the set and forget method of carbonation

[Godsdog]

scenario...
I have 3 cornie kegs and a c02 management board for say 3/4 outlines from one 6kg bottle.can I hook them up to the cornies set them at say 5/10 psi let them condition for a few weeks(not force carbing them)at different kegging intervals and serve them when conditioning is done and set the serving psi to maybe 3/5 psi.as im getting rather confused about multi kegging with one gas bottle without incorporating a beer engine

 

[peebee]

I'd have to congratulate you on wanting such low pressures, but I should be careful what I say as lots of folk around here are intent on ensuring their beer is nothing short of "fizzy".

But you will run into a problem: 3-5 PSI sounds good but it is very unlikely your regulator will hold to it! Not for nothing keg beer got a reputation for being "fizzy" because it's easy to regulate pressure at 10 or 15 or more PSI but really difficult to get 3-5. I reckon more than about 4PSI trashes a fresh "bitter" but you can get away with 7-8PSI for matured bitter and dark ales. It's very personal, people here will say 10+ PSI is fine, CAMRA followers will say it must be 0PSI!

So what's the problem setting 3-5PSI? Well the regulator will probably "stick" and not operate until the pressure drops much lower, perhaps even to 0PSI. And it will be pretty unpredictable what it does do (might even hold to 3-5PSI at times). You might hear of "check valves" in the distribution lines, and these will prevent all kegs losing pressure if one does (and stops them sharing their own gas, and bugs, with the other kegs).

My own solution is to use "secondary" regulators with a much finer adjustment on them ("airbrush" regulators). Then the main ("primary") regulator is set to 15-20PSI and each keg has its own regulator set to 4-7PSI. Not a cheap solution as each "secondary" ("airbrush", 0-15PSI) regulator costs about £25. Even then I had to modify the regulators to get them operating reasonably well at 4-8PSI.

I do have a beer engine (hand pump) but it plays no part in all this.

Enough! If you were confused before I guess I've not helped matters!

 

[Godsdog]

well considering ive never gone down this route its going to have to be a learning curve as ive decided im buying another 2 cornies and the c02 management board off norm who is pretty local to me,so shortly I will havev 2 kk,s for sale with sparkler taps and ballyhoo style caps available should anyone wish to purchase them.its gotta be done.time to move on before I curl my toes

 

[Dads_Ale]

Think you have made the right decision GD. :thumb:

With the distribution board it may be more expensive up front but you have an excellent starting point that you can add to as required depending on what you want out at the end.

And it is a bonus if Norm is local.

Good luck

 

[Godsdog]

Got the 2 extra cornie cans today but the disconnects that came with them are difficult to seat down on the posts. Gonna pip down the lhbs on boxing day and get some new beer out line,one that's flexible and run 3 outlines from the cans with JG fittings on the end so as I can connect them seperatley to the brewgas sparkler tap and have a quick change from one can to another,just need to sort what JG fiiting I need x 3 so when I disconnect from the tap the beer stops at the end of the outline.
Some serious fermenting is now needed to fill the buggers

 

[Niman]

Got the 2 extra cornie cans today but the disconnects that came with them are difficult to seat down on the posts. Gonna pip down the lhbs on boxing day and get some new beer out line,one that's flexible and run 3 outlines from the cans with JG fittings on the end so as I can connect them seperatley to the brewgas sparkler tap and have a quick change from one can to another,just need to sort what JG fiiting I need x 3 so when I disconnect from the tap the beer stops at the end of the outline.
Some serious fermenting is now needed to fill the buggers

re the tight disconnects try a spray of starsan onto the post or into the disconnect...or check the orings arent dry and dosed...

 

[peebee]

well considering ive never gone down this route its going to have to be a learning curve as ive decided im buying another 2 cornies and the c02 management board off norm who is pretty local to me,so shortly I will havev 2 kk,s for sale with sparkler taps and ballyhoo style caps available should anyone wish to purchase them.its gotta be done.time to move on before I curl my toes

Found these recently to replace my dodgy (and expensive) "secondary" regulators:

http://www.gasproducts.co.uk/cgi-bi..._Gas_Regulator_-_Brooder.html#aHA9606#aHA9606

They don't have them damn "POL" fittings and can easily be fitted with John Guest components.

Only regulate up to 2psi, not the 3 you had in mind, So you might give me time to see how I get on with them.