Carbonation and Warm Storage

[brewcrew]

I have 8 beers kegged but only room to keep 4 cold. My current set up is 4 kegs in a refridgerator with cobra taps hanging in the fridge. I plan on building a kegerator but until then can I just switch the kegs in and out as I wish? If i have a half empty keg and switch it out for a few weeks with another keg, will the carbonation come out of solution in that keg that is now sitting at room temperature? Just curious if I need to plan the switch a few days in advance for the keg to rebalance with CO2?

[DannyW]

It will need tiem to cool, but if your seals are good you won't lose any CO2. I had a 3/4 full keg of carbonated water I made in march that was still pressurized and fizzy when I finally got around to dumping it in July. It had been stored in my 95F garage the whole time.

[Bugeater]

I do that all the time with no problem. I only have room for two kegs in my kegerator, but I like more variety than that. I change out partial kegs quite often. To save kegerator space when carbonating a keg, I carbonate at room temperature. I have a couple extra CO2 tanks and regulators so I just hook one of those up to the new keg of beer and set the pressure according to the charts for the ambient temperature. I let it sit for about a week or so and it carbs up perfect.


Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[brewcrew]

I have never carbonated at room temp. I have extra Co2 tanks but all the charts I have seen only go to 50 degrees. What would you set the tank at for the 2-3 volume range at around 65 degrees?

[DannyW]

I use 25psi and 65F for 2.5 volumes. Here is a chart that goes to higher temps: http://hbd.org/ford/brewinfo/kegcarb.html

[brewcrew]

Thanks for all the info.

This might be a stupid question but do you use more Co2 carbonating at room temperature than if you carbonated cold?

[DannyW]

You have to use more pressure, but it is exactly the same amount of CO2.