Transferring under pressure:

[Hop Bomb]

Ive started fermenting in 30 litre sanke kegs. The neck is trimmed down to fit a carboy cap. Pretty much the same setup as the pic I found online below:



Il be pushing CO2 at 5 psi in one hole of the carboy cap & Ive a stainless steel racking cane in the other with beer line & liquid quick disconnect going to the liquid port of the receiving corny keg. 

How would I go about doing a dry run to purge the beer line & keg with CO2? Do I need to vent pressure in the corny as im filling it?

[Will_D]

I'd be surprised in the carbouy cap will withstand 5 psi!

And if it does as soon as the pressure in the cornie reaches 5 psi the flow will stop.

I would lock open the safety valve and transfer at minimum pressure!.

Then just force carb the keg.

In order to purge the system just pull out the racking cane so its just clear of the beer in the keg and flush.

Then just push it down into the beer.

Thats if I understand your design

BTW: Like the look of the digital scales - where from and how much may I ask?

[Dr Jacoby]

Il be pushing CO2 at 5 psi in one hole of the carboy cap & Ive a stainless steel racking cane in the other with beer line & liquid quick disconnect going to the liquid port of the receiving corny keg.

RichieH uses a similar setup. It might be worth contacting him for some advice. 

How would I go about doing a dry run to purge the beer line & keg with CO2?

I assume you mean the corny keg since the other keg should be oxygen free after fermentation. To get everything going, pressurise the corny keg and then vent it fully. Re-pressurise the corny. Attach the racking cane to the beer line and then attach the liquid disconnect to the beer out liquid post. Wait a second or two to let some Co2 flush through the beer line and cane, then quickly insert the cane into the cap on the other keg. Take the liquid disconnect off the corny keg. You now have an oxygen free jumper line.

Purge the corny fully again. Attach the gas line to the fermentation keg and then attach the liquid disconnect to the corny. Start raising the pressure gently on your regulator until you see the beer start to transfer over to the corny. Vent the corny every few seconds to make sure the pressure doesn't equalise and stop the flow.

This will work if the cap stays in place on the fermentation keg.

Do I need to vent pressure in the corny as im filling it?

Yes Some people use a bleeder valve so they don't have to stand by the kegs while the transfer is going on. I just vent the corny myself bit by bit. It doesn't take too long on my set-up (corny to corny transfer) because I can crank up the pressure quite a bit. On your setup with the cap on the fermentation keg I would try to be as gentle as possible.

[biertourist]

I bought this exact setup to do this because I'm SOO sick of breaking siphons (my new stainless one is near indestructible; take that! lol!) but I can't figure out how to connect my gas out to the carboy cap...  -Is that a John Guest fitting or what is it?


Adam

[Hop Bomb]

Thanks for the replies guys. Thats not my actual setup. Just a google pic. My setup is below:



Will you were spot on. 5 psi & the carboy cap went pop! I managed 2 psi with ease. Worked very well. Beer transferred with no foaming & hopefully no oxidation. I ran pbw through first, then water twice, then starsan & finally co2. I transferred 15 litres in about 10 mins. I vented the corny manually every so often. My big issue is that it left 5 litres behind in the keg. I couldnt push this out for whatever reason. Any ideas why that happened? I increased pressure, released pressure, started over etc but no joy. Even with the racking cane touching bottom centre it was having none of it. (i wonder was it trub/hop pellet gunk preventing flow?)

@Adam - I have the same problem hooking up my gas line. I just pushed it tight & held it the entire time. PITA & will defo have to rectify this for next time. Im thinking of buying a cheapo gas disconnect & taking the threaded barb out of it & sticking that in the carboy cap somehow. Then my gas line can thread on to that for a perfect connection.

[Will_D]

It might be down to the pressure!

14 psi (1 bar) is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury 760mm high or nearly 30 feet of water.

So in ordr to raise water up 30 foot you would need in ecxess of 14 psi

If you aplly 2 psi then you could only raise the water 30 / 7 or just over 4 foot.

Looking at your set up this might be the problem.

