HELP! Kegging Problem!

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Ondovcs1

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Okay, I have been having a lot of problems kegging. I am new to kegging my homebrew and am having absolutely no luck. First, I tried priming a stout with corn sugar, and it didn't care at all. Now, I hooked an IPA to my CO2 tank, but after a day of force carbing it, the CO2 tank is empty.

I bought my corny kegs from Michigan Brewing Company, those have to be good, right? What am I doing wrong?

I know this seems like a stupid question, but I am new to this and have a lot to learn. My CO2 tank is only 2 1/2 lbs. Is it too small, or is there a leak somewhere? Also, is my IPA ruined now that I had CO2 going into it, but nothing now? It is just sitting in my kegerator...

HELP PLEASE! This is so frustrating, I am ruining too many good batches of beer and a lot of time to this.
 
For the keg you primed with sugar... did you pressurize the keg with your tank to seal it up after adding the sugar? If not, then the CO2 probably just leaked out around the lid. You should hit them with 10-20 psi to get them good and sealed up, because they don't seal well by just putting the lid on.


For the other... If your tank emptied while trying to carb up a keg, then you have a leak somewhere in the system. Could be the keg or could be where your gas hoses connect to things.
 
how long do I have to seal the keg for? I assume I have to do the same for the force carbed keg instead of just putting it on for 10psi...?

Where could it be in the keg?
 
how long do I have to seal the keg for? I assume I have to do the same for the force carbed keg instead of just putting it on for 10psi...?

Where could it be in the keg?

When priming with sugar, put the lid on, attach the gas and wait until you hear the gas stop flowing. Should take only a few seconds. Then you can disconnect the gas and set the keg to the side.

For the forced carbed keg, you just connect the gas and leave it connected until the beer is ready to drink.
 
So I take it there is a leak somewhere? I also read that maybe it could be a 1-way top?

I don't know, this is all so frustrating to me. Thank you for the help otherwise I'd be lost.

Is my IPA ruined (the one that I tried to force carb but it leaked...)
 
I just hooked up my first keg with co2, also an ipa. I sprayed EVERYWHERE with starsan looking for leaks. I found a small one next to a hose clamp. What I'm getting at is spray everything.
 
Ondovcs1 said:
Okay, I have been having a lot of problems kegging. I am new to kegging my homebrew and am having absolutely no luck. First, I tried priming a stout with corn sugar, and it didn't care at all. Now, I hooked an IPA to my CO2 tank, but after a day of force carbing it, the CO2 tank is empty.

I bought my corny kegs from Michigan Brewing Company, those have to be good, right? What am I doing wrong?

I know this seems like a stupid question, but I am new to this and have a lot to learn. My CO2 tank is only 2 1/2 lbs. Is it too small, or is there a leak somewhere? Also, is my IPA ruined now that I had CO2 going into it, but nothing now? It is just sitting in my kegerator...

HELP PLEASE! This is so frustrating, I am ruining too many good batches of beer and a lot of time to this.

Kegging problems as you get the hang of it can be so frustrating...I remember those days. Hang in there...pretty soon you'll e able to do it in your sleep.

Couple questions to help diagnose:

1. What is your force carbing technique.
2. What are the condition of your seals and O-Rings on keg?
3. When you set your PSI on your CO2 tank, does it stay at a constant PSI or slowly drop?

2.5 lbs should last you maybe 10 kegs (rough estimate) so I'm guessing there is a leak somewhere (either in the CO2 tank/lines or the keg)....unless you pumped 2.5 lbs of CO2 into that one keg of beer and it is now extremely overcarbonated!
 
So I take it there is a leak somewhere? I also read that maybe it could be a 1-way top?

I don't know, this is all so frustrating to me. Thank you for the help otherwise I'd be lost.

Is my IPA ruined (the one that I tried to force carb but it leaked...)

I doubt anything is ruined.

When you get your tank re-filled, what you can do is hook it up and pressurize a keg. Then spray soapy water (or starsan solution, if you have it) on everything that could possibly leak. It will bubble up like crazy around leaky points.
 
Kegging problems as you get the hang of it can be so frustrating...I remember those days. Hang in there...pretty soon you'll e able to do it in your sleep.

Couple questions to help diagnose:

1. What is your force carbing technique.
2. What are the condition of your seals and O-Rings on keg?
3. When you set your PSI on your CO2 tank, does it stay at a constant PSI or slowly drop?

2.5 lbs should last you maybe 10 kegs (rough estimate) so I'm guessing there is a leak somewhere (either in the CO2 tank/lines or the keg)....unless you pumped 2.5 lbs of CO2 into that one keg of beer and it is now extremely overcarbonated!

1) I talked to someone at MBC and they recommended that I just set my tank at 12 PSI for about 3 days then turn it down to 3 and it should be good to drink. That seemed like a little too "hands-off", but I believed it.

2) The O-rings look good, although I am not sure what I am looking for.

3) the pressure stays constant - I watched it for a few minutes then left it overnight. The next morning it read 0 PSI.
 
Walker said:
When priming with sugar, put the lid on, attach the gas and wait until you hear the gas stop flowing. Should take only a few seconds. Then you can disconnect the gas and set the keg to the side.

For the forced carbed keg, you just connect the gas and leave it connected until the beer is ready to drink.

I just want to add that I have a couple of kegs that require about 30 psi to initially seat the top so keep that in mind. Don't put just 10 psi on it to seal it initially otherwise you will lose all you gas waiting for it.

No I don't think your beer is ruined. Just keep it closed up. Before putting the gas back on it submerge your entire gas line assembly and manifold under water with the gas turned on and fix any leaks you find before useing it. Do not submerge the regulator assembly.

After that get a solution of soapy water in a spray bottle. Next attach the gas line to the keg in question and pressurize it. Then spray the connections at the keg and the requlator to see if it is making bubbles. Fix those leaks and you should be good to go.
 
I love this forum, you guys are awesome! I owe you all a beer if you're ever in East Lansing, hopefully it is straight from my kegerator!
 
One last thing, how long should I keep it on 30PSI? Should I roll it around too?

You will get all sorts of answers on this one, but this is my process.

Connect Gas to Fluid OUT, Crank to 30PSI.
Wait until bubbling sound has stopped.
Pick up corny (gas line attached still) and shake, turn it upside down several times in the process.
Look for any leaks while it's upside down.
Continue for 30-45 seconds
Set down wait for sounds to subside.
repeat the shaking and resting cycle one or two more times.
DC the gas line and put the keg - without any connections in the fridge for at least 2 days. After 2 days the pressure in the keg should be around 12-15 PSI, which is close to my serving pressure.

I usually trip the vent briefly before connecting the lines. If there is pressure in the keg at the 2 day mark then the keg is pretty sound and you don't have to worry about CO2 loss. If it's flat then you've got a slow leak and will need to either fix or swap kegs and start the cycle over. 2-3 flat and recarb cycles won't ruin a beer. Much more than that and you will have stripped a lot of character from it.
 
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