I am totally new to kegging. So, I just finished building my keezer and put two kegs of beer in it this weekend and set it to 15 psi to start carbing. After about 3 days, I dropped it to 10 psi. The problem is that my tank pressure guage is steadily dropping. I have checked every connection for leaks with soapy water and can't find any. Is this normal? I expected some CO2 to go into the kegs but should they keep taking in gas?
How much CO2 to carb kegs?
- Thread starter kbowman
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
LLBeanJ
Well-Known Member
Dropping how much? When at fridge temp, it should settle at a little under 500 psi until it is almost completely empty, at which point it will rapidly drop to zero.
Is the keg in the keezer, or outside? if it's in the keezer, the cold will make your gauge pretty much useless. You might not have a leak. if it's outside I'd go around and tighten any connections and put keg lube on any O-rings.
You should be able to get 7-10 cornies out of a 5-lb co2 tank.
You should be able to get 7-10 cornies out of a 5-lb co2 tank.
At 40*. The kegs (I have two attached together) are in the freezer. It hasn't dropped much. But it definitely dropped. Maybe just being paranoid; I just didn't know what to expect. I didn't think about the o-rings, though. Like I said, first time using kegs.
makokiller
Well-Known Member
You can't go by the full and refill marks.. They can go from full to almost empty real quick. Sounds like you are just fine. A 5 lb tank will last a long time.
The gauge is useless. It'll say "500 psi" for months, until it's gone. And then it will go to 0 in about 10 seconds. Out of the fridge, it'll say "750 psi" instead of "500 psi", but that's the only difference.
CO2 is a liquid, dispensed as a gas. It's sold by weight. That's why a gauge showing pressure is not at all useful.
The only way to know how much co2 you have is to weigh the tank. The tare weight is stamped on it, so you can weigh your tank and know if you're actually losing gas. That's a pain though, because you'd have to take off the regulator to do that. But that's the only way to know how much gas you have left if you really want to know.
Mmmm...good stuff. I have a keg of that in my keezer right now.
Similar threads
