keg pressure dropped overnight

Kegged my first brew yesterday, set the keg psi to 10 psi. Checked this morning and it was at 5 psi. My question is, is this normal for a keg to drop pressure like this. Shouldn't it stay where i set it? This is brand new equipment and maybe there is a break in/adjustment phase it goes through???

You set your regulator output gauge at 10psi but overnight it moved down to 5psi?

As you set your regulator output make sure you bleed off pressure from the lines either at the regulator (if you have a relief valve) or at the keg. I've had similar problems and realized that you have to bleed the pressure off as you are setting the psi output when lowering the psi. I'm not sure this is necessary if you are raising the psi.

Or, maybe I'm doing it wrong too...

You don't have a leak, otherwise you would be at zero. On mine, I have to dial down and then dial up to the right pressure. If I just dial down then the pressure goes down as the line pressure is absorbed into the beer.

In other words, no problem just dial up to the pressure you want.

well it has been three days now and each morning i've had to dial the pressure back up a few times. each time it seems to drop less and less. I thought all you had to do is "set and forget". It is kind of annoying to have to adjust the pressure everyday.

Do you do keep gas line on continuously don't you. If you put it at ten then close it, the CO2 will absorb into the beer and the pressure will drop.

i leave the gas on all the time.

I had this same problem over the weekend. it usually stops after 3 days and stays at whatever pressure i want, i only notice it when im carbing up the keg the first time.

If this is the first time the regulator has been chilled down, the spring inside contracts and lowers the set pressure. It should stabilize after a couple days.

Bobby beat me to it. I've owned 4 CO2 regulators, all low-pressure (2 for aquariums, 2 for beer dispensing).
all 4 had a bit of a break-in on the springs/insidey parts. after a little adjusting, they all began to hold a stable psi, and after being swapped a new CO2 cylinder months later, didn't need to break-in again.

also if it was 10psi and then you cooled down the tank, that produces less internal pressure, which could drop your regulator psi a little too (not 100% on this as gas-physics wasn't a class I took in college )

ahhhh ok, thanks for the info guys.

I'm experiencing this same phenomenon with my first keg.

I'll report back if my problem solves. OP did your problem solve, for future googlers?

sorry to highjack this thread but I'm having a similar problem. I just built my first kegerator and I'm worried about leaks. I've done a soapy water test and didn't see any bubbles. I pressurized the manifold and then cut off the gas supply and left it overnight. by morning it has no pressure. It is connected to 2 corny kegs. This thread mentions that the beer will absorb the co2. Are there any other ways to check besides letting the system do it's thing?

Leave the gas on for 24 hours, if you have a leak the tank will be empty. If you still have pressure after 24 hours you can be confident you don't have a leak. I get my tank filled for 3 dollars at the local beer distributor so it's a cheap test.

ensano said:

sorry to highjack this thread but I'm having a similar problem. I just built my first kegerator and I'm worried about leaks. I've done a soapy water test and didn't see any bubbles. I pressurized the manifold and then cut off the gas supply and left it overnight. by morning it has no pressure. It is connected to 2 corny kegs. This thread mentions that the beer will absorb the co2. Are there any other ways to check besides letting the system do it's thing?

Click to expand...

If you suspect the manifold, I'd pressurize it and dunk the whole thing. Dunk all the connected pressurized gas and liquid posts too. It makes it trivial to spot leaks. I find it's still possible to miss small leaks with the soapy water method.