Co2 questions

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veedub

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I just finished building my keezer and put the first beer in it last night. A couple questions on Co2. I have my 10lb bottle inside the keezer right now which is at about 38 degrees. When I picked up the gas it was on a loading dock at the welding shop and it was 90 degrees out. When I put the regulator on it was 1100psi. After cooling the gas down in the keezer the gauge reads 700psi. I can't hear a gas leak anywhere and soaped the connections is this kind of pressure drop normal with a drastic temp drop?

I have forgotten my second question so that's it for now :mug:
 
Completely normal. Gas pressure (of any gas) tends to drop significantly with temp drops, and rise with temp increases. It's why we buy gas by the pound, instead of by PSI.
 
Thanks that's what I thought, the fact that I am not bordering on the red zone of the regulator (700) just made me wonder.
 
I have seen this chart in various forms all over the web what I can't find is how it converts to time and if this is effected by pressure as well. Right now I have the keezer at 36* ( the warmest I can get it with the free thermostat mod) and have the gas at 10 psi how long can I except for a slow carbing method at these temps/pressure?
 
veedub said:
I have seen this chart in various forms all over the web what I can't find is how it converts to time and if this is effected by pressure as well. Right now I have the keezer at 36* ( the warmest I can get it with the free thermostat mod) and have the gas at 10 psi how long can I except for a slow carbing method at these temps/pressure?

I can't give you a length of time, but I can tell you that co2 absorbs much better at colder temps.

I can typically carb a 5 gallon corney at 38F in ~6 days to 2.5 volumes. Likewise it takes me about two weeks to equally carb at room temp ~68F.
 
If you THINK you have a gas leak, then there's a simple way to find out. Charge the system with gas, remove the gas lines from the kegs (pull the disconnects off the kegs, leave the disconnects on the lines) and then turn off the tank. Mark where the high pressure gauge reads and then walk away. Check on it in 30-60 minutes. If the needle hasn't moved, let it go overnight. If it still hasn't moved, let it go to the same time tomorrow. If it still hasn't moved, you're leak free. If it has moved, then you need to hunt down the leak and fix it.

I just went through this exercise myself. It took charging my system to over 20psi before I discovered I had a leak. I've spent the past few hours checking, tightening, and changing connections. I'm 99.5% sure the system is leak free now. I'm simply letting it go a bit longer before I certify it as leak free. If you charge your system (off the kegs) to 20-30 psi, any leak should become very evident. Even more so if you turn off the tank once charged.

I also experienced the high pressure gauge display difference at different ambient temperatures. When I first put my CO2 tank in the fridge, I thought I had a major leak since it dropped a few hundred PSI. Come to find out, I didn't... I've since placed the tank outside the fridge, running through a bulkhead fitting. It's a bit more work to setup, initially, but at least I can easily see where the tank pressure is.

BTW, BobbyM has a thread about carbonating kegs on gas... I would suggest reading it. Very useful information as to the different techniques to carbonating in kegs (with gas)...
 
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