Regulator ?

[stevej21]

Being a welder by trade, I have a couple co2 reg's for welding use. I took the flow gauge off one and put a psi gauge in its place, but I seem to be having troubles with my system. Right now the pressure is set to 10psi but the pour is practically all foam unless I bleed off all the pressure in the tank first. I have 10' beer lines which I thought helps when serving at higher pressures. Im trying to do things on a budget but should I get a new reg?

Also after the pour, all the beer tries to go back into the keg with lots of bubbles rather than a solid line of beer. What causes that? I'm using a picnic tap, could it be bad?

 

[badbrew]

How is that 10' line positioned? Coiled? stretched? Is the line refrigerated with the keg? Does the same result occur when you unplug the gas from the keg and pour?

edit: also is it 3/16" line

 

[Mknox4354]

I had a similar problem with hoses this length and this worked for me

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

Not saying that the hoses are your problem. Just giving you some options

 

[stevej21]

How is that 10' line positioned? Coiled? stretched? Is the line refrigerated with the keg? Does the same result occur when you unplug the gas from the keg and pour?

edit: also is it 3/16" line

Line is coiled up and cold and yes it does the same thing with the gas disconnected

 

[stevej21]

And yes it is 3/16" line

 

[badbrew]

How were they carbonated?

 

[stevej21]

How were they carbonated?

The 30psi and shake for 15 min method

 

[badbrew]

The 30psi and shake for 15 min method

bingo

That is obviously why CO2 is coming out of solution and into the lines after the pours. You have too much pressure in the keg now. You can simply unplug the gas for a couple days of pours to try to drop it or purge the gas from the keg. Or drop the pressure to a couple psi for a while. Good luck.

 

[stevej21]

bingo

That is obviously why CO2 is coming out of solution and into the lines after the pours. You have too much pressure in the keg now. You can simply unplug the gas for a couple days of pours to try to drop it or purge the gas from the keg. Or drop the pressure to a couple psi for a while. Good luck.

So my regulator should be fine?

 

[day_trippr]

So my regulator should be fine?

More likely than not. There's nothing especially different between your "welding" reg versus a "beer" reg - aside from the flow gauge versus low pressure gauge.

I agree with the diagnosis: you totally over-carbed that keg. The prescriptive relief is to turn off the gas completely, and put the keg on a "burping regimen", releasing all of the pressure from the head space periodically (like every time you think about it) until it provides a civilized pour. Then put the gas back on at serving pressure and enjoy. Might take a couple of days to get there, so be patient...

Cheers!

 

[thargrav]

A welding regulator may have a harder time maintaining constant pressure because welding regulators are designed to deliver higher volume than soda regulators.