CO2 pressure jumped after being gone for a few days

[Tx911guy]

I had my new kegerator pouring pretty damn good, 1st pour had a little more head than I would like but the next ones were perfect!

Saint Arnold Lawnmower 2.65 v/v
beer temp was 35*
Co2 at 11 psi

left town for a few days come home to find CO2 at 23 psi pushing nothing but foam!

what causes this? Cheap regulator? Beer temp get too cold? I can even get a pour without foam to measure beer temp.
I opened the set valve on the regulator to zero pressure and bleed the pressure off and reset pressure at 10 psi but still get all foam.

Any ideas?
Do I need to bleed the coupler valve too?

sorry for all the newbie question.

 

[day_trippr]

If you set your regulator back to your original 11 psi and your keg is still blowing foam the carbonation likely rose significantly. The easiest thing to do is to turn off the CO2 supply and latch the PRV open (if it's a ball lock keg) for an entire day. Then close the PRV, put some pressure on the keg and see how it pours. Repeat as needed until the keg is tamed.

As to why this happened, it'd be pure speculation at this point due to lack of data. Though one thing you can rule out is the "beer got too cold" .
Now that you've reset the pressure, if it stays put then it's a straight-out head-scratcher. Otoh, if it starts drifting up, then we'll have something to investigate...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Did the regulator pressure drift up in your absence? That would not be normal. Keep an eye on that.

Your beer is over-carbonated now, hence the foamy pours. Here's how you can fix it:

1. Set the regulator to 11 psi.
2. Pull the PRV valve on your keg to depressurize the keg somewhat. It should start filling up again.
3. Pull the PRV again. Make a mental note of the "amount of hiss" when you pull it, as a guide to what 11 psi sounds like.
4. Disconnect the tank from your keg.
5. Keep pulling the PRV valve on your keg a few times a day to release the pressure. When it sounds like it's back to around 10-12 psi, it should be back to normal. Depending on how much headspace there's in the keg, it may take 2-4 days.
6. Reconnect the tank set at 11 psi. All good to go.

 

[IslandLizard]

Could your tank being almost empty have something to do with the pressure creeping up? Lift it up.

See this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/tank-running-low-high-pressure.681311/

 

[Velnerj]

There's supposedly a quick fix for overcarbed kegs here: Overcarbed Keg? Here's an INSTANT SOLUTION!

I cannot personally verify but the participants of that thread are raving about it.

 

[Qhrumphf]

If the regulator pressure climbed without intervention, bad regulator is the first place I'd look.

Had you just done some HEAVY draw through the regulator? Like liquid purged a whole keg at fairly high pressure or something like that? I've often noticed frozen up regulators being unpredictable, and if it wasn't thawed out at your 11psi I could see that maybe causing it.