also are prepared to waste more than i am .
I also want a nice dense head with small bubbles as to my understanding it helps preserve head better which minimises oxidation while you are enjoying your beer
 
Minimizes oxidation while enjoying your beer? How slow do you drink?? To me, that's like eating your sandwich quick before the bread gets moldy!
 
I was sceptical as well , when I was travelling and broke I did what all Aussie backpackers do and get behind a bar .
There's some very complex reactions taking place in beer and some happen quickly and are irreversible.
The volatile compounds that bind hop oils in solution are hard to keep in beer and easy to lose .

Will it make a grew beer an average beer ? No but service matters !

Try it yourself and see if you can pick the difference between a slow careful pour and a sloppy quick pour
 
I must have got lucky then , from day 1 i had a good pour
i have taps mounted directly through fridge door so all lines and shanks are chilled
taps are 450 mm higher than centre of kegs ( 18 ")
4 m of 5mm ID line ( 13' of 3/16 line )
serving at 5-6 C ( 45 F)
carb @ 40 psi first 24 hours then reduce to 10-12 psi until it blows
if i was serving a wheat or similar i'd have to just bump up serving pressure a touch

Bit early in the day here for a beer but in the interest of science and sharing knowledge i shall have to go pour myself a beer now and take a pic , this will be a first pour in 36 hours and still deciding which beer to start with

English IPA just ummm because i like and need a keg empty for a very tasty American Amber

View attachment 1814 View attachment 1815
That's an awful long amount of liquid line you have wound up in there, but you cant argue if it works! :)
 
I run all my inside diameter 5mm lines at 4.5 meters a bit over 3" per meter that's like 15" I serve at or around 10 rearly under. I find my lighter beers I have to be carful:rolleyes: not sure why maybe how well or bad they were brewed some naturally foam up better than say an ale. But a one two finger head is good anything over turn down that,pressure and be careful not to burst carb to long to high it can tTake ages to correct.

Love your idea mark of the coils at the door my keggorator is a mess of coils loosely flung here and there.

Just for kicks see pic of pour just now
That's a pretty pint!
 
That's an awful long amount of liquid line you have wound up in there, but you cant argue if it works! :)
I know a guru employed by the largest supplier of commercial dispensing equipment, he sets up draft and chilling systems for a living and is an even bigger beer nerd than I am
I just did as i was told and it works
 
That's an awful long amount of liquid line you have wound up in there, but you cant argue if it works! :)
And mine are 1/2 a meter longer:D. I did a lot of forum searching and youtube watching before i set my hose diameters and lengths i settled on longer being safer than shorter you can always trim back:).
 
And mine are 1/2 a meter longer:D. I did a lot of forum searching and youtube watching before i set my hose diameters and lengths i settled on longer being safer than shorter you can always trim back:).
It's not the length of your hose but the strentght of your beer that matters
 
I've taken to adjusting serving pressure to fit hose length and carb level. For force carbing, I pressurize to 30 PSI for a day or so and top up to 15-20 as needed to keep forcing for a few days, decreasing until it's holding at the proper PSI for volumes of CO2 in the beer. That's usually between 4 and 8 PSI depending on which fridge I've got it in - lagering freezer is set to 33, storage fridge is probably closer to 38 and kegerator is 35-36.
Once it's carbed properly, I'll hold it at that pressure when I'm not pouring and adjust the pressure down as needed to avoid foaming when pouring as my hoses are relatively short. If I've got a well-carbed Belgian or Wheat with lots of heading, I'll serve as low as 2PSI. Some beers pour perfectly at the 6 lbs or so of holding pressure.
It requires more messing around with stuff than most guys want to deal with, but it works for me.
 
If it works then it works , I like set and forget where possible as my housemates know not to fiddle with stuff and my brewing friends are already happy with my pour
 
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I like set and forget where possible
Best way to do it, no doubt. I have to use my only CO2 tank in a couple of different places so I don't have the option of leaving it in the kegerator. When I get another rig, I'll keep one in my kegerator and I don't have to worry about topping up pressure.
 
i carb for 24 hours at 40 psi , burp kegs and serve at 10-12 .
Your system will work slightly different to mine depending on lift height and serving temp .
Getting a draft system balanced may take some fiddling , mine does pour a bit slower than most but pours a perfect pint

This is my process and never had any issues.
 

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