Inlet tube and outlet tube?

Brewing Processes
1

Question…we are kegging beer today (Yippee!).
But how about this, we want to swap out the outlet tube (the long one), for the inlet tube. We will use floating pick up tubes for the beer “out” side. But can we use the long tube on the CO2 side? Would this help with carbonation, letting the CO2 bubble up through the beer?

Bad idea? Good idea?

What say you?

2

No need to swap the dip tube to the other side. Just swap out the ball lock gas connector with a liquid connector and carb away. Don’t try and force carb too hard and fast, just set the CO2 to whatever volumes the beer style dictates and wait for a few days or week. I have carbed this way and it works well.

3

I have experimented with this many times.  It is no faster to carb through the liquid tube than the gas tube.

4

It would seem to me that it would take longer to reach the desired saturation by having the gas bear down on the liquid instead of percolating up through the liquid. Can you give us more insight on how you came to your conclusion?

Thanks Denny

5

Thanks guys. We will experiment and see how it goes! Always learning something new…who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks (besides my wife)?

6

By direct comparison several times.  I have a 5 way CO2 manifold with flare connectors.  I unscrew one of the gas connectors and replace it with a beer connector.  I hook up 2 kegs of split batch at the same time.  Since they both come off the same regulator theyre obviously at the same pressure.  Then it’s simply a mtter of comparing the beer from the 2 kegs at various times.  I have never found a difference.  Its one of those homebrewing things that seem like it should make a difference but doesn’t.  At least, it never has for me in a dozen + trials.

7

Indeed.  Exactly what I said here…Old Dog…New Tricks | Experimental Brewing

8

Is there any potential drawback to having the short CO2 tube in the beer?  Thinking it best to leave the short tube to fill from the top of the beer, I usually fill my Keg to just below the tube.  I have considered cutting 1/2" off so I can squeeze in another glass of beer, but if it doesn’t matter…

9

Well I can’t argue with that!! Thanks for sharing!

10

You bet!

11

The only thing that would likely make introducing the CO2 from the bottom would be using a carbonation stone. Without a fine stone, the bubbles would just pass through the beer and end up bearing on the top, just the same as introducing the CO2 to the head space…

12

I cut my CO2 dip tube off flush with the housing. The only thing that dip tube does is keep the o-ring in place. I cut mine so I can empty the all sanitizer out when I purge the keg.

13

Gracias.  I’ll be giving mine a haircut next chance I get.

14

An alternative to cutting the tube is stainless washers.  I have a couple kegs like that and they work just fine.

Don’t recall the size.

15

You can slip a piece of vinyl tubing on a diptube if you need to extend it after it’s been cut

16

I’ve done that, but over time the vinyl tubing looked gross so I just bought a new (used) liquid dip tube.

The ones where I took out the gas tube had weird brown plastic gas dip tubes that creeped me out.  They’re somewhere in my post history but I’m lazy and technically working right now.

17

The plastic gas in tubes are real easy to cut.

18

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=18270.msg231933#msg231933

Here’s a link to one of the older threads about the plastic gas-in tube.  I ditched them because they creeped me out.

19

I’d just put it on when I needed it occasionally.

20

And I left it for years until it grossed me out.  Two different approaches!