new to kegging and a problem

So I've racked my beer into my Cornelius keg. pressurized to 30 psi... blown of three times... let it sit for 3 days and blew it off again. Recarbonated to 12 PSI and no beer... it just trickles out.

The beer I racked had a lot of spent hop and trube but i thought I got most of it out when I siphoned to the keg.

any thoughts???

Just a thought. Don't have a clue if this will work.

I have all pin lock kegs and I'm assuming you have ball lock.

Is it possible to put the gas on the liquid out post to see if it is clogged and to try and blow the crap out of it?

I wouldn't be able to do this with my pin lock kegs, and I've never had ball lock kegs so it you can't disregard my suggestion.

Oh, and welcome by the way.

yeah, why do you keep bleeding it off? not only has your beer not had time to carbonate but even when it does you will probably need some pressure on the keg to push out beer.

if you are confidant that your system doesnt have any leaks, leave the gas on 10 psi or so for 2-3 weeks and serve, leaving the co2 on as you continue to draw off your beer.


if you are worried about leaks, (which are common and even a little one can deplete your tank) do the real force carb method of actively shaking the corny while its at 30psi. its takes minimum an hour of active shaking. and then while its ok to bleed off the headspace, you will most likely still need some co2 pressure from the tank to serve.

this is why i prime with dextrose even in kegs. set it and forget it.

If you keep 12 PSI on the keg and only get a trickle, then sounds like the dip tube might be clogged.

To back track for a sec ... when you hit with 30 PSI, that is good to seal the lid properly. If you are trying to force carb, you need to leave the C02 on the keg. Releasing the valve is done to clear the headspace of oxygen left from racking. For more info on force carbing, you can run a search on this forum.

I've never had a clog like that.. If you have a bunch of hops and whatnot in your keg, then sounds like it'll just get reclogged unless you do something about it (like rack to another keg, leaving the schmeckle behind).

Terry_Sol said:

If you keep 12 PSI on the keg and only get a trickle, then sounds like the dip tube might be clogged.

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I was thinking the same thing. What type of beer is it? In the past I've had hop leafs clog my poppet on the out tube. I had to de-pressurize, unscrew the posts, clean, and reattach everything.

wreckinball9 said:

this is why i prime with dextrose even in kegs. set it and forget it.

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I don't understand why people do this. If you're setting adn forgetting, this will carb your beer, No need for the sugar.
I just rack my beer in, turn gas to 6-14 psi depending on beer and carb level wanted and check back in two weeks to draw a pint.

Sounds like a clogged dip tube to me as well.

I use a secondary which gets most everything out before I rack. When I rack I use a racking cane that has the little end on it that keeps crap from egtting sucked up. Oh, and the tube may not be clogged, but the poppet. The tube has more area for something to pass through. The poppet has less area for crud to pass through.

Also not sure why the need to blow off 3 times. Should only need once and only for a split second. The beer will absorb the CO2 and if you set the regulator at 10 it will keep absorbing for a while.

Since I've recently made this mistake I'll chime in. Are you sure you have the gas in and the tap out on the right connections? Easy way to check would be to open the keg and see if the connection to the tap has a long tube below it going to the bottom of the keg... Just a though and probably not the case but hey worth a look.

kip said:

Since I've recently made this mistake I'll chime in. Are you sure you have the gas in and the tap out on the right connections? Easy way to check would be to open the keg and see if the connection to the tap has a long tube below it going to the bottom of the keg... Just a though and probably not the case but hey worth a look.

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I thought on Ball locks you could not get them confused as they are slightly different connectors. Unless of course the actual lines from the keg are backwards. Aren't all kegs marked "IN" / "OUT"?

Just a thought.

As for the slow trickle....... If you got enough sediment into the tube, it would restrict or stop the flow, I believe.

Salute!

Possible, if he switched the dip tubes by accident. If that's not it, disassemble and clean, or try hitting your out tube with CO2 to remove obstructions (but it will be back in your beer again).

IrregularPulse said:

I don't understand why people do this. If you're setting adn forgetting, this will carb your beer, No need for the sugar.
I just rack my beer in, turn gas to 6-14 psi depending on beer and carb level wanted and check back in two weeks to draw a pint.

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'cause im not willing to waste a whole tank of co2 if there is a tiny leak somewhere.

wreckinball9 said:

'cause im not willing to waste a whole tank of co2 if there is a tiny leak somewhere.

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So check your connection for leaks with a soapy water solution. I'd rather be confident KNOWING I had a properly set up systems than not check and do unnecessary work every time just in case. Everyone has their ways though.

About if not being possible to switch ball lock connectors. It is very possible. You can cram the gas on a beer fitting. You'll know you got it wrong when you try and take it back off. But what he was referring to the actual posts that slip down into the posts. The long and short could be reversed.