Using your Cornelius Keg

INSTRUCTIONS

Items required for use:

Cornelius Keg
CO2 Regulator
Disconnects, hoses and tap
Gas Supply

Before you begin make sure that everything you are about to use is sterilized properly. This means completely disassembling your Cornelius keg (even if newly purchased) and cleaning its components along with hoses, tap and connectors then sterilize everything. Be selective in your choice of sterilizing agent making sure that it is suitable for use with stainless steel. When this stage is complete re-assemble your keg.

Before adding the wort to your keg we recommend doing a leak test using soapy water which will bubble if leaks are present. By doing this you will help prevent the loss of CO2 and also prevent oxidation. Connect everything up and bring the keg to a pressure of between 10/15 psi. Then pour a solution of approx ½ tsp of detergent with 2 cups of water over all connections. When you are happy that there are no leaks in the system it’s time to proceed with the wort.

Siphon your fermented wort into the Cornelius keg and carefully install the cap and lock it. Then add the connections so that the CO2 supply is connected to the regulator and in turn the regulator is connected to the Cornelius keg (at this point do a leak test). You can adjust the supply of CO2 by turning the centre screw on your regulator. The 2 factors that will determine the required psi are based on a) the temperature of the location where your keg is stored and b) the desired CO2 volume. Examples of desired CO2:

British Ales = volume of 1.8 - 2.2
German Lager = volume of 2.5
American Lagers and Ales = volume of 2.6 - 2.8
Wheat bear = volume of 3.0

There are ‘Carbonation Charts’ available on the internet which will help you achieve the required psi. A recommended storage temperature of 42-44o F and a desired volume of 2.5 would require setting the psi around 13.3 - 14.4.

Now for the hard part – the waiting. In order for your brew to reach its optimum carbonated state you’ll have to wait about 2 weeks. Enjoy!

To source your gas supplies you could try the following links:

Air Liquide
BOC Ltd