priming

I have been reading extensively on CO2 and it quality. It seems that you have to be careful where you buy your CO2. There IS a difference in the contaminant levels and that include Benzene. At the least Benzene will give you a bad head ache. Or worse. I just got a new bottle but I think for now I will prime my 1.75 gallon keg with sugar
..it has 1 gallon of beer in it. So it will have extra headroom. I can carbonate in a fridge at 36F.
or at 65 room temp.
  Using the program or your experience..how much corn sugar should I use in oz ???? and how much water should I dissolve it in. And what temp would you carb at??

smit221 said:

  Using the program or your experience..how much corn sugar should I use in oz ???? and how much water should I dissolve it in. And what temp would you carb at??

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BeerSmith has a priming calculator built into the tools. Average volumes for most styles is 2.3 to 2.5 volumes. You use just enough water (hot) to dissolve the sugar and let it carbonate at the same temp the yeast liked for fermentation.

Don't scare yourself away from forced carbonation because of stuff you found on the internet. Yes, it matters what grade of CO2 is used and where you purchase it. However, if you bought a certified (recently tested) CO2 bottle and have it filled at a place that is used to doing soda and beer accounts, you're probably just fine.

http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,11875.msg48349.html#msg48349

I used .85 oz for 1 gallon in a 1.75 gallon keg. It has been a LONG time since I did any of this so my siphon into the keg was a bit dirty at the end. Some yeast got in there. What I tasted in my mouth on the tube end wasnt bad.Got the hops right anyway.
The only thing now is what about the extra .75 ga. head room???Can I pull the pressure relief valve in a day or so
to let out any air???or sooner??

smit221 said:

I used .85 oz for 1 gallon in a 1.75 gallon keg....  what about the extra .75 ga. head room??? Can I pull the pressure relief valve in a day or so to let out any air??? or sooner??

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Unfortunately, not really. When you do that, the CO2 in the beer will come out to fill the space. This will leave you with flat beer.

Since you have the bottle of CO2, I hope you have a regulator, too. I would simply put some CO2 on the gas side of the keg and purge the air with it. Just let it fill to 10 psi, then bleed it from the relief valve a few times. After the last bleed off, recharge the headspace to about 5 PSI. Let the yeast do the rest of the work.

I've been force carbonating my kegs for many years now without any problems. I paid the deposit on a 5lb CO2 tank the first time, and since then I just exchange it at whatever welding supply place that is convenient at the time.  The cost varies between fifteen and twenty dollars per exchange, though the deposit was closer to eighty. It's probably more now. The tanks last me a year or so, and that includes gas "wasted" in the cleaning process.  Sometimes I get a shiny aluminum tank, while other times I get a beat up steel one. Either way, the contents are food grade, and the beer tastes great. I've never bothered trying to use sugar to prime a keg because I've never had the need. As long as what you get is food grade, it will be free of contaminates.  Gas vendors supply both restaurants and machine shops. If you tell them what it is for, they will not send you away with contaminated gas. They want you to come back. That's how they make their money.