Loch Brewer Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 loctite master pipe sealant is good for sealing partially damaged threads Otto. Hey i see you've got the manifold outside the fridge. I've got mine inside and its a real pita. How did you manage to fit the 3 hoses through the hole in the fridge? I didn't actually try but on mine i thought it looked like there was no way in hell they'd all fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 loctite master pipe sealant is good for sealing partially damaged threads Otto. Hey i see you've got the manifold outside the fridge. I've got mine inside and its a real pita. How did you manage to fit the 3 hoses through the hole in the fridge? I didn't actually try but on mine i thought it looked like there was no way in hell they'd all fit. I'll remember that if I need to do the same thing again at some point. Not sure if the thread itself is damaged or not but something was causing it to leak at least. Yes, when I was setting it up I could see that it would be a real PITA even trying to get it inside the fridge with 3 kegs in there let alone access the valves. What I did was to take that black tubing out of the hole and this increased its size big enough to be able to fit all three lines through it plus the power lead for the font snake. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loch Brewer Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Thanks Kelsey, Looks like i've got a project for tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hi guys. Finally got off my backside & kegged a nice little Pale Ale recipe I began brewing back in December. It's loosely modeled on the Coopers DIY Recipe: Chubby Cherub which for those unfamiliar with this recipe, resembles the well known Little Creatures Pale Ale. A drop I very much enjoy! With my recent version I backed off the malt sweetness a little as with all the hot weather around I felt like a slightly cleaner beer & backed off the bitterness accordingly to suit. Have tried a slightly different hop mix this time that appears to have done well given the hydro sample I tasted! I've fast carbed it up & am looking forward to pouring a glass when I get home from work later this evening/morning. Am still experimenting with fast carbing kegs as I haven't yet perfected it. Today I inverted the keg as per normal & carbed @ 45psi for 4½ mins. The keg is currently sitting at my pouring pressure of approx. 11-12 psi so we'll see how that goes. Coopers Bootmaker Pale is now in the brew fridge cold crashing & will fill another keg with this on Sunday all things going well. Cheers & good kegging! Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Nice work mate. I haven't perfected fast carbing kegs either, although I must admit the IPA keg I used this process on certainly worked a lot better than the pilsner keg did, probably because I didn't over carbonate it this time. I have a batch of red ale ready for kegging/bottling tomorrow. I won't fast carb that one in that way.. will probably just leave it sitting on 30PSI from when it is connected up until Saturday morning. Then drop it back to serving pressure. This should see it nicely settled and ready to go in a few days. Then the epic task of trying to build up a full stockpile of kegs begins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 To be honest I haven't really made a concerted effort regarding the fast carbing since switching to kegging. I've been doing a little half hearted thing @ 45psi for roughly 2-3mins up til now, then rolling the keg with the gas line still fitted but turned off & watching the pressure come down past serving pressure, then as had been advised in some of the literature I had read, give it another 15-30 second blast or two & repeat the rolling process until it stops just over your serving pressure & some other BS like that. I usually do that a couple of times & then say what the heck & just put it in the keezer & connect at serving pressure. Usually 2-3 days later it is beginning to pour consistently pretty well. I did over-carbonate a beer early on & that is a PITA to de-gas & continue to pour, so I'll just keep stepping up the fast carb by 30 seconds each time until I hit the point much of the literature speaks of where the beer is supposedly perfectly fast carbonated. It's not something that phases me too much, but like I would have said in my old Battle.net days, "it's a nice weapon to have in your arsenal" should you need it some day. Just woofed down a couple of glasses of that Pale Ale I mentioned earlier (only to check the carbonation of course! ) & the extra time @ 45psi has certainly helped but I know that timeframe needs to be extended. It pours a nice head but lacks carbonation through the beer itself. Although still a little "young", the beer itself is pretty nice. When I get this fast carb perfected, I'll certainly pass on what I felt worked best for me in this scenario. Then the epic task of trying to build up a full stockpile of kegs begins… I reckon you lose too much in turn around time between your brew day to actually beginning fermenting the wort' date=' to ever fill all of your kegs at the one time. [img']tongue[/img] Given current brewing methods & schedules, I reckon you'd have to quit your job to ever give yourself a chance of that happening Kelsey! If you ever resign yourself to that fact, you can always donate those un-needed kegs to a worthy cause..... ......ME! Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 The two times I've done it I've used the "Ross method" which is basically the same thing except I have a liquid disconnect on the 4th (spare) gas line on the manifold. I simply attach this to the out post on the keg, turn it up to 45PSI, hit it for about 50 seconds while rocking it back and forth, then turn off the gas bottle and keep rocking until it hits a stable pressure, usually somewhere around 20ish PSI. Then it goes into the fridge for a few hours to settle before the pressure is released and everything is hooked up as normal. This latest one did pour a bit of excessive foam initially but had settled by the next day. I like using this method because the keg can be kept upright rather than rolling it around because the gas is coming in through the dip tube. Trust you to offer to take unused kegs... It's not the timeframe between brewing and fermenting that's the problem, it is/was more a combination of the kegs being a novelty, being on holidays, having to wait for beers to ferment/CC etc. and up until NYE having a girlfriend who let's just say went a bit overboard on the beers . I always have at least one full cube of wort ready to go into the FV a couple of days after the previous batch is packaged, so there's constantly a batch fermenting or CCing. There are two cubes sitting there currently. I think with going back to work on Monday and only myself really drinking the beers now, it should be a bit easier to build them up. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I simply attach this to the out post on the keg' date=' turn it up to 45PSI, hit it for about 50 seconds while rocking it back and forth, then turn off the gas bottle and keep rocking until it hits a stable pressure, usually somewhere around 20ish PSI. Then it goes into the fridge for a few hours to settle before the pressure is released and everything is hooked up as normal. This latest one did pour a bit of excessive foam initially but had settled by the next day. I like using this method because the keg can be kept upright rather than rolling it around because the gas is coming in through the dip tube.[/quote']This is the same method I've been following from the outset. To me it's BS. The first pour is always good as it has a rich, thick foam that pours, dissipates, & has the drinkable beer content rise through the glass naturally. After that, at that same time, subsequent pours begin to pour increasingly flat & certainly have no beading of carbonation in the beer whatsoever in my experiences. Given it is the literature & method most spoken of, for sometime I thought I was doing something wrong, or that my system had a leak of some kind. In my situation it was neither. I use the invert method, so if there was a leak, beer would be all over the place, & it never has been. I feel the method offered here is flawed, & am now exploring other avenues & time-frames. Trust you to offer to take unused kegs... As the great man Paul Hogan in Arthur Dunger character once said' date=' "I might be fat, but I'm not dumb!" [img']lol[/img] It's not the timeframe between brewing and fermenting that's the problem' date=' it is/was more a combination of the kegs being a novelty, being on holidays, having to wait for beers to ferment/CC etc. and up until NYE having a girlfriend who let's just say went a bit overboard on the beers [img']pouty[/img]. I always have at least one full cube of wort ready to go into the FV a couple of days after the previous batch is packaged, so there's constantly a batch fermenting or CCing. There are two cubes sitting there currently. I think with going back to work on Monday and only myself really drinking the beers now, it should be a bit easier to build them up. You can dance around the facts all you like bud, but if you're not fermenting a new brew every week, you'll never get close to filling all those kegs unless you plan to age them for 6 months or more! (8 kegs isn't it? ) I of course wish you well on that front. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 You can dance around the facts all you like bud' date=' but if you're not fermenting a new brew [u']every[/u] week, you'll never get close to filling all those kegs unless you plan to age them for 6 months or more! (8 kegs isn't it? ) If on average you are packaging 2 brews a month into a keg, and you are drinking at the rate of 1 keg a month, then you're right, maths says it will be a while until they're all filled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 7 kegs I have. Yes it will be a while before I fill them all, or get to a point where I have full ones waiting to go in the fridge, but that doesn't really worry me too much because it just means more brew days. I can't really put a brew on every week with my preferred method of temp control and cold crashing each brew using the fridge; deviating from that process would feel like a step backwards given how long I've been using it successfully. I probably won't really do much quick carbing for a while. The advantage of simply hooking the kegs up at serving pressure and waiting for them is that new batches are at the tail end of fermentation by the time the keg is carbonated and ready for drinking, so that might make it a bit easier. Also gives them more time to condition and the yeast to drop out. Prior to my holidays I was able to have 3 kegs in the fridge at once, all pouring. I'm confident I can get this happening again and given I likely won't have any more time off until December again, should be able to get that stockpile happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Come off the grass Otto, the answer is easy, another fridge and a second fermenter. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Yes, the answer is easy, the practicality of it isn't, though. Anyway, the red ale fermented with 1318 yeast is in the keg and the 13 surplus stubbies I got out of it. It's currently sitting on 30PSI, which will be dropped back to my usual serving pressure of around 10-11PSI tomorrow morning before I head off to the gun range with my mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just dropped my Fuggle Gold into Keg #3. Another 4.2% Mid Strength. 61% Maris Otter 25% Munich 6% Wheat 6% Medium Crystal 2% Acidulated 20g Magnum @ 60 mins 25g Fuggle @ 15 mins 1/2 Whirlfloc @ 15 mins 25g Fuggle @ 1 min Nottingham Drank 120ml off the trub , I love this grain bill. Cheers & Beers Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Still mucking around with fast carbing beers in the keg. Earlier today I kegged the new TC Bootmakers Pale Ale. I force carbed @ 45 psi for 6½ - 7mins in the inverted position before shutting off the C02 valve & lying the keg down on its side & rolling it back & forth as I usually do to force the C02 into solution. When watching your regulator gauge at this point, you'll notice the pressure drop continually during the rolling process whilst the gas is turned off, & you are rolling what has already been put into the keg. The carbonation is improved after the first pour, but the head development/retention has not. This tells me I need to C02 @ 45 psi for a longer time-frame. I'll keep upping this C02 @ 45 psi for longer periods until the pour shows no fall away from the initial pour. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Hi guys, I have a question, which I think I've probably already answered myself but thought I'd get some other opinions. I'm pretty sure my gas bottle is empty. So, I poured a glass of my IPA earlier, which has been in the keg for a number of weeks now. Last glass from it I had on Saturday I think, and it was pretty well carbonated. Tonight though, it had lost some carbonation. It wasn't flat, but it wasn't as fizzy, and also there wasn't much foaming initially on the pour, which rarely happens in this weather with properly carbed beer. Nothing has been disconnected or anything. I have a Micromatic regulator; on it, the low pressure gauge is still sitting at serving pressure, and the high pressure gauge that measures the bottle itself, is sitting in the "Gas End" range on the dial. It hasn't completely reached the bottom but it is in the red zone. The confusing part is, I have a fresh keg of red ale in there that has also not fully carbonated, but a soda water keg which appears to have held its carbonation. I also took the disconnect off the spare line and turned its valve on momentarily and gas came rushing out the line. So basically I don't know if the bottle is empty or something is wrong with the keg lid seals or what. Tempted to just replace the bottle anyway and start over now that the gas leak has been fixed. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Hi Kelsey. Firstly disconnect any lines that run from your C02 bottle to any of your kegs or the 3-4 way manifold I remember you saying you have. Once the C02 bottle is isolated, turn the gas off, & using the pressure release valve on the regulator, vent any excess gas contained in the regulator housing. Then simply turn your gas on again & attempt to vent any gas through the pressure release valve on the regulator once again. Obviously if gas is venting through the regulator release valve, you still have gas in the cylinder, & the opposite if it isn't. I hope that helps. Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Would that work by simply turning off the shutoff valve on the regulator itself and then turning off the gas before doing the rest of that? It's just gonna be a total PITA disconnecting any lines as they're all barbed fittings except the disconnects, and they have to be literally cut off the barb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 If you don't disconnect/isolate the C02 bottle away from the kegs you could be receiving back flow pressure from the keg side & not from the C02 bottle side giving you false information about whether the tank is empty or not. I suppose you could simply shut off all the valves on the manifold so that no gas can get through to the kegs & then run through the routine I mentioned earlier. Provided there are no leaks in the manifold or those connections you have to it, the test should let you know whether the C02 tank is empty or not. How many brews have you done since you bought the tank? You have the larger size, & that should last through quite a lot of brews before it runs out. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 If you don't disconnect/isolate the C02 bottle away from the kegs you could be receiving back flow pressure from the keg side & not from the C02 bottle side giving you false information about whether the tank is empty or not. I suppose you could simply shut off all the valves on the manifold so that no gas can get through to the kegs & then run through the routine I mentioned earlier. Provided there are no leaks in the manifold or those connections you have to it' date=' the test should let you know whether the C02 tank is empty or not. How many brews have you done since you bought the tank? You have the larger size, & that should last through quite a lot of brews before it runs out. Cheers, Lusty.