Why is my corny keg flow only a trickle?

[Packie]

Hi all ..... So I just kegged my homebrew but for some reason the beer is just flowing out at a trickle. There's plenty of gas in the CO2 tank, and I know the dip tube isn't blocked because I blew some CO2 through it to check. (And it's a stout so not much in the way of material that would block it anyway). I have the PSI set all the way to 20 to get the carbonation going (along with some keg rolling to force carbonate a bit.) So, I dunno .... any thoughts? It was actually flowing decently for a short while but not so much now. Does the carbonation need to be absorbed in the beer before it will flow better maybe (that doesn't sound right but I don't know what else it could be.)

 

[day_trippr]

The simplest answer is there is enough debris at the bottom of your keg that the dip tube plugs up immediately.
Otherwise, check the Out post as debris can get caught up by the poppet, and check the QD as well as they can capture debris...

Cheers!

 

[hottpeper13]

I don't know how this happened ,but my CO2 valve on the manifold got plugged. I disconnected the line ,opened the valve and no CO2. Took a tooth pick and dislodged something and we had pressure.

 

[day_trippr]

Hahaha! That's an unusual conclusion
fwiw, if your manifold sports check-valve equipped shut-offs, the spring-loaded check valve ball might have gotten stuck...

Cheers!

 

[Packie]

The simplest answer is there is enough debris at the bottom of your keg that the dip tube plugs up immediately.
Otherwise, check the Out post as debris can get caught up by the poppet, and check the QD as well as they can capture debris...

Cheers

Thanks! I don't think there's much debris, if any, in the keg, so maybe the out post is clogged up. I've never taken it apart before ... is it simple to do? ... And sorry, what is a QD?

 

[Packie]

Thanks! I don't think there's much debris, if any, in the keg, so maybe the out post is clogged up. I've never taken it apart before ... is it simple to do? ... And sorry, what is a QD?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

QD= Quick Disconnect, the thing on the end of your hose that connects to the keg

 

[Dr_Jeff]

@Packie it's easy enough to do, simply unscrew the post and inspect for debris, be sure to depressurize the keg first to avoid a beer geyser
sanitize everything before you put it back together

 

[day_trippr]

Lol! Yes, definitely want to remove the gas connector first, then pop the lid PRV valve and latch it open, THEN unscrew the Out post
And, again, QDs (disconnects) can get crud stuck inside that can be cleaned out by unscrewing the slotted cap.

Cheers!

 

[sibelman]

These are good steps to follow. Debris can easily obstruct a poppet in the keg post or QD. Even the faucet/tap perhaps, but I've never seen that.

I've seen flow slowed considerably by foam in the beer line when there's high pressure to accelerate carbonation. Once the beer is carbed and the pressure is lowered to serving (~10 psi) , this clears itself.

 

[bracconiere]

@Packie

is this a sankey keg? i ask because the confusion about a QD.....

or a corny like this?

 

[IslandLizard]

If you're using a corny keg, there are poppets inside each post. They can get stuck or clogged with hop debris, fruit fiber, fabric and fibers from (cleaning) rags, hop sacks, etc.

Mind, before you work on kegs and parts, you'll do need to depressurize the keg first:

==> Open the PRV valve, if there is one that can be pulled or pushed. After a while a) the hissing should slow down, and b) eventually stop. Those are 2 important markers.​

Still, you need to make sure the keg is indeed depressurized completely!

Another cause of slow trickle pours is having too much resistance on one of the poppets, the spring being too long or too stiff. The spring tension in both the keg poppet and the poppet inside the QD should match, so they both open (compress) about halfway. If one is too stiff or long, the other one can't push it open.

 

[Packie]

@Packie

is this a sankey keg? i ask because the confusion about a QD.....

View attachment 810594


or a corny like this?

View attachment 810595

Corny!

 

[Packie]

If you're using a corny keg, there are poppets inside each post. They can get stuck or clogged with hop debris, fruit fiber, fabric and fibers from (cleaning) rags, hop sacks, etc.

Mind, before you work on kegs and parts, you'll do need to depressurize the keg first:

==> Open the PRV valve, if there is one that can be pulled or pushed. After a while a) the hissing should slow down, and b) eventually stop. Those are 2 important markers.​

Still, you need to make sure the keg is indeed depressurized completely!

Another cause of slow trickle pours is having too much resistance on one of the poppets, the spring being too long or too stiff. The spring tension in both the keg poppet and the poppet inside the QD should match, so they both open (compress) about halfway. If one is too stiff or long, the other one can't push it open.

Got it. Thanks for this, I will try this over the weekend. I haven't taken a post apart before, but I'm assuming it will be obvious how it comes apart once I dig into it.

 

[Packie]

Lol! Yes, definitely want to remove the gas connector first, then pop the lid PRV valve and latch it open, THEN unscrew the Out post
And, again, QDs (disconnects) can get crud stuck inside that can be cleaned out by unscrewing the slotted cap.

Cheers!

Ah, got it .. makes sense now .. thank you!

 

[Packie]

QD= Quick Disconnect, the thing on the end of your hose that connects to the keg

Thank you, makes sense now!

 

[Deadalus]

Got it. Thanks for this, I will try this over the weekend. I haven't taken a post apart before, but I'm assuming it will be obvious how it comes apart once I dig into it.

On some kegs the poppets are seated into the posts at the legs and this makes them a little tricky to get out. Don't use a lot of force as an exact replacement poppet can run you $3-5 or so these days. You'll know if you have this kind if you can't easily push the poppet out of the post from the top. A little hook tool (think Captain Hook.) from a pick set is what I use to grab one of the legs to move it off the lip it sits on. Loosen a second leg and it will pop out without bending the legs. Needle nose pliers will work too but you'll want to go real easy on them.

Sometimes it's not clear where each post was originally on the keg, they are not always labelled in and out. The posts themselves are marked but maybe mark the keg. The liquid out side sometimes has an off center well at the bottom for the longer dip tube. There are some idiosyncrasies among kegs from different manufacturers and these are sometimes made worse by the previous owner(s) of the keg.