A solution would be at the start to have the keg up high on a work top and the cornie on the floor then the syphon effect would add an effective couple of psi that might compensate.

But then again maybe not. When you have time try it with water.

[Hop Bomb]

Great. Thanks Will. The fermentor is soaking now so Il try transferring some of that stuff later when Im home. Fingers crossed.

[biertourist]

Thanks for the replies guys. Thats not my actual setup. Just a google pic. My setup is below:



Will you were spot on. 5 psi & the carboy cap went pop! I managed 2 psi with ease. Worked very well. Beer transferred with no foaming & hopefully no oxidation. I ran pbw through first, then water twice, then starsan & finally co2. I transferred 15 litres in about 10 mins. I vented the corny manually every so often. My big issue is that it left 5 litres behind in the keg. I couldnt push this out for whatever reason. Any ideas why that happened? I increased pressure, released pressure, started over etc but no joy. Even with the racking cane touching bottom centre it was having none of it. (i wonder was it trub/hop pellet gunk preventing flow?)

@Adam - I have the same problem hooking up my gas line. I just pushed it tight & held it the entire time. PITA & will defo have to rectify this for next time. Im thinking of buying a cheapo gas disconnect & taking the threaded barb out of it & sticking that in the carboy cap somehow. Then my gas line can thread on to that for a perfect connection.

That mini keg looks brand new!  A think of beauty!

[Ciderhead]

Ok so the major advantages here v's auto siphon and a blast of co2 from the tank first?

[Hop Bomb]

You couldn't transfer the last bit because you didn't have the pressure to lift the beer in the corny.

If you unscrew your (liquid) dip tube from your corny and lift it up half way I would say it will be fine.

If I do this would that mean Im not transferring under pressure anymore? I still havent tried transferring with the fermentor above the corny. Im sure that'll do the trick.

@ Adam:  I sprayed it with silver wheel spray to liberate it of its old gang tattoos It's now living the easy life with tasty ales & stouts inside it.

@ Ciderhead: Its just another project for me to be tinkering with really (probably ott). The big plus is if you purge your line & corny with c02 you can transfer to the corny with ease & no oxidation. You could probably do the same with gravity though & a fermenter bucket with tap going to a purged corny?

[DEMPSEY]

@ Ciderhead: Its just another project for me to be tinkering with really (probably ott). The big plus is if you purge your line & corny with c02 you can transfer to the corny with ease & no oxidation. You could probably do the same with gravity though & a fermenter bucket with tap going to a purged corny?

Probably ott is perfectly normal around here,nothing wrong with ott,its what gets us to the promised land

[Hop Bomb]

I used some silicone tubing to connect my gas line to my carboy cap last night. Works perfecly under pressure too!

[Hop Bomb]

Corny lid installed for easier cleaning & inspection. Considering the carboy cap can only hold about 4 psi the corny lid seals perfectly (with some keg lube). I had to shorten the corny feet a wee bit so the lid could close.

[Rossa]

I had this in mind for quite a while. I think I have figured out a way to get every bit out.

Warning : I haven't finished it yet :

Firstly I bought a ss pipe end cap on fleabay.

I then bought a tri clamp to fit it. These fit over my 30l keg bung hole.

I am then going to buy these http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=376_1_3_260&products_id=3276&zenid=86779baa57dd1b1391e9b54f388e8457

I will have them welded onto the pipe end on top of holes that will be drilled. I can then use a small corny dip tube and use the usual corny posts and disconnects to take the pressure and transfer.

I haven't ordered the nipples yet but when I have it together I'll post it up.

[Hop Bomb]

By putting my FV higher than the receiving corny Im able to get as much beer out as I like. Thanks for the tip lads.

For a proper gas connection on my carboy cap Im using a 1/4" MFL to 1/4" barb which is fitted  into the blow off part of the carboy cap. This allows my gas line to thread on tight for a perfect seal.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/1-4-mfl-to-1-4-barb.html


@ Rossa - Have you left your sanke bung hole as is or have you got the grinder to it?  Ive seen some of those tri clover setups for sanke fermemtors. They look swish.  The carboy cap method is my cheapo take on the one below.