Regulator trouble

Hello everyone,

I just kegged my first batch of beer. It's a delicious IPA. I am having trouble with my double body regulator. I'm only using one body at the moment. I have a 15 pound co2 tank that is brand new.

Whenever I turn on the tank, the regulator gauge for the tank pressure goes up super quickly and then the regulator shuts down. I'm assuming it's some safety measure but I can't seem to leave my co2 tank on! To pressurize the beer, I have to turn it on just a little and then turn it off and use what is inside the regulator.

What am I doing wrong? Or is it my regulators fault? I bought my regulator on Craig's list for cheap so I wouldn't be the slightest bit upset if I had to replace it.

 

My Taprite will do that sometimes if I have it set to around 30 psi and I attach the quick disconnect to the keg or if it's already attached and I just open the ball valve on the manifold. Something about a big burst of air flowing through that causes the regulator to cut it off. It doesn't do it very often though, just every now and then. I found that if I back off the pressure and then raise it slowly the gas will continue to flow.

Have you tried backing the regulated pressure all the way off and then slowly raising it back up?

Also, what happens if while the tank valve is on and you have the regulator set to dispense at 15 psi and with the disconnect off the keg you press the plunger inside the disconnect with your finger? Does gas flow out of the disconnect?

I know you said you are currently only using one body. Have you tried using the other one?

 

Thank you for your response. I have raised the pressure slowly on the regulator and the actual knobs that control keg pressure seem to work fine. But I can't leave the gas on at all it seems. Even just a hair or else the regulator locks up. I have to turn it on for a second or two and then shut it off.

Last night I managed to keep the tank open without the regulator locking up and I thought everything was kosher. But this morning I checked it and the psi gauge for the keg dropped from 12 to 5psi. And the tank gauge was reading about 600-800. I don't quite remember but that is much lower than it was when it overloaded. Is that a normal psi to have for a new tank? Or is something wrong with my regulator?

 

Definitely sounds like a bad regulator.

I keep my tank inside the fridge and tank pressure reads 500 psi while there is liquid CO2 in it.

Update: In rereading your original post, what do you mean by "locks up?" I took this to mean that the gas flow to the keg stops. Is that correct?

 

Well then maybe it corrected itself overnight. Because when it "locked up" it would shoot to about 1800 psi and then lock. By lock I mean no more co2 will go to the keg or regulator. The regulator won't let anything in or out and I have to disconnect the regulator a couple turns from the tank to release the co2 in the regulator. It's a pain in the butt but I assumed it was some safety measure from over pressurizing. I guess it's not though and my regulator is a dud!

 

Yeah, that definitely doesn't sound right to me. You might way to try removing the reg from the tank and disassembling the bonnet assemblies. Might just need a good cleaning. Regulators are fairly simple devices. Is it a brand name regulator? If so, you may want to try contacting the manufacturer. They'll often do repairs at no charge if you send it in.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it