17 replies to this topic

[Nick Bates]

I just started kegging my beer, I did a force carb, setting the psi to 30 for 100 shakes, my problem is excessive foam, i lowered the psi to between 8-10, I was just hopping i could get a few step by step instructions on what others do, when i lowered the psi I pulled on the relase valve to release some pressure from the keg is this correct? And it seems like when i pour the beer my psi drops down to zero is that normal? any and all help would be great.

[HerrHiller]

I just started kegging my beer, I did a force carb, setting the psi to 30 for 100 shakes, my problem is excessive foam, i lowered the psi to between 8-10, I was just hopping i could get a few step by step instructions on what others do, when i lowered the psi I pulled on the relase valve to release some pressure from the keg is this correct? And it seems like when i pour the beer my psi drops down to zero is that normal? any and all help would be great.

What temperature did you shake the beer at? My guess is that you got it all foamy and gas like, but thwat the pressure didnt stay inside the beer. Thats why when you pour it drops down to 0, because you havent allowed the keg to fill complete with pressure. IMHO I dont like to shake force carb my beer, because then if you overcard you gotta wait anyways for it to chill out a little and degas it. Even if you do overcarb tho its not the end of the world. if you set the keg to say like 8-9 PSI and let it sit for a day or so and make sure periodically pull the pressure relief valve to let out the excess co2, it will create and equaliberum(sp?)where the carbonation will stay at. No what I personally do though.. is I use the chart found in the back of How to brew. For me personall I normally make pale ales and such and like to have around 2-2.5 units of pressure. So normally i set my PSI to 11-12 and let the keg sit for 2 weeks. then i back down the pressure to 9 PSI for serviing, and drink.(also dont forget that anytime you are lowering ur pressure you will need to pull the relief valve. if your pressure has been where it is for longer than 5-10 minutes and you lower it, and the needle drops before you pull the valve than you have a leak somewhere)Hope this helps.

[Nick Bates]

My beer is between 32-36 when i did the shake, I was thinking maybe i lowered the psi to low was the reason for it dropping all the way down. Also how much pressure do I release from the keg? Do i release all the pressure and then put my psi at 8-9? sorry for all the questions, thanks for the help as well

[MakeMeHoppy]

I normally chill my beer to drop the yeast out just before kegging. I put it on co2 at about 25 psi and shake a little just to see the pressure drop and recover. I usually just let it sit cold overnight at 25 psi and when take it off the co2. I've been kegging for a while so the beer now has time to absorb the co2 until I'm ready to tap it.You did the right thing by chilling the beer as warm beer takes a LOT of pressure to force carb. If you need it right away you need to shake more. You can go are far was rolling it on the ground as this will expose more beer surface area to the co2 and that will help with absorption. Once you think you shook enough set the pressure down to 10 PSI and then shake again. If the pressure drops while you are shaking, then the beer is still absorbing co2 and you are not carbed to that pressure yet.

[Nick Bates]

ok thanks so far for all the help this quick, I just checked my regulator and it was down to zero from last night at around 8psi, So im guessing I should shake the keg at 30 psi and leave it for alittle while? Then slowly drop the pressure down to 10psi? when i drop the pressure from 30 to 10psi, how much pressure should I release from the valve on the keg? Sorry if but im kinda confussed. THanks again guys

[HerrHiller]

ok thanks so far for all the help this quick, I just checked my regulator and it was down to zero from last night at around 8psi, So im guessing I should shake the keg at 30 psi and leave it for alittle while? Then slowly drop the pressure down to 10psi? when i drop the pressure from 30 to 10psi, how much pressure should I release from the valve on the keg? Sorry if but im kinda confussed. THanks again guys

if its all the way down to 0 it sounds to me that you might have a leak...

[Nick Bates]

im not seeing any leaks, i did the old soapy water test and I also had my LHBS switch out my regulator yesterday and they tested all the connections for any leaks.

[HerrHiller]

could be a leak in the keg. Make sure that the pressure relief valve isn't hissing a iny bit..and make sure the lid is sealed on properly...I could be wrong because I don't do the shake method..but even if the co2 was absorbed I don't think it's drop all the way to 0.

[Nick Bates]

I just poured a few glasses, i took a picture of one but i cant seem to post it on the message board. About how much pressure should i release from the keg after its been force carbed? is it possible i might be releasing to much? and then when i go to fill my glass its causing the co2 to drop? just a newbie thought.

