overnight pressure drop - new kegging system

I got my kegartartor assembled, and am performing a dry run using two kegs with 3 gallons of plain water (filled at tap water temps) in them.

No apparent leaks when I hooked everything up. Set the reg to 12 psi, and it dispensed fine. I checked it every hour or so last night, and everything stayed the same. No leaks, no pressure change.

This morning I go and check it, and the water is coming out of the tap much slower. I look at the reg, and the pressure had dropped to 5 psi. I gave the knob a quick turn, it went back to 12 psi, and dispensed fine again.

My question is, is this normal or signifying a problem. Since the temp of the water in the keg went down to 45 overnight, and I'm sure the water absorbed some co2, would that cause the reading on the reg to drop? Do you typically have to make adjustments when putting a new "warm" keg on tap as that keg cools?

I guess it goes without saying, keg newb here.

Info on system:
fridge conversion
brew logic quad keg system from MW
4 way co2 manifold
two taps - picnic taps (not hooked up yet)
two taps - perlicks through the door (being used for the test)

Perhaps it's from the pressure drop in the CO2 bottle? As the gas gets colder, the pressure drops. I've seen bottles go down a couple hundred PSI when they go from warm to fridge temps. I'm not sure whether or not this would drop the regulated output pressure significantly.

At any rate double-check for leaks and keep an eye on it for a day or two.

Can't answer your question exactly, but I had the same experience last night. We seem to be on the same schedule

I put a beer in a keg and hooked it to gas at 13psi. I woke up this morning to check on things and it was down to 10psi. I figure the gas had a chance over sleeping hours to cool down all the way to freezer temperature. I'm not sure that's the answer, but it's all I've got

I can tell already I'll be searching out a bigger CO2 tank soon.

BrewBrain said:

We seem to be on the same schedule
.

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I noticed that also. We seem to be on about the same build schedule, judging by our posts.


As far as the co2 tank temps, the co2 tank was in the fridge 24 hours prior to any keg being hooked to it, so I believe the tanks temp isn't a factor, but can't be positive.

I'll do a starsan spray down of all connections this afternoon to see if any leaks have developed, and report that back to this thread.

As far as the tank pressure, it will be low at refridgeration temps. It's the nature of compressed gasses like Co2. Mine sits around 660 if I remember correctly.

When I first got my regs, they did that annoying pressure drop thing. I've read about break in and that it will get better and hold pressure over time. Mine have gotten much better, especially at lower PSI.

If you have leaks, your pressure post reg shouldn't go down, your Co2 tank should just empty.

Mike

blk94f150 said:

As far as the tank pressure, it will be low at refridgeration temps. It's the nature of compressed gasses like Co2. Mine sits around 660 if I remember correctly.

When I first got my regs, they did that annoying pressure drop thing. I've read about break in and that it will get better and hold pressure over time. Mine have gotten much better, especially at lower PSI.

If you have leaks, your pressure post reg shouldn't go down, your Co2 tank should just empty.

Mike

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that makes me feel a little better. the pressure dropped slightly over the past 6 hours, down to around 10 psi.

I wasn't aware of any break in period, but I can see that.

I did another star san spray down, and it showed no signs of leaks at any of the connections. I'll just keep an eagle eye on it for the next few days. Well I'm off to rack an IPA into a keg to give it a real test now.

Yours is doing exactly what mine did and still does to some degree as it's only on it's 3rd keg. Some say that the springs in the reg need to adjust to the pressure or something.

I freaked when I first had mine, but it's been at least 2 months now and my 5lb tank is still going strong.

Mike

I feel like a perma-noob.

First I knew nothing about brewing, and I felt like a noob.
Learned how to do extract - felt better

Switched to all-grain - felt like a noob again
Got a handful of AG under my belt - felt better

Switched to kegging - damnit here comes that feeling again

Once I get comfortable with kegging, what's next?

stevea1210 said:

Once I get comfortable with kegging, what's next?

Click to expand...

Growing hops. That's what's next for me:rockin:

i just did my keggerator last weekend as well - 4 tap kit from keg connection.
tonight i find a leak at the hose to the tap shank in the fridge at that special clamp they use i can't tighten. i guess i have to cut it off and replace with a hd gear clamp.
i thought they tested these pre-assembled systems to stop this. oh well...
i have been turning off my gas valve at the c02 tank until i am sure everything is working right.

Something that many seem to forget, these kegs were designed to operate at upto 130PSI and whilst we may force carbonate at 30PSI it's nothing like the pressure they're designed to take. Running them at a few PSI often reults in leaks. Hit it with 30PSI to make sure the seals are secure then drop to what you want.

check the lock nut where you adjust the output pressure. if its not held tight in place, little vibrations(like the fridge running) could loosen the screw lowering the pressure. new regulators are notorious for this(i sell tem. i see this once in a while.)

got a call from keg connection today to make sure they sent the right part to fix my problem.
i appreciate that - any place can have a problem and they were quick to make it right.
i recommend them.