Keg Pressurization Mystery

[sogrady]

Hoping someone can help with a little bit of a keg mystery. Current kegorator setup is two taps: one a regular Sankey, the other one a Corny for homebrew. The latter is new, but we already ran through one barrel on it with no issues. After the first barrel, I cleaned the Corny keg, left cleaning solution in it, repressurized it and ran the cleaning solution through the lines.

Fast forward to our second batch. Cleaned the keg again, including taking apart and cleaning both gas and beer lines. Rack from secondary into the keg, attach the gas line - pressure's around 11 PSI - and wait a week. Assuming it's now carbonated, I attach the beer line and pull the tap. Nothing but a trickle comes out, and what does is clearly uncarbonated.

Other items for consideration. CO2 tank is fine: the Sankey tap poured fine while getting nothing but a drip from the Corny. CO2 meanwhile *is* getting into the keg. When I vent the Corny a bit, you can hear gas going back in. Not enough, obviously, but some. Valves on the gas regulator have been checked and are open, so it's not that.

Question is then where my problem lies. Is the gas coupler bad? I assume not as it's basically brand new and worked previously. Only thing I can think of is maybe the poppet valve on the tank is blown? Something else I'm missing?

Anyway, any guesses as to what you think I should check? And how to remediate? Hate to waste a whole batch.

 

[day_trippr]

Out dip tube or the Out poppet might be plugged.
Or the end of the dip tube might be slammed up against the keg instead of resting in its well.

Release the head space pressure, remove the Out post, remove the poppet, then pull the dip tube. Clean and sanitize everything and reassemble...

Cheers!

 

[Gavin C]

Sounds like sediment from the beer has blocked the out dip tube.

If the keg is pressurized beer must flow out the dip tube unless there is a blockage. Check the keg is indeed pressurized.

I've encountered this myself when I used gelatin in the keg one time. I cranked up the psi and pressed the poppet down on the out post till I got beer to spray. Problem solved. Lowered the psi to serving pressure and no further problems.

If that doesn't work you could try putting the gas onto the liquid post but that might lead to the two getting stuck together so maybe not a great idea there.

If that does not work disassemble, clean and sanitize the out post. AND DIP TUBE Should solve it too.

Thats my 2c

hope it helps

 

[sogrady]

Thanks folks! Will take apart the valves tomorrow and see what we see. Appreciate the tips.

 

[sogrady]

No joy, guys. Ended up venting, then taking apart both in and out valves - including dip tube - sanitizing everything and reinstalling it. Couldn't see anything obviously wrong with the poppets, and the dip tube showed no signs of blockage.

Hooked the CO2 back up and could hear the keg fill, but when I pulled the tap same old trickle.

Only thing I can think of is that maybe this batch has sediment that accumulates down by the bottom of the dip tube but doesn't accumulate enough to stick in the tube when it's extracted?

Not sure what the problem is here. Baffled.

 

[WI_Wino]

Is the faucet that is hooked up to the corny keg plugged? Can you reroute the sankey to that faucet to check it out? Or maybe rig up a picnic tap to the corny keg if you have the parts laying around.

 

[Gavin C]

Did you press the poppet on the beer out post to get beer to spray. If beer sprays but doesn't flow the line or faucet is blocked

If no beer spray the keg out post/tube is blocked.

 

[sogrady]

Progress! So as it turns out, the faucet was indeed blocked up. Removed it and swapped in another that's more tolerant of debris.

With the ability to pour beer now, the question is why it's uncarbonated. Could that have something to do with the clogged faucet?

 

[doug293cz]

Progress! So as it turns out, the faucet was indeed blocked up. Removed it and swapped in another that's more tolerant of debris.

With the ability to pour beer now, the question is why it's uncarbonated. Could that have something to do with the clogged faucet?

Clogged faucet (or anything else on the beer out side) will not hamper carbonation. A week may not be enough to achieve good carbonation when carbonating at serving pressure. Also, your beer temp may be higher than it should be to get reasonable carbonation at 11 psi. What is your beer temp?

Brew on

 

[brewprint]

Progress! So as it turns out, the faucet was indeed blocked up. Removed it and swapped in another that's more tolerant of debris.

With the ability to pour beer now, the question is why it's uncarbonated. Could that have something to do with the clogged faucet?

No it wouldn't.

I saw on your original post that you set it at 11psi and hoped for carbonation after a week. Give it at least 2.

 

[sogrady]

Ok, finally think I've gotten to the bottom of this, and my problem wasn't one problem but two problems.

First, as acknowledged below was a clogged faucet, which was easy enough to repair.

The tougher to figure problem was the lack of carbonation. I had assumed the CO2 tank was fine because the second, Sankey faucet poured a normal commercial keg with out issue.

After swapping in a new tank, however, the Corny barrel pours just fine. The only thing I can figure, then, is that there's a low tank level which is sufficient to continue pouring an already carbonated barrel, but unable to carbonate and pour a homebrew barrel.

Bizarre, but the only explanation I can think of. Thanks again for all of the assistance!

 

[Gavin C]

I wouldn't agree with this logic. If there is CO2 in the tank it will carbonate a liquid at the correct pressures and temps. It will also push the beer. Once the headspace is back at 1 atm pressure there is no inherent ability for the pressurized keg to dispense without gas pressure being added.

 

[sogrady]

I wouldn't agree with it either, I just don't have another explanation. Keg failed to carbonate literally at all while hooked up to a tank which would pour a regular barrel without issue. Swap out tanks and all of a sudden it pours fine, and is - hopefully - now carbonating.

Whatever the explanation, however, I'm just happy the problem appears to be solved

 

[Stealthcruiser]

It's P F M................