Too many CO cartridges in a keg

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traylor1

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I am sure this has been asked before, but I could not find anything.

I am relatively new to kegging my beer. I bought a set of 1 gallon kegs last christmas and have brewed a couple of batches and ran through them. They stay fizzy, but for some reason I go through what seems to be an immense amount of CO cartridges. It is not uncommon to go through 3-4 catrdges per keg. I have heard it should be 1 cartridge per keg.

I called the guy I bought the system from and he told me how to adjust them, which I did. But if I tap a cartridge, I will go to my brew the next night and there is no pressure. Has anyone else experienced this at all?

Randy
 
I might be way off here as I don't use 1G kegs or CO2 chargers but you HAVE to have a leak or something. I use 5G corneys and a 5# tank that pushes full kegs for over a year without a refill (I might not force carb, but YES I DRINK!). OUCH! Try some very soapy water on all fittings and see if you get any bubbles or foam. Like I say, I don't have much experience with your set-up but I believe I have enough to know that "3-4 catrdges per keg" is no where near right. You also did not mention how long they last, you just mention 3-4 per keg (is that over a two year period...:)...?). I imagine 1G goes pretty damn quick... :p ...! Good luck. Rick.
 
I think he means 5 liter kegs.

Your beer should already be carbonated when you tap it. The gas is only for dispensing.

Turn the gas up and hold the keg under water just enough that the base of the tap is under the water and look for air bubbles. If you see any that's where your leak is.

It could be that you damaged your bung when you pulled it out. I've damaged several bungs by using a pair of pliers to remove them from the keg. Chances are you tore the rubber on the topside right near where the bottom of the bung seals inside the keg. Just replace the bung with a new one.

Also, when putting your tap into the keg make sure you "lubricate" the draw tube with some water first.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I think he means 5 liter kegs.

Your beer should already be carbonated when you tap it. The gas is only for dispensing.

Turn the gas up and hold the keg under water just enough that the base of the tap is under the water and look for air bubbles. If you see any that's where your leak is.

It could be that you damaged your bung when you pulled it out. I've damaged several bungs by using a pair of pliers to remove them from the keg. Chances are you tore the rubber on the topside right near where the bottom of the bung seals inside the keg. Just replace the bung with a new one.

Also, when putting your tap into the keg make sure you "lubricate" the draw tube with some water first.
Click to expand...

You are right it is the 5 liter (1.31 gallon) sorry.

I know my last keg had a nasty leak around the draw tube. However, that is not the case on the current keg. Would this be fixed with a new bung? I have had this problem since I bought them new.

Woodstone asked how fast they go, I am finishing a keg in about a week, so yeah, they go pretty quick. But like I said a CO container can be gone in 24 hours.

Randy
 
traylor1 said:
You are right it is the 5 liter (1.31 gallon) sorry. I know my last keg had a nasty leak around the draw tube. However, that is not the case on the current keg. Would this be fixed with a new bung? I have had this problem since I bought them new.
Woodstone asked how fast they go, I am finishing a keg in about a week, so yeah, they go pretty quick. But like I said a CO container can be gone in 24 hours. Randy
Click to expand...
Well, I agree it seems like you have a leak somewhere. I know it may sound basic, but is the gasket missing from your draw tube?
 
I started out with mini-kegs. Nothing but trouble. I'd go through a box of 12 cartridges on four kegs. Never did find the leak. The tap handle finally broke (for the second time) and I switched to cornies.

You can try applying pressure only when you are actually dispensing, it helps a little.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Well, I agree it seems like you have a leak somewhere. I know it may sound basic, but is the gasket missing from your draw tube?
Click to expand...

That is a good question. The draw tube screws on to the tapping device, but there is nor has there ever been a gasket that I see. I did use some plumbers tape where the top of the tube is at the bung. It seemed to help some there in that respect. Where exactly would this gasket be?
 

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