CO2 and the keg

[magpiebrew]

So I've been dealing with (or at least I thought) leaky kegs. Fairly new to kegging I was taking the approach of testing my kegs by filling them with water applying about 30psi to seal the lid (purging the O2) taking off the gas connect and letting it sit overnight or so to see if it held pressure. Well most often I find that when I test the lid in the morning it comes right open. I've done all the replacing of 0-rings, keg lube, switching lids, etc...

So poking around here I found this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=320553

And they mention that the C02 is being absorbed into the beer/liquid and therefore losing the pressure. Well duh that makes complete sense. However shouldn't I be able to pressurize a keg (full of beer) without carbing it and store it till ready to tap? Or do I have that wrong that you carbonate the keg and then put it in storage?

Is my way of testing the pressure correct?

 

[BrooklynTom]

I will test mine empty. Charge with a few pounds of co2, than spray for leaks, if the seals are good it will hold pressure indefinitely. If you have it full of liquid, the liquid is absorbing the co2, thus lowering the pressure. I hope that helps.

 

[Rockn_M]

I will test mine empty. Charge with a few pounds of co2, than spray for leaks, if the seals are good it will hold pressure indefinitely. If you have it full of liquid, the liquid is absorbing the co2, thus lowering the pressure. I hope that helps.

^+1

If you want to test to make sure the kegs hold pressure make sure you do it empty. Otherwise a keg of liquid will absorb the co2 and you will loose pressure. If your beer is fully carbed you can store in the keg without any problems.

 

[Yooper]

I will test mine empty. Charge with a few pounds of co2, than spray for leaks, if the seals are good it will hold pressure indefinitely. If you have it full of liquid, the liquid is absