Kegging into a 10lt keg question

[Ian Brady]

Hi all, 

This is my first brew and I’ve got a kegging question.

My first brew, a Coopers Pale Ale has dropped down to 4c after 8 days, so I’m guessing it’s getting close to kegging time.

When ready, my intent is to transfer It from the Droid to a 10lt keg.

so, my question is, when I attach the beer line from the Droid to the keg to transfer the beer using the black plastic coupling, do I also need to attach a grey plastic coupling to the gas connector on the keg to equalise or let out pressure.

Ive watched the iKegger video, and it’s a bit unclear as he starts decanting the beer into the keg without a grey coupling attached, then the video is cut and all of a sudden there’s a grey coupling attached to the keg.

Any advise would be appreciated as I don’t want to make a mess of my first brew.

Thanks,

Ian

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Ian Brady

[Captain 3 Droids]

10 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

Hi all, 

This is my first brew and I’ve got a kegging question.

My first brew, a Coopers Pale Ale has dropped down to 4c after 8 days, so I’m guessing it’s getting close to kegging time.

When ready, my intent is to transfer It from the Droid to a 10lt keg.

so, my question is, when I attach the beer line from the Droid to the keg to transfer the beer using the black plastic coupling, do I also need to attach a grey plastic coupling to the gas connector on the keg to equalise or let out pressure.

Ive watched the iKegger video, and it’s a bit unclear as he starts decanting the beer into the keg without a grey coupling attached, then the video is cut and all of a sudden there’s a grey coupling attached to the keg.

Any advise would be appreciated as I don’t want to make a mess of my first brew.

Thanks,

Ian

 

Hi Ian. After he forces the star San sanitiser out with the co2 he disconnects the gas and puts the beer in line (black disconnect) into the Droid tap. He then uses the pressure release valve to release the gas in the keg as it fills with beer. 
At the end he has reconnected the gas to inform on carbonating the beer. 
Cheers

[Ian Brady]

Yep, I’m with you so far, the part of the video I’m slightly confused about is at the 2:46 minute mark where he’s just about finished transferring the beer to the Droid, there’s no grey gas connection on the keg, then 2-3 seconds later at 2:49 the video is cut and the grey gas connection suddenly appears on the keg (with no gas line connected) with foam coming out of it, if you’re not watching closely you’ll miss it.

I guess my question is about the grey gas connection : 

Does it need to be connected,

When is it attached,

Why is it attached, and

What purpose does it serve.

Thanks for the help,

Ian

 

[Captain 3 Droids]

8 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

Yep, I’m with you so far, the part of the video I’m slightly confused about is at the 2:46 minute mark where he’s just about finished transferring the beer to the Droid, there’s no grey gas connection on the keg, then 2-3 seconds later at 2:49 the video is cut and the grey gas connection suddenly appears on the keg (with no gas line connected) with foam coming out of it, if you’re not watching closely you’ll miss it.

I guess my question is about the grey gas connection : 

Does it need to be connected,

When is it attached,

Why is it attached, and

What purpose does it serve.

Thanks for the help,

Ian

 

He connects the gas disconnect without the gas line right at the end so as any star San foam sitting on top of the beer is removed.

The reason why he connects a gas line at the beginning is to remove the star San and replace that and air in the keg with co2. By doing this the beer from the Droid has no contact with air and is protected by co2in the head space.

I don’t do it that way. I sanitise the keg and the silicone hose and fill the keg. I then seal the keg and purge it with 30psi until ready to carbonate. Has served me well for years.

[Ian Brady]

Great, thanks; that clears it up for me.

I may try it your way.

[Captain 3 Droids]

5 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

Great, thanks; that clears it up for me.

I may try it your way.

I also do it that way with Ikegger 10l kegs.

[Ian Brady]

When you purge the keg with 30 psi, does that force out the remaining air?

What do you do then - you said until ready to carbonate, wouldn’t 30psi carbonate the beer in the keg?

Sorry for the dumb questions 🙂

[Captain 3 Droids]

9 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

When you purge the keg with 30 psi, does that force out the remaining air?

What do you do then - you said until ready to carbonate, wouldn’t 30psi carbonate the beer in the keg?