[/quote'] That's why I was thinking of using the shut off valve on the regulator itself because it cuts the gas off at the regulator. There was a leak in the manifold but I have fixed that now. Unfortunately, it did cause me to lose about half the gas bottle before I found it, so i haven't put that many brews on it. Maybe 10 or so? I posed the question on AHB as well, and one piece of advice I got was that with manifolds that have check valves in them, the pressure shown on the regulator is a few PSI higher than what it actually is in the kegs themselves, which may account for this problem. On that, I upped the reg a few PSI last night, and tonight the IPA was better carbonated, as was the red ale, so that might be the issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Well the system has had a new gas bottle for a couple of weeks now and all is running smoothly with no leaks and no undercarbonated beers or anything like that. So this is excellent. The only problem is the constant issue of foamy pours due to the heat. Warm taps, font fan not working as well as it could because it's so f'n hot. Over winter I'm gonna set up a flooded font I think. It has to be a better option for my situation than a standard one with a fan in it. Anywho, I just kegged my Chinook pale ale and have it sitting in the kegerator at about 33PSI, where I will leave it until my work break tomorrow before dropping it back to serving pressure. I can't be bothered with the shaking method for quicker carbonation anymore, this allows faster carbonation but also time for the yeast and crap to settle in the keg as well. I'll probably have a sample glass on Saturday during the brew day and see how it's travelling. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 G'day Shibby. Moved from another thread... Hey Lusty can you please share that fast carbing method? I'd prefer to trial this method a little further on a another keg or two before putting something out there for others to follow. Basically' date=' I'd like to prove it works consistently first. The directions I have be following up until now using the inverted method, suggested to rock the keg back & forth [b']gently[/b] for a set period of time @ that 40-45psi mark. I believe it is this gentle rocking that has been the problem for me thus far. I was running some cleaning fluid through the beer lines from a keg recently, & for whatever reason said to myself this day, rock it more vigorously so that none of the granule cleaner/sanitiser settles out to the bottom while dispensing the cleaning fluid through the beer out line. Well what I experienced was a notable volcanic feeling inside the keg with a far more vigorous bubbling through the liquid (better mixing). I got thinking about that & potentially how a more vigorous back & forth motion when carbonating the keg, might mix the C02 much better. And buggar me if it didn't on this most recent Pilsner brew! A more vigorous shaking/back & forth motion (this just sounds all wrong doesn't it?! but we will carry on...) is the way to go, but I now have to re-assess the actual time that is adequately required to achieve this, as on Monday I was only doing this intermittently over a 7-8 min period. I'm drinking a few again right now, & the bead is sustaining beautifully, & is pouring perfectly from the keg. Once I've nailed down something consistent that works every time, I'll post something, maybe even do a short video. I've got tomorrow off for a mid week brewday, so time for another from the keg! Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 I decided to pour a pint from the red ale keg tonight. It poured much better than it had done about a week ago. I have had the gas turned off to this keg for about that time, only turned it on tonight to pour. Happy to report that the beer is still nicely carbonated and poured with very little foam despite the heat (warm taps etc.), so no wastage occurred. I'm still working little things in this system out but I'm starting to wonder, when the kegs get to about a third or so left in them, whether it might pay to turn off the gas to them when they aren't being poured. Normally I just leave it on all the time as I figure if the pressure ain't going up then they aren't gonna carbonate any further. But this experience with this keg has me thinking of turning off the gas between pours when they start to get on the low side. I'll try it on each keg from now on and see how it goes, but I am still contemplating a flooded font anyway... Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Big Day today, Brew Day and I kegged two brews as well. Blundstone Pale Ale - Kit and Kilo using TCS Bootmaker Dry Hopped with Galaxy - This one had a passionfruit edge and a reasonable Maltiness, yet there was something else in the background kit twang? It has been in the FV for 4 weeks and went 1.01 to come in at 5%. Honky Red Ale - All Grain - Cascade dominates this one at just 3 weeks in the FV. It came in at 1.011 for another 4 %er. Cheers & Beers Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Sound like nice brews there Scottie. I forgot to update this thread when I kegged my Chinook pale ale last Monday. But yes, it is in the keg and been on gas since. Started at between 30-35 PSI for 24 hours, then removed the gas disconnect and let it sit for 5 or 6 hours, burped it, then hooked up the gas again at serving pressure where it has been left ever since. I tried a couple last Saturday but it does need more time. I'll try another glass this Saturday and see how it's coming along. Next in line to be kegged is my English ale, which should be done next Saturday (20th). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I now have my Kegerator assembled with no gas or liquid leaks. Lines have been cleaned and I am ready to keg my first beer tomorrow night. It will be an ESB and it is tasting mighty nice from the FV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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