I am horrible at kegging

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dipflop

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I'm very frustrated and have no clue what to do. I finally got all my kegging equipment and set up my kegerator. I tested my keg for leaks using the dunk in bath tub technique and everything looked fine. After i siphoned my home brew i connected the gas line set the regulator at 25 psi to seal the lid and then dropped it down to 12 and let sit for a week to carbonate. Last night i was hoping to tap my first glass of kegged homebrew and nothing came out of the tap. I pulled the pressure release valve and opened up the keg to see if the beer was even carbonated and it wasn't. Should i be having this much trouble with this? Any tips or advice is much appreciated.
 
This sucks. Your keg might not be the problem. Make sure you have co2 left and make yourself a nice mixture of dish soap and water and get a bbq brush. Brush this solution all over the top of your corny (lid, posts, etc.) and all over where your hoses connect to your tank, regulator, etc. Any place there's a 'connection.'

Sounds like your keg is fine, but you still have a leak somewhere. On the other hand, kegs can be very finicky. I always have to play around with the pressure relief valve on my corny lid to get it to seat properly.

dipflop said:
I'm very frustrated and have no clue what to do. I finally got all my kegging equipment and set up my kegerator. I tested my keg for leaks using the dunk in bath tub technique and everything looked fine. After i siphoned my home brew i connected the gas line set the regulator at 25 psi to seal the lid and then dropped it down to 12 and let sit for a week to carbonate. Last night i was hoping to tap my first glass of kegged homebrew and nothing came out of the tap. I pulled the pressure release valve and opened up the keg to see if the beer was even carbonated and it wasn't. Should i be having this much trouble with this? Any tips or advice is much appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
If you let it sit for a week and the beer is totally flat and the keg was not under any pressure at all, then you should check and see if the CO2 bottle has any gas left in it.
 
A. Is there CO2 in the tank?
B. Did you leave the tank connected for a week?
C. Did you chill it during carbonation?

Some people get the impression you pressurize once and that will do it. You have to leave it connected at serving pressure and temperature to get the correct carbonation.
 
When i got the regulator the shutoff valve was all the way to the right. After i had everything connected and set the psi i turned it all the way to the left. The gauge on the regulator for the co2 tank is at about 600 and i left the tank connected for the entire week in the fridge at serving temp.
 
dipflop said:
When i got the regulator the shutoff valve was all the way to the right. After i had everything connected and set the psi i turned it all the way to the left. The gauge on the regulator for the co2 tank is at about 600 and i left the tank connected for the entire week in the fridge at serving temp.
Click to expand...

It should be pointing straight down, in line with the hose.............
 
My first thought is the valve...regulator or manifold. Are they open.

Second thought, If you had a leaky keg, I think you would have noticed some sounds or something more obvious if you lost all gas in one wee.

Third thought, most places don't sell filled CO2 tanks. Is it possbile you took a setup home that didn't have a filled CO2?

If there was no gas in the tank, your tub test wouldn't have shown any signs of leaking.
 
If your shutoff valve is a ball valve and looks anything like these in the photo below, you need to have the valve handle parallel to the tubing, just like they are in the photo.

shut-off-valves.jpg
 
Bernie Brewer said:
OK I'll ask it:

Did you open the little red valve at the base of the regulator to allow gas into the keg??????
Click to expand...
I have to laugh at this... Because I did NOT do this the first time!?!? :drunk:
 
I love this forum. You guys are great. Here a Noob has a problem and every one helped figured it out and no one really razzed his fanny.

I'm impressed. That's what this forum is all about. Another Kegger in the Club.

Welcome DipFlop. To the Kegger Club.

Now don't make the same mistake twice! :D
 
You might want to leave it at 25 psi for a day or two so you can get that beer crabed a bit faster now...that you know how to get the valve opened right.. ;) Then drop down to 12 once it's carbed.

Also, keep in mind the length of your beer lines will reduce flow, so if they are to short then even at 12 psi you will get a lot of foam.
(Premptive strike on the next most commen noob kegging question)

And welcome to the world of fast growing beer gut...er I mean kegging.
 
I discovered the intricacies of liquid flow and valve operation on the highway, with my first motorcycle, at 16....with my girlfriend on the back.... :eek:
 
Henry Hill said:
I discovered the intricacies of liquid flow and valve operation on the highway, with my first motorcycle, at 16....with my girlfriend on the back.... :eek:
Click to expand...

Gotta love the fuel petcock!

I have turned mine ON while on the highway before. lol. Never 2-up tho. :)
 
When it's hooked up correctly, you'll hear it fill the keg with pressure. It's a long, drawn-out grown like you hear from a fat man about to climb a flight of stairs. Also, make sure you have your gas-in (gray) lock on the gas-in post.
 
Thanks for everyone's input. Now that I have the shutoff valve is open I am finally getting pressure into my keg. Now I will leak test everything.

This board is great and has been a big help with all of my homebrewing questions. Thanks again!:)
 
dipflop said:
Thanks for everyone's input. Now that I have the shutoff valve is open I am finally getting pressure into my keg. Now I will leak test everything.

This board is great and has been a big help with all of my homebrewing questions. Thanks again!:)
Click to expand...


Success!!! two more days and it's beer time!!!!
 
Another method would be to force carb it by shaking the bejesus out of it at 30psi till you don't hear it 'Psshhh.'

You'll want to leave it for 24-hours though, instead of pouring straight off after force carbing. (To avoid foamage)

Welcome to the club, you'll never look back! I haven't! :mug:
 

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