CO2 Cartridge Injectors

[John Sand]

I'm thinking of bringing my keg to a party. Anyone have experience using small CO2 cartridges to pressurize the keg? It might be a hassle to bring the bottle and regulator. Reviews seem mixed. What about other bottles, like paintball cans?

[Beer-lord]

Yes, I used them for about a year and then gave the parts to RedBEERd who is using them on a 2.5 gallon keg. It works great for traveling but not so great for carbing from scratch. I used corn sugar in the keg to carb and just used the cartridges to push the beer out. For a 2.5 gallon keg, it used just a bit more than 2-16g cartridges to empty the beer.
I'd put the keg in a large bucket or ice chest, surrounded by ice and a picnic tap and one of these and it worked fine. Start with just a small amount of gas added at a time. As the keg empties, you'll need to push thru more.

[John Sand]

Thanks! Where did you buy yours?

[Beer-lord]

Amazon I think. But some LHBS carry these. You'll get the best prices for the refills at Amazon or Walmart. I think the online stores charge too much but maybe you can find a deal somewhere locally.

[John Sand]

Thanks again.

[Kealia]

I second what Paul said. I have one too but haven't used it in a while just because I haven't needed to.
They work great for dispensing and are much easier than moving a full tank and regulator. I took a few 2.5G kegs on camping trips and these were perfect.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I use mine with a 2.5 gallon corny keg and it works out good. I use a 5 pound Co2 tank and regulator to force carb them first though.

[John Sand]

Thanks, I will.

[philm00x]

I was wondering if after force carbing with a tank and regulator if it was safe to remove the gas line in order to store in a fridge/cooler/etc. I guess the answer is yes if Screwy is force carbing and then removing to attach the injector. Is it just easy as disconnecting the connection from the post, or are there other steps involved first in order to keep the keg from exploding on you? I just want to be careful is all...

[DaYooper]

They have this one on sale at Adventures:

http://www.homebrewing.org/CO2-Keg-Charger_p_3343.html

And yes, no problem disconnecting keg. I do it all the time to dump some pressure into it and put it in the pantry so it will be ready when a keg is kicked. Well, assuming your popets are good and do not dump the pressure of course.

[Dawg LB Steve]

I was wondering if after force carbing with a tank and regulator if it was safe to remove the gas line in order to store in a fridge/cooler/etc.

Most people force carb by the set and forget, set the pressure for the rate of carbonation, for example aprox. 2.5 I set my regulator for 10-12 lbs for 1-2 weeks and that is serving pressure I use also. You can disconnect the gas line at any time, most ball lock kegs have a pressure relief valve that will keep in the safe level. but you will be way over carbed at that high of pressure. Depending on how complex the flavors, after it gets kegged I have purged the keg then hit it with about 25 lbs and disconnect the gas and let warm condition for a couple weeks then get into the keg fridge on the gas at the rate I want to carb it.



Oops Da Yooper just caught you addressed disconnecting after I posted.

[philm00x]

Well I figured if you set the pressure for a few days at a particular pressure, then disconnect, the pressure in the keg should remain the same, no? As long as whatever volume of co2 is in the keg, the pressure should remain constant so long as the volume doesn't change, aka no beer is dispensed.

[Kealia]

Once it is fully carbed, yes. Until it's fully carbed you will lose some csrb, so to speak, when you disconnect.

What I mean is that you need the constant pressure of the co2 flowing in to force the beer to absorb it. If you weee to set it at say 12psi for 4 days and then disconnect it, some of the co2 in the beer will escape back into the headspace to create equilibrium. But, it will obviously not leave the keg, nor affect your beer in a negative way.

Probablu a long-winded answer to an already answered question....apologies if that's the case.

[philm00x]

Ahhh ok, because of how long it takes to absorb co2 into solution. I got ya. So I guess the easy way would be to crank the pressure up until it stabilizes down to serving pressure and then disconnect.