Cornelius kegs, "gas should not be left on"

[Fore]

Hi. I was recently advised by a store that you should not leave the gas on with Cornelius kegs, as it will steadily dissolve into the beer leading to over-carbonation, causing gassy & frothy beer. This seems to make a lot of sense to me, but seems to fly in the face of what I see most do.

This matters to me, as I'm planning on buying 3 kegs and if I only need to top the gas up, then I'd only need a regulator with one line-out, and only one gas disconnect. If I was to have all plugged in all the time, then I'd need a 3-way regulator and 3 gas disconnects.

So does this advice sound reasonable? Thanks.

 

[Rwilts]

I would suggest that at serving pressure only very little gas will be 'forced' into the Beer. :

 

[zgoda]

Solubility of CO2 in liquids is not endless. If you maintain constant pressure only limited amount will dissolve in beer.

 

[PD]

the amount of time my beer remains in a corny is short and I've never worried about extra gas dissolving in the beer after the original carbonation.
The biggest problem leaving your gas permanently on is if you get a small leak in the pipes or pipe connection...amptying your cylinder very quickly.
Also get your self a John Guest splitter to fit your chosen pipe. That means you can easily force carb or serve 2 Corneys at once
( as long as the corneys need same pressure )
They are only a couple of pounds....

 

[Rwilts]

To be honest after my initial response I actually don't leave my gas on anyway. Concerned about leaks and wasting gas once I had forced carbonated I would turn off the gas when I wasn't drinking. I had very little problems and just turned on serving pressure as and when necessary. :thumb:

 

[calumscott]

Solubility of CO2 in liquids is not endless. If you maintain constant pressure only limited amount will dissolve in beer.

:thumb:

 

[dennisdk2000]

When training pub staff on good cellar practices, the BIIAB recommends that the gas be turned off between trading sessions to avoid excessive fobbing (foaming of beer), mainly to minimise wastage. When pulling the first pint of the day, it is quite a bit foamier than the rest of the day, but as mentioned, solubility is limited, so it is only really the first pint in each new session that is frothier, and with a bit of patience, just let it settle - problem solved. Having said that, turning the gas off isn't any hassle, really, and you won't waste gas should you have a leak!

Dennis

 

[Fil]

My kegs are left hooked upto gas all the time.

IF you have the luxuary of a keg fridge then you can set the perfect temp for the perfect serving pressure to retain the perfect level of condition or carbonation in your beer.. without this temp control there may be something in what the chap says when the temps drop dramatically where you store your kegs under pressure.

Cold liquids will absorb co2 more readily, so if your kegs suffer a dramatic drop in temp the beer can start to absorb too much co2 for its style. As serving pressures are set based on temp to maintain the level of condition in your beer.

if you force or artificialy condition you will set the pressure higher for a period to establish the condition desired in the beer. when serving you will reduce the pressure to a level which will maintain the condition in the beer during serving.

fluctuations in keg temps will require a little tweaking of the serving pressure to accommodate the condition change, if the temp rises a bit venting the kegs prior to a pour to relieve excess pressure is a good idea..

If you do over condition its not a big problem, and can be sorted by dropping pressure to accomodate new temp (if necessary) then just vent the keg off gas and shake and repeat a few times to remove the excess condition... simples :)

keeping the kegs off gas could lead to the same circumstances of absorbing too much co2, depending on temperature, but without the gas to maintain the keg pressure you may loose the lid seal??? and possibly loose the batch as a result? unlikely but with a lost lid seal and slow leak you could drop a full bottle of gas overnight...

 

[Swazi]

It was my understanding that a liquid will only absorb CO2 until the amount dissolved is in equilibrium with the amount of pressure exerted upon it. If liquid were able to absorb CO2 endlessly (or even to high levels) with minimal pressure then we'd be able to rely on just atmospheric pressure for condition.

 

[Jimmy321]

Do what's best for you, I have water tested all my connections and two of them leak a tiny bubble of CO2 every minute or two.

For carbing I put excess pressure of CO2 in the keg ~60PSI for a wheat beer and ~40PSI for an ale then disconnect and top up every second day till I have the beer in good condition, I then vent at serving time and connect the gas at a much lower PSI then disconnect after every session.

 

[Fore]

Thanks all. I think I've made up my mind then. A single regulator & single gas disconnect me thinks.

I can always add a splitter to this later if I find I want to convert to gas on (as advised by piddledribble). OK, I won't be able to set different pressures per keg if I did that, but all (most) of my beers will be similar style ales, and a force carbonation only takes a short time, during which I could disconnect and recharge another keg in any case. I don't have a kegerator, so fixed piping is not needed. I'll also feel more comfortable that I'm not slowly losing my CO2 via. a leak. It might also mean I concentrate on one keg while allowing the others to age; well, we'll see . Anyway, it seems to fit well. Thanks again.

 

[mixale]

Single disconnect will be a right PITA when you want to serve more than 1 beer at a time quickly - bbq season, parties.
I've got 11 cornies and 8 sets of disconnects.