Kegging problems!

Hello everyone!

I kegged two beers 3 weeks ago. They have not been hooked up since that. They've been held at 30 psi in a closet. I placed them in the kegerator this morning and this evening I went to hook up the gas line at 10 psi. When I did beer came up the line and into the regulator. An idiot move but I'm new to all of this... so now my questions.

1. Is it safe to assume they are carbonated now?
2. How should I go about hooking everything up so that this doesn't happen again?
3. Any tips on flushing beer out of the regulator without damaging it?

Also, I'm working with a single regulator that's attached to a dual secondary regulator so I can provide two different pressures. If I set the single regulator (attached to the co2 tank) to 10 psi and adjust the dual secondary regulator to 10 and 8 then that will be the pressure applied to the keg. Am I correct on this idea?

I know these topics get worn out, but any help would be very much appreciated.

How did you keep them at 30 psi if they were not hooked up to gas?

I had it hooked up to the tank once it stabilized on 30 psi and disconnected. This was the method that I found when looking for ways to store a keg before tapping it. Also, I forgot to mention... They are corny kegs and a little under 5 gallons. Definitely plenty of head room.

I think the valves on the gas side should have back flow preventers to keep that from happening, right?

alexavery said:

I think the valves on the gas side should have back flow preventers to keep that from happening, right?

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Yes, you need check valves between the kegs and regulator(s).

Brew on

How long did you have them hooked up at 30 psi and at what temp? The carb level at equilibrium would be determined by the temp, it's possible they are undercarbed if it was in a very warm room.

If I understand correctly you have a primary regulator, 2 downstream secondaries, and want to serve 2 kegs at a time at different pressures? And sounds like maybe only room for 2 kegs inside the keezer. To make best use of your equipment for that set up I would keep the tank outside, run a T off the primary regulator, send one line to the secondaries inside the kegerator, and keep the second line outside for carbing. You set the primary to 30 psi (or whatever it takes to carb to your desired level at room temp) then keep your secondaries at your lower serving pressures. You could also run multiple lines off each secondary if you have room for more kegs inside.

As mentioned check valves are good insurance, at minimum I would put one on any line(s) coming directly off a regulator. After carbing at room temp I like to chill the keg for a good 24-48 hrs and then hook it up to the serving tank/line. Out of habit I always purge just before hooking up a keg to a new line.

chickypad said:

How long did you have them hooked up at 30 psi and at what temp? The carb level at equilibrium would be determined by the temp, it's possible they are undercarbed if it was in a very warm room.

If I understand correctly you have a primary regulator, 2 downstream secondaries, and want to serve 2 kegs at a time at different pressures? And sounds like maybe only room for 2 kegs inside the keezer. To make best use of your equipment for that set up I would keep the tank outside, run a T off the primary regulator, send one line to the secondaries inside the kegerator, and keep the second line outside for carbing. You set the primary to 30 psi (or whatever it takes to carb to your desired level at room temp) then keep your secondaries at your lower serving pressures. You could also run multiple lines off each secondary if you have room for more kegs inside.

As mentioned check valves are good insurance, at minimum I would put one on any line(s) coming directly off a regulator. After carbing at room temp I like to chill the keg for a good 24-48 hrs and then hook it up to the serving tank/line. Out of habit I always purge just before hooking up a keg to a new line.

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Good advice!

Brew on

Hello again!

Thanks for the advice so far! To clarify, I placed it at 30 psi and unhooked the gas line. I did this because I've read that this is a way to store kegs before carbing and tapping. This was not done in a fridge but room temp in a closet. I would say around 65 degrees. 3 weeks later, I placed the kegs in the kegerator to cool them down to 36 degrees. I then hooked up the gas lines not thinking about the 30 psi that I had pushed it to before and beer came up my gas line and into the regulator.

I like your suggestions, chickypad! I may rethink how I do it.

Now, at this point since I'm running out of time, I'm thinking about running my gas line from the single regulator into a splitter that then runs to both kegs. Then setting it to 10 psi and hooking up the beer lines to check carbonation level. From there, I'll go about carbing more if I have to. Does this sound feasible? Can I carbonate while the beer lines are hooked up?

Thanks again for such wonderful and friendly advice!

JumpingJ said:

To clarify, I placed it at 30 psi and unhooked the gas line. I did this because I've read that this is a way to store kegs before carbing and tapping.

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It is fine to store kegs this way, I do it from time to time when I want to age something, but it is not going to result in carbonation. That burst of 30 psi is just to seal the keg. IME at 65-75 room temps the CO2 will mostly absorb into the beer but stay pressurized a few psi until I go to put it in the kegerator to carb. Sounds like it was at least enough pressure to back up in your regulator. Even with check valves as I mentioned I think it's good practice to vent the keg then hook up to an already pressurized line whenever swapping out connections.

JumpingJ said:

Now, at this point since I'm running out of time, I'm thinking about running my gas line from the single regulator into a splitter that then runs to both kegs. Then setting it to 10 psi and hooking up the beer lines to check carbonation level. From there, I'll go about carbing more if I have to. Does this sound feasible? Can I carbonate while the beer lines are hooked up?

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I'm not quite sure I understand what you are asking. If you want to carb quickly (burst carb) hook the cold keg up to 30 psi for about 24 hrs then drop it to your serving/equilibrium pressure (sounds like you are using 10 psi). Otherwise for the slower "set and forget" method just hook up the cold keg at the equilibrium pressure - this will take about 2 wks for full carbonation. You can carbonate and serve beer off a single regulator but you'll have to do set and forget and use the same pressure for both kegs. If you want to carb and serve them to 2 different levels that is where you will need a second regulator.

JumpingJ said:

Now, at this point since I'm running out of time, I'm thinking about running my gas line from the single regulator into a splitter that then runs to both kegs. Then setting it to 10 psi and hooking up the beer lines to check carbonation level. From there, I'll go about carbing more if I have to. Does this sound feasible? Can I carbonate while the beer lines are hooked up?

Click to expand...

Yes, splitting your gas line so you can carbonate multiple kegs is pretty standard and fine to do - just know that the kegs will carbonate to the same pressure you set on the regulator. Setting to 10psi is a good set-and-forget carbonation pressure that should result in properly carbonated beer. Yes, you can have serving lines (liquid line, cobra/picnic taps, etc) connected while you are carbing the kegs, and you can even serve the beer while you're carbing your beer (that's one of the benefits of kegging ).