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  • Help with carbonation.

    Thanks for any advice here!

    We are a 5 bbl brewery with 2 5 bbl jacketed fermenters and one 10 bbl jacketed fermenter. These are not unitanks. We have been getting by using a carbonation stone and venting once the head pressure is at 15 psi for a while but I need a more reliable way to carbonate.

    Considering and inline carbonation setup such as https://www.gwkent.com/inline-micro-...m-1-1-2in.html

    Since we can't afford a brite or a unitank just yet.

    Thoughts?

  • #2
    Can I ask why you're venting at 15psi?

    You should really be carbonating to a stable pressure based on solubility tables, to achieve the carbonation level you want. The amount of CO2 dissolved is affected by pressure and temperature so, if you measure the latter, then look up in CO2 solubility table for the level of CO2 you want, that will give you the pressure you need to aim for.

    Keep carbonating - you can do this in multiple hits to avoid overshooting - until the pressure remains stable. you should then be close to the level you're after.

    This isn't as good as being able to measure the dissolved CO2 with a meter, but will give you a good solid baseline to work from.

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    • #3
      Is your carbonation stone in a side port in the tank or do you have to hook it up to a tee/sightglass on the bottom dump arm after fermentation is complete?

      If it's in a side port and the beer is cold there should be no reason you have to vent the tank. We've used our conicals as spare brite tanks when we don't have an open tank and the beer carbs up just fine even with the stone way up above the cone on 30bbl tanks. And if your PRVR blows off at 15psi just make sure you can get the beer colder so your equilibrium pressure is also lower and you shouldn't have to get the tank up to that high of a pressure.

      Once fermentation is complete and free of VDKs you can crash the tank, dump yeast/trub, and slowly add CO2 through your stone, maybe walking up 1 or 2 psi every couple hours, until you are at your equilibrium pressure (say 10 psi at 33°F). Take a zahm reading (ideally) or pour a pint from the sample port and see if you need to send in more CO2 to hit your desired carb level. Even better would be to add in a flowmeter on your CO2 line, set your tank's head pressure at your equilibrium setting, and slowly flow in CO2 until the tank equalizes and flow stops and you should be darn near right at your carb level.

      Cheers,
      Tom

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      • #4
        Thank you both! We can dial it in based on what you both said!

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