Sorry for the dumb questions 🙂

Your questions aren’t dumb, it’s about how you learn. So always ask away.

Co2 is heavier than air and when you purge you force out most, not all but most of the air. The Co2 tends to settle and sit on top of the beer. It protects it far better than by not doing it. Now the Ikegger method does remove all the air.

30psi as a purge will not carbonate the beer. When your ready to look at consumption you chill the keg in the fridge and attach the co2 line from the gas bottle at 12psi for 2 to 3 days as mentioned by Ikegger or force it quicker, 24 hrs with higher pressure. Just run the Ikegger video at the end. The keg and beer needs to be cold, 4C is good.

You can have the co2 bottle in the fridge with the keg. If you have a dedicated beer fridge as I do then I put a co2 gas line through the side of the fridge with the bottle on the outside.

[Ian Brady]

Thank for the answer, that explains a lot for me.

final question: could I purge the keg with the 30psi, then reduce the pressure down to say 12psi, attach the gas line and put the keg in the fridge for a few weeks to let it settle / mature prior to drinking?

[Captain 3 Droids]

5 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

Thank for the answer, that explains a lot for me.

final question: could I purge the keg with the 30psi, then reduce the pressure down to say 12psi, attach the gas line and put the keg in the fridge for a few weeks to let it settle / mature prior to drinking?

Just in case your not sure purging the keg is not leaving the gas attached permanently. When you purge you connect the co2 at (in this case) 30psi and you “burp” the keg 5 or 6 times by releasing pressure via the non return valve. This pushes out most of the air. After doing this let the keg remain pressured for about a minute then disconnect the gas. 
When you want to carbonate, release the co2 from the keg put in the fridge and attach gas line at the 12psi.

[Ian Brady]

Thanks again, that has cleared it all up for me.

I’ve now got another question.

As I’m making the Coopers pale ale, I’ll need to use the hops filter, no problem, I’ve bought one. When looking at it I’ve realised that I don’t have any silicon hose of a large enough diameter to fit in the orange ring outlet (see photo).

and then, even if I did, the hose would probably be too large to connect to the black plastic beer connection that goes onto the keg.

Have other brewers encountered this problem?

Any thoughts,

Thanks,

Ian

[Captain 3 Droids]

15 minutes ago, Ian Brady said:

Thanks again, that has cleared it all up for me.

I’ve now got another question.

As I’m making the Coopers pale ale, I’ll need to use the hops filter, no problem, I’ve bought one. When looking at it I’ve realised that I don’t have any silicon hose of a large enough diameter to fit in the orange ring outlet (see photo).

and then, even if I did, the hose would probably be too large to connect to the black plastic beer connection that goes onto the keg.

Have other brewers encountered this problem?

Any thoughts,

Thanks,

Ian

Are you near a home brew shop or hardware store to obtain the right size tubing?

Remember you can get tubing with an outside diameter to fit the filter with an inside diameter that will fit the disconnect barb. (Eg you can get tubing say 8mm od with either 6mm or 4mm I’d.)

[Ian Brady]

Ok, thanks, I’ll see what I can find.

[Captain 3 Droids]

On 06/02/2021 at 9:14 PM, Ian Brady said:

Ok, thanks, I’ll see what I can find.

Find anything?

[Ian Brady]

Yes, I got some 10mm plastic tubing from Bunnings that fitted perfectly.

Transfered from Droid to keg without any problems.

The keg is now sitting in my kegarator, I’ll probably test it next week.

 

Thanks,

Ian

[Tony Durey]

Hope you don’t mind me dropping in on this thread.

I have a Beerdroid, 2 x 10lt and 2 x 5 k ikegger kegs looking to purchase 2 more 10l kegs.

currently I brew the beer in Beerdroid then into keg as per ikegger instructions, into fridge at 12 psi for a week or two then drink.

Question is after reading the above, can I fill the keg purge at 30psi, then store warm for 1-3weeks when ready to drink put in fridge at 12psi for a week or two. Current fridge won’t hold 4 x 10l kegs.

Does the beer mature over time warm or cold?

thanks

Tony

 

[Captain 3 Droids]

On 09/06/2021 at 4:12 PM, Tony Durey said:

Hope you don’t mind me dropping in on this thread.

