Keg pressure issue after cleaning keezer

[J2W2]

Hi,

I have a 5-keg keezer. It uses a 10lb CO2 tank and a 5lb nitrogen. The nitrogen is a single regulator, single line run into my keezer. The CO2 tank has a dual regulator, with the two lines each running into a three-way manifold in the keezer.

Last weekend I had a new beer to add to my 5-keg keezer. And while I don't always do this, I pulled all the kegs out to weigh them to make sure they contain as much beer as I think (I track beers poured on a log sheet). I put all the kegs next to each other and threw a blanket over them to keep them cold while I cleaned my lines. connectors, checked the keezer over, etc.

When I was ready to load them back in, I found a puddle of stout sitting under them - turns out the poppet on my stout keg was leaking a little under its 30psi and one of my other kegs was doing a slow bubble on the liquid post. I'll need to check my poppets as I cycle these kegs out, but for now I released pressure on all the kegs to make sure they weren't going to do the same thing. I finished my cleaning and put everything back to normal.

Last night I went down to pour a beer from the new keg an noticed it was a little flat. I checked the CO2 tank and saw the two kegs on that line were at just over 10psi - not a huge surprise since the one keg have been carbonating over the week. What did surprise me is my other two CO2 kegs (on the second manifold) were at 30psi and my nitrogen keg was at 35psi.

The 30psi kegs are pouring extremely foamy (shock). It's a little bit of a pain to take the lid off my keezer, so I'm trying to bleed that pressure down by using the release on the regulator.

I've never had something like this happen before. Does anyone know what would cause such a jump in keg pressure when I did not adjust my regulators, and will bleeding gas at the regulator eventually get my pressures back down to where they should be, or do I need to open the keezer and bleed the kegs?

Thanks for your help!

 

[IslandLizard]

When you depressurized them CO2 came out of solution into the headspace until a new equilibrium was formed. The kegs may have warmed up a bit too while you were cleaning the lines, not helping the cause either.

Now they need to get back to normal which will take a few days. This is more noticeable the less beer a keg contains, also having a relatively large headspace.

It's best to not bleed them when they're outside your keezer. Just huddle them together and, yup, cover with a sleeping bag or so. You could stick a bag of ice on top of them under the cover. Just be aware, everything will drip.

I would leave them under 30psi pressure for a day to recover, like force carbonation does. Then adjust to their final serving pressure, and bleed them off a few more times over the next 2 days. Live with a little foamier pours until they are balanced again.

You should be able to bleed them through the regulator PRV, but the check valves (if you have them) may click shut if you do it too fast.

 

[J2W2]

Now they need to get back to normal which will take a few days. This is more noticeable the less beer a keg contains, also having a relatively large headspace.

It's best to not bleed them when they're outside your keezer. Just huddle them together and, yup, cover with a sleeping bag or so. You could stick a bag of ice on top of them under the cover. Just be aware, everything will drip.

Yeah, two of the kegs (one on nitrogen and one of the ones now at 30psi) are getting fairly low.

This is the first time I've bled them when I had them out, but it's also the first time I've had a keg leak beer while I was doing this. They aren't leaking in the keezer, so I'm guessing a couple poppets on my liquid posts have a slow leak, which doesn't matter when the quick disconnects are in place since the poppets are depressed then anyway.

Thanks for the help!

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm guessing a couple poppets on my liquid posts have a slow leak, which doesn't matter when the quick disconnects are in place since the poppets are depressed then anyway.

Yup!
I have a few kegs marked like that. They don't always leak just sitting there after filling, but usually seep/ooze a little after removing the QD. I've been getting really good at reseating them while pressure is still on, under a damp towel using a nail set. Just a quick push and release is usually enough.

You can always remove the post, after depressurizing, to check if a stray thread from a sanitizing cloth (in the Starsan bucket), piece of hop fiber, etc. is stuck in the poppet. I've encountered either.