Kegging - How much gas should it use?

CornyKegs 728
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jett78

jett78

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I kegged for my first time yesterday and followed the directions from the beer supplier. I had a full CO2 tank, just below the end of the green on the dial. I carbonated, released, repressurized at 8 PSI, sit overnight, now my gas shows at the bottom of the green area, (I'm able to look at it right now to get the number). I thought there may be a leak, so I started pouring some sanitized water around seal locations and saw no bubbles.

Is this normal? Seems like a lot of gas was used. (5 gal tank, 5 gal corny keg).

Also, after the "tapping" pressure is done, does the valve need to remain on?
 
The "full" meter will go down once it gets colder, I assume it's in your kegerator. Leave the pressure sit at 8psi for serving.
 
You can't tell how much gas is in the tank by the high pressure gauge. It will drop in pressure when refrigerated, but by the time it really starts dropping you're basically out of gas. CO2 liquefies under pressure - and as long as there is some liquid left in the tank it will have a certain amount of pressure at a certain temperature. Once the liquid is gone you're just using up the remaining pressure in the tank (which on a small tank won't last long).

Next time you get the tank filled, weigh it before hooking it up. Then if you want to know how much is left, weigh it again. Once it's lost almost 5 lbs you need a refill. It's really the only way to know how much CO2 you have in the tank.
 
ifishsum said:
You can't tell how much gas is in the tank by the high pressure gauge. It will drop in pressure when refrigerated, but by the time it really starts dropping you're basically out of gas. CO2 liquefies under pressure - and as long as there is some liquid left in the tank it will have a certain amount of pressure at a certain temperature. Once the liquid is gone you're just using up the remaining pressure in the tank (which on a small tank won't last long).

Next time you get the tank filled, weigh it before hooking it up. Then if you want to know how much is left, weigh it again. Once it's lost almost 5 lbs you need a refill. It's really the only way to know how much CO2 you have in the tank.
Click to expand...


+1 Ditto to everything.
 
ifishsum said:
Next time you get the tank filled, weigh it before hooking it up. Then if you want to know how much is left, weigh it again. Once it's lost almost 5 lbs you need a refill. It's really the only way to know how much CO2 you have in the tank.
Click to expand...

There should be a tare weight stamped on the tank (TW followed by a number, I think). Then you can keep track without having to wait for your next fill up.
 

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