[Nick Bates]

could be a leak in the keg. Make sure that the pressure relief valve isn't hissing a iny bit..and make sure the lid is sealed on properly...I could be wrong because I don't do the shake method..but even if the co2 was absorbed I don't think it's drop all the way to 0.

what i might be doing is, lowering the psi to much and not releasing enough pressure from the keg, and then when i pour im draining the co2 that is left causing it to drop to zero? Is there a way to balance between lowering the pressure on the regulator and then pulling the pressure relief on the keg? Im new the the co2 and regulator world. Thanks againp.s. how is canton ohio. My favorite Musicican is from canton ohio Marilyn Manson...

[Thirsty]

You have to keep in mind, you have a closed system between your regulator and the faucet. The keg is just a pass through point. When doing any pressure changes, the best bet is to remove the QD from the gas side of the keg, pull the PRV, and release all the pressure. Do not worry, when you hook the gas back to whatever your desired pressure is, the keg will fill quickly to replace what was released. If you hook a gas line up to a keg that has more pressure in it than the regulator is pushing into it, then the unbalance will cause beer to shoot up your gas line- uncool. Never ever ever open the pressure release on the regulator while a keg is hooked up, it WILL spray!As far as your regulator is concerned reading 0, try pouring a beer, if nothing comes out, then there is actually 0 pressure- your regulator is true, adjust it up to serving pressure. If you get a solid pour and it still reads 0, then it is not calibrated well. I have a regulator that also drops 8-10 #s under a load. With no gas coming out it will read 20psi, as soon as I hook something up to the QD, it drops to say 10 psi as it is dispensing gas. Last if you have a new system, it is a good idea to strive for balance. This is when you can hook up a keg(s) and let it carb with time, and serve, both at the same pressure. Beer temp, gas temp. bevline length and diameter, as well as faucet height all come into variable here, but for most it is achieved between 8-12psi. Carbing at 1 pressure, just to bring it down to another to serve, is a PITA, and eventually the keg will just equalize anyhow, and you may have to wait through a period of overcarb and foam. If you do want to do a quickcarb method, my suggestion is to disconnect that quickcarbed keg and let it sit with no gas attached for a day or so, then pull the PRV and hook back up at serving pressure. If you did it right, it should be just a tad undercarbed, let the system finish it off for the next few days. Some can do this method in hours, you really need trial and error and experience with your own system to do this. I think balancing your system first is priority to serving consistant well carbed beer.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I think no matter what way you force carb you want to give some time for the pressure in the headspace to equalize with the beer pressure. If your guage is down to zero I agree that you likely have a leak and you lost all your pressure. Is your tank empty? Can you get pressure to come out of the relief valve with the co2 hooked up?

[djinkc]

Are you shutting off your gas valve? 0 psi doesn't make sense to me if the regulator is halfway functional.When I fast carb I'll release all the pressure in the keg while disconnected from the gas, reset the regulator to my serving pressure (10 - 12psi), reconnect the gas and hope for the best.It took me a while to figure out it was best to just let it set a couple weeks at 10 - 12 psi and be patient. Although lately I have done a couple at ~32psi and chilled below 40df. They carbed up nice in 48 hrs. Never had that kind of predictable results when I would try to rush it more.Since no one asked, what's the ID and length of your serving line?

Edited by dj in kc, 03 January 2010 - 02:03 PM.

[Nick Bates]

Ok I think im all set I took your advice thirst. I unhooked the QD, and vented the valve on the keg. then hooked back up the QD and took the pressure to about 6-8 psi, did a few pours and it looks great. I also lifted the hose as high as i could to do my pour, I posted a pic of the results.Glass looks like a shot glass but its a pint glass just not a great picture. By the way this is a pumpkin ale i did last month. Thanks guys for all your help. https://i48.tinypic.com/23u4v9u.jpg

[Nick Bates]

dj in kc the length is about 35 inchs long, How do you measure ID of the house? the hose itself is 1/2inch, the hole in the house is 1/4 inch. I maybe measuring wrong but at the LHBS all the picnick taps and hoses were all the same sizes.

[HerrHiller]

the length is about 35 inchs

Thats what she said

[Nick Bates]

i thought that right after i posted that.

[djinkc]

3/16" ID and around 5" seem to get a lot of people close for a start. I would guess that cobra tap black line is exactly that. There are some really involved calculations that are probably more for a commercial establishment that take a lot of factors into consideration. For me they ended up being 5' of 3/16" ..... most of the time