CO2 Pressure

[Liveaxle]

What is ideal CO2 Preasure fore a home keg?

[DannyW]

Depends on its temperature and how fizzy you want the beer to be. 10psi at 40F is a reasonable place to start.

[Liveaxle]

That would make a pilsner fizzy like a bottled beer?

[DannyW]

Yes. Hook it up, wait a week or two, and it will be fizzy just like in the bottle.

Check out any of the online carbonation charts like this one to dial it in.

[Bugeater]

What is ideal CO2 Preasure fore a home keg?

That is a much more complicated question than you probably realize. Various styles have different ideal CO2 levels. Fortunately most beers work just fine at about 2.0-2.5 volumes of CO2.

What pressure this amounts to depends on the temperature of the beer. For this you need to consult a carbonation chart such as: http://hbd.org/clubs/franklin/public_ht ... lance.html

This article will tell you the best carbonation level for general types of beer as well as the temperature/pressure combinations that will get you to those levels.

The next problem you will run into is the balancing of your system. Normally you will run about 10-11 psi at around 40°F. This pressure is much too high to get a decent pour. You adjust the pressure at the faucet with the length of the beer line. The longer the beer line, the lower the resulting pressure at the faucet without having to adjust the pressure at the regulator. Generally about 6' of 3/16" inside diameter beer line is about right. Larger inside diameter line will require much more length as the resistance to the flow of beer will be less. The above link will help you figure out the proper length and diameter beer line to use. It is better to start out with too long a piece of line. You can always shorten it, but you can't make it longer.

Good luck with your kegging.

Wayne