I have a Beerdroid, 2 x 10lt and 2 x 5 k ikegger kegs looking to purchase 2 more 10l kegs.

currently I brew the beer in Beerdroid then into keg as per ikegger instructions, into fridge at 12 psi for a week or two then drink.

Question is after reading the above, can I fill the keg purge at 30psi, then store warm for 1-3weeks when ready to drink put in fridge at 12psi for a week or two. Current fridge won’t hold 4 x 10l kegs.

Does the beer mature over time warm or cold?

thanks

Tony

 

Hi Tony and apologies for the late reply. Yes you can certainly do that and is the way to go. When first putting in the fridge release the pressure before connecting the Co2 at 12psi as you don’t want the back pressure if the keg pressure is higher.

[Tony Durey]

Captain

thanks for the response and no need to apologise.

might have to purchase a 2nd droid, now that I understand this better. My current method I run out of beer too quick and at the bottle shop every few weeks

 

 

 

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 minutes ago, Tony Durey said:

Captain

thanks for the response and no need to apologise.

might have to purchase a 2nd droid, now that I understand this better. My current method I run out of beer too quick and at the bottle shop every few weeks

 

 

 

Nice setup and two Droids is a must.

I note you also have the flow control taps, they are great and very handy. Your beers pouring well?

[J P]

I have a question.   This will be the second time I lose most of my mini keg of beer while trying to swap out the stainless steel cap (first picture attached) with the Keg spear tops (second picture attached) after secondary/conditioning.  
 

I think I’ve deduced what’s wrong.  
 

I tried it at room temperature and tried to unscrew the cap slowly but eventually the beer just shot out and bubbled up and erupted like a volcano.  
 

assuming in the future I should chill the kegs overnight before trying to swap out the cap for the spear?

 

thanks in advance.  
 

 

[Captain 3 Droids]

4 hours ago, J P said:

I have a question.   This will be the second time I lose most of my mini keg of beer while trying to swap out the stainless steel cap (first picture attached) with the Keg spear tops (second picture attached) after secondary/conditioning.  
 

I think I’ve deduced what’s wrong.  
 

I tried it at room temperature and tried to unscrew the cap slowly but eventually the beer just shot out and bubbled up and erupted like a volcano.  
 

assuming in the future I should chill the kegs overnight before trying to swap out the cap for the spear?

 

thanks in advance.  
 

 

You are correct, chill the kegs before doing the change. Don’t over fill the kegs originally, you need the head space. Once chilled just release some pressure slowly, if beer should start to come out retighten, wait a while (10 min) and release again. You may have to do this a few times however not the eruption as when the keg is warm. 
Ps How much primer are you putting into each keg?

[J P]

I am using the sucrose blocks designed for the brewart kegs.   If it’s a 10L mini keg i use two bars.  If it’s a 5L mini keg I use only one.  Is that the way to go?  

[Captain 3 Droids]

1 minute ago, J P said:

I am using the sucrose blocks designed for the brewart kegs.   If it’s a 10L mini keg i use two bars.  If it’s a 5L mini keg I use only one.  Is that the way to go?  

Yes perfect. It’s just if using the tablets or sugar the amount is less than used in bottling the same amount of beer due to the volume and head space. Eg with the tablets 10l @ 13 bottles by 2 tablets would be 26 tablets however with a 10l keg about 19 is required.

[J P]

ahh.  I am using BrewArt Priming Blocks (30g Sucrose) designed for 5L BrewArt Kegs.   I just double it to TWO blocks when SSKegging 10L mini kegs.   am I overpriming in your opinion?  Seems it should be one-to-one?

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by J P

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 minutes ago, J P said:

ahh.  I am using BrewArt Priming Blocks (30g Sucrose) designed for 5L BrewArt Kegs.   I just double it to TWO blocks when SSKegging 10L mini kegs.   am I overpriming in your opinion?  Seems it should be one-to-one?

 

No the Coopers blocks are the correct amount, it’s if you were to change to the sugar tablets that there is a difference in how many to use vs what you would use if bottling.

Sorry for confusion but the blocks are perfect for your kegs.