No Beer??

I kegged 2 batches at once last week. I switched the gas back and forth betwinxt the 2 for several days; starting @ 20 psi and dropping to 12. Anyway, I ran outta gas after 3 days (I don't think that I had the regulator tightened enough on the gas bottle). I hooked up a new bottle today, and figured that I'd give each batch a taste test, but I can't get any beer out of either keg..no matter what PSI I apply to the regulator (sorry if this seems noob-ish, but this is my first attempt at kegging). Do I need to give each keg a few days?? Have I clogged the dip tubes with trub - sh*t?? If I pull the pressure relief pin on the top of the keg, it's obviously super-pressurrized. HELP...I wanna taste my beer.

What are you using for a tap? Do you get air, or nothing at all, out of both?

You have the gas turned on, and the valves (if you have any) opened, and gas goes into the keg? What about after you open the pressure relief valve- do you hear gas hissing into the kegs?

did you dry hop in your kegs? did you transfer anything into the kegs that could have clogged the diptube?

Yeah...I hear gas rush into the keg. I got a dirty dribble outta the picnic tap; full of mucky stuff like you'd expect.....then nothing. I ran water from the sink through the open picnic tap, so I know that is not clogged. The 2 batches are very different; one is an IPA that probably has a lot of hop remnants; but the other is a Trippel that was secondaried, and is quite clear. I can't get anything out of either.

Gropo said:

Yeah...I hear gas rush into the keg. I got a dirty dribble outta the picnic tap; full of mucky stuff like you'd expect.....then nothing. I ran water from the sink through the open picnic tap, so I know that is not clogged. The 2 batches are very different; one is an IPA that probably has a lot of hop remnants; but the other is a Trippel that was secondaried, and is quite clear. I can't get anything out of either.

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Ok, that is really weird. The IPA could be clogged with hops debris, but not the tripel. What I would do now is take off the "out" post on one of the kegs (turn off the gas, and pull the pressure relief valve first. Trust me on this!) Pull out the diptube and hold it up to the light, and push the poppit valve out of the post and see if there is much crud and stuff. If so, you've found the problem.

If not, I'm just not sure what else to try. Make sure your black quick disconnects are snapped down really tight. They should "snap" on well.

you sure you have the co2 on the inlet and the picnic taps on the outlet?

baybrewer said:

you sure you have the co2 on the inlet and the picnic taps on the outlet?

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Yep...sure of that. I'll try Yoopers suggestion. These are old "hand me down" kegs. I thought that I cleaned them rally well with PBW and a dip tube brush, but maybe the poppet valves are clogged?? (although I disassembled and cleaned them well too) F***!!! I really don't want to lose these beers; they both tasted REALLY good coming out of the carboy.

Gropo said:

Yep...sure of that. I'll try Yoopers suggestion. These are old "hand me down" kegs. I thought that I cleaned them rally well with PBW and a dip tube brush, but maybe the poppet valves are clogged?? (although I disassembled and cleaned them well too) F***!!! I really don't want to lose these beers; they both tasted REALLY good coming out of the carboy.

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Ok, one last wild thought- when you took them apart, is there any chance you mixed up some of the parts? Like, the diptube on the wrong side? That's about all I can think of that would affect both kegs equally.

Yooper_Brew said:

Ok, one last wild thought- when you took them apart, is there any chance you mixed up some of the parts? Like, the diptube on the wrong side? That's about all I can think of that would affect both kegs equally.

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Nope....there are on the correct sides. Is it possible that something in the quick connect of the "tap" side is set up incorrectly?? Clogging the release of the beer? I can get water to flow through the hose of the picnic tap, but not through the stubby "quick connect" part.

Gropo said:

Nope....there are on the correct sides. Is it possible that something in the quick connect of the "tap" side is set up incorrectly?? Clogging the release of the beer? I can get water to flow through the hose of the picnic tap, but not through the stubby "quick connect" part.

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But for both of them? You can try taking apart the black quick disconnect. Do it over a white piece of paper, though- there is a mini, tiny gasket in there that you may never find again (trust me!). There is a slot on top that fits a flat-head screwdriver perfectly. Inside is a plastic pin, a spring, and that little o-ring gasket around the opening.

If you have another keg, you could always play around with that one and some water to get a feel for the whole thing. That might give you some ideas about stuff to look for on the beer kegs.

And don't worry, you won't lose the beer. You'll find the issue eventually, and worst case you would rack to a bottling bucket and bottle it.

Are the kegs frozen? I froze one of mine one time and nothing came out while the others poured just fine.

It is completely vexing me. Last night I managed to get one, single glass of Tripel out of one of the kegs. The beer was nicely carbed, and poured normally. "woo hoo" I thought. Tried to pour another........nothing; not even gas. I've had the gas on the IPA all night; nothing comes out of the tap. When I remove the tap quick-release, a small amount of beer is sitting on the poppet, and inside the tap quick release. I'm stumped...and it's probably something really stupid and simple.

devilishprune said:

Are the kegs frozen? I froze one of mine one time and nothing came out while the others poured just fine.

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+1. I froze a keg of ESB a while back and this is exactly what happened to me. I knew there was still beer in the keg, but got nothing when I opened the tap.




...Although now that I think about it, I believe I still got C02...so maybe it's not a frozen keg...

The temp in the kezzer is holding steady @ 39. I'm thinking that it has to be the tap side quick-release fitting. I mail ordered this set-up and specified for a corny, but maybe it's a Firestone fitting?

Gropo said:

The temp in the kezzer is holding steady @ 39. I'm thinking that it has to be the tap side quick-release fitting. I mail ordered this set-up and specified for a corny, but maybe it's a Firestone fitting?

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Those black quick-disconnects for ball-lock kegs are all the same.

Did you check the temperature at the bottom of the kegs in the keezer? My kegerator said "40" but at the very bottom, it was 30, and I had a frozen keg. No beer poured out.

UPDATE!
Clogged picnic tap was the culprit. I disassemble the quick-connect, gave it a super wash, and hop fragments busted loose. Got another oz or 2 of IPA out before it clogged with trub again. I took it apart and gave it another thorough cleaning; hooked it up to the Trippel, and the Trippel pours great.
So my new question is: If I take the dip tube out of the IPA and rinse all the crap out of it, do I need to sanitize it before putting it back into the keg, or is a water rinse OK??
Thanks so much to everyone who has helped me try and solve this.....this forum rocks.