Can I just bleed the gas off an overcarbed keg...

petep1980 · Oct 22, 2009

And after a week, just add pressure again. I have two kegs I primed with (4) full ounces and they are impossible to serve. Can I just disconnect the serving CO2, bleed daily for a week or so, then add pressure again.

I'm sure this isn't optimal, but any serving pressure over 2psi is 90% foam, and anything less is too slow to fill.

I'm not in a rush with either keg anyways, and neither need to be award winning or anything.

Walker · Oct 22, 2009

How long are your tap lines?

petep1980 · Oct 22, 2009

Walker-san said:
How long are your tap lines?

My tap lines are 6 feet long.

Walker · Oct 22, 2009

I see no problem with bleeding the gas off to get it back into proper carb levels and then re-connecting the gas.

I asked about the tap hoses because it seemed odd that you were getting foam at 2psi.

petep1980 · Oct 22, 2009

Can you explain the significance of the length of the tap line? I have been able to gather that short is bad.

JesseRC · Oct 22, 2009

Have you given the kegs time to cool to serving temp? The line length creates resistance to drop the keg pressure down in the line. Using 3/16" ID at 10 feet should work well.

Walker · Oct 22, 2009

JesseRC said:
Have you given the kegs time to cool to serving temp? The line length creates resistance to drop the keg pressure down in the line. Using 3/16" ID at 10 feet should work well.

Yup. I set my tank at 10 psi and leave it there all the time. With 10 foot tap lines, the beer comes out just fine.

wildwest450 · Oct 22, 2009

This question has already been answered in another thread on the same topic.

wildwest450 said:
I would bleed all pressure out of tank and re-bleed every hour or so for a while. Depending on the beer type, you should be serving at around 10-12 psi, that's 2.3-2.4 volumes of C02.

Walker · Oct 22, 2009

wildwest450 said:
This question has already been answered in another thread on the same topic.

What's your point?

wildwest450 · Oct 22, 2009

Walker-san said:
What's your point?

The point is he's been given the proper advice for his situation. There's no need to ask it seven different ways. He overcarbed his beer, and it needs to be de-gassed, it's that simple.

Walker · Oct 22, 2009

Ah, I see. Another post on same topic from same person. I thought you were just chastising him for not searching (which seemed a bit harsh), but if he already asked the question before, your response makes sense.

:mug:

wildwest450 · Oct 22, 2009

Walker-san said:
Ah, I see. Another post on same topic from same person. I thought you were just chastising him for not searching (which seemed a bit harsh), but if he already asked the question before, your response makes sense.

My bad, that's what i meant. He obviously didn't believe the advice he was given.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/too-much-foam-6psi-naturally-carbed-keg-142768/

petep1980 · Oct 22, 2009

I asked again because I was confused by the other thread, and I wanted to get something clarified.

I didn't know there was a limit to my $25/year subscription.

wildwest450 · Oct 22, 2009

petep1980 said:
I asked again because I was confused by the other thread, and I wanted to get something clarified.

I didn't know there was a limit to my $25/year subscription.

All you had to do was ask in the other thread. There's no need for duplicate threads, if the mods see them they will merge the two. It's a simple matter of space. :mug:

petep1980 · Oct 22, 2009

My last question in that thread went unanswered.

JesseRC · Oct 22, 2009

Well your unanswered question has nothing to do with "how to bleed the pressure" but Here is a sticky from the kegging section , I hope it helps. I'd focus on getting the beer back to normal carb levels befor you try too many things. Over carbonation, warm lines, short lines, warm beer will cause foaming.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sticky-kegging-faqs-43347/

JohnnyO · Oct 22, 2009

You should have no trouble bleeding off the pressure like that over a week-span. I had to do something similar. I had ridiculous foaming issues. I was getting all foam come out like a shotgun. pint glass was filling up with foam in just about 2 seconds.

I tried everything. First thought the keg had frozen, so I thawed it, and tried again only to get the same result. Next, I went from 5' lines to 10' lines. That didn't work either. I tried a different faucet because the beer in the lines didn't look to be foamy. That wasn't it either.

I finally bled all of the pressure off over a week or so until it was de-carbonated. I turned the gas all the way down to 0 on the regulator. I turned it up just enough to push the beer through, and it came out fine.

What my problem was was a bum regulator. The gauge read 12 PSI, but the regulator's diaphragm was busted, so I don't even know how much pressure is/was going in. Because of this, I need a new regulator, but until I can afford one, I am just using minimal pressure on the keg. Its still a little over pressured, but its working. 1st pint is about 3/4 foam. Any after the first comes out fine.

Not saying this is what your issue is, but just gives you something to think about. Start with your beer line length and work from there.

Good luck.

springer · Oct 22, 2009

JohnnyO said:
You should have no trouble bleeding off the pressure like that over a week-span. I had to do something similar. I had ridiculous foaming issues. I was getting all foam come out like a shotgun. pint glass was filling up with foam in just about 2 seconds.

I tried everything. First thought the keg had frozen, so I thawed it, and tried again only to get the same result. Next, I went from 5' lines to 10' lines. That didn't work either. I tried a different faucet because the beer in the lines didn't look to be foamy. That wasn't it either.

I finally bled all of the pressure off over a week or so until it was de-carbonated. I turned the gas all the way down to 0 on the regulator. I turned it up just enough to push the beer through, and it came out fine.

What my problem was was a bum regulator. The gauge read 12 PSI, but the regulator's diaphragm was busted, so I don't even know how much pressure is/was going in. Because of this, I need a new regulator, but until I can afford one, I am just using minimal pressure on the keg. Its still a little over pressured, but its working. 1st pint is about 3/4 foam. Any after the first comes out fine.

Not saying this is what your issue is, but just gives you something to think about. Start with your beer line length and work from there.

Good luck.

I rebuilt all of mine the parts were cheap. I called Rapids wholesale because mine wasn't on their site and the girl just asked make and model # 3 days I had four rebuild kits . They were about 4 bucks each and it was easy to do.

Windigstadt · Oct 22, 2009

petep1980 said:
Can you explain the significance of the length of the tap line? I have been able to gather that short is bad.

I'll let somebody else correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the longer the hose, the more time the beer has to adjust from the high-pressure environment of the keg to atmospheric pressure. Rapid changes in pressure contribute to foaming and proper-length hose allows the beer to adjust before hitting your glass.

JohnnyO · Oct 22, 2009

springer said:
I rebuilt all of mine the parts were cheap. I called Rapids wholesale because mine wasn't on their site and the girl just asked make and model # 3 days I had four rebuild kits . They were about 4 bucks each and it was easy to do.

Really? I gotta look into this. I assumed this was something I couldn't do.
Thanks!

springer · Oct 22, 2009

Windigstadt said:
I'll let somebody else correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the longer the hose, the more time the beer has to adjust from the high-pressure environment of the keg to atmospheric pressure. Rapid changes in pressure contribute to foaming and proper-length hose allows the beer to adjust before hitting your glass.

thats my understanding also . but you also have to take into account the head height of the tap or how much higher the tap is than the keg.

JohnnyO said:
Really? I gotta look into this. I assumed this was something I couldn't do.
Thanks!

The kit is nothing but a o-ring the diaphragm and the seat. Took all of a couple of minutes to do each one.

Can I just bleed the gas off an overcarbed keg...

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