pressure question

So i got my keg in a fridge last night, and started to force carb it. was planning on doing 30 psi for a couple days. got up this morning and the pressure had dropped to 20 psi. could this be because of the cold?

FYI, the keg is inside the fridge, with the CO2 and reg outside. I would think that the reg wouldnt "know" that the keg was cold, and would therefore bump the pressure back up to 30 as it dropped with the temp, assuming that the pressure would even drop because of the cold.

Or do I just have a bad reg?

Maybe your regulator settled a little after you adjusted it? What is your pressure reading on the CO2 tank side?

CO2 tank side is around 800 psi. just checked the keg side again when i got home just now from classes and its down to 18 psi

Regulators are a little temperature sensitive, but not that bad. I'd re-adjust the pressure & see what happens.

I am fairly new to kegging, but my pressure always takes some tinkering. I typically only turn the screw 1/2 turn each time and give it some time. Before I did this, I would turn it up to 12 psi, and a little while later it would be up around 30. Then i would turn it down to 12 psi, and a little while later it would be on 0. So, I think the regulators need a little time to adjust. I have been able to keep my pressure pretty constant by only turning the screw 1/2 to one full to turn each time I adjust it.

i think you may be right, i turned it up to 30 going very slowly, and it has maintained that pressure for the past 4 hours or so. whew, glad to know that everything is working as it should

thanks all for your inputs

I've had a couple non-beverage CO2 regulators do that. its like the valve inside needs to 'break in'...you crank it open but then it pressure closes it up a little so psi drops a hair.

bump it up again, and if it won't hold after a few tries, you might have a messed up regulator.

but i bet it'll correct itself.

I may be wrong but I think it has to do with the fact that as the CO2 is being absorbed by the liquid in the keg, the back pressure on the regulator will change and cause the low pressure side guage to fluctuate in accordance. Right now I have 2 kegs going at 30 psi @ 38 deg F. for two days and the pressure has needed to be adjusted twice. I have my CO2 tank in the freezer with the kegs.