How do you carb your kegs?

[mordantly]

I printed up a chart and put it right by my kegerator...helps a lot.

nice!!

[PhillyBrewer]

I'm still confused. What is the difference between the Draft Beer Balance Reference and Regulator Pressure for Equilibrium formulas? One says your regulator shouldn't be lower than 12 PSI and the other suggests 7 PSI (41°F. and 2.0 Volumes of CO2).

[mordantly]

2.5 volumes of co2 at 40F is ~12psi. if you have 3/16 ID tubing, you need 6 feet (2psi per foot) to cancel out the pressure.

1. determine volumes of co2 required
2. determine temp of beer NOT the fridge temp
3. set regulator to said psi
4. determine ID of beer line in use
5. determine length required: psi (step 3) = length x ID psi resistance

[PhillyBrewer]

Can you explain the "canceling out" you referenced? I think that's where I'm still confused.

[mordantly]

alright, so i have my keg at 40F internal temp, and at 12psi for a couple weeks. it's perfectly carbed at 2.5 volumes. if you put a picnic tap with 1 foot of any size line on the keg, it will spray like a fire hydrant! so you need to alleviate the pressure with additional resistance. this is done with LONGER tubing. the length is roughly figured out by math, then a little trial and error until you get the pour speed that you like. since your having issues, try this known setup:

3/16 ID tubing 6 feet long
12psi to the keg for a couple weeks
set fridge to maintain the liquid at 40F (when checked in the glass)

[PhillyBrewer]

Ok so I can understand that formula, but how does the formula/article for Calculating Proper Regulator Setting to Maintain Tapped Beer Equilibrium which suggests a PSI around 7 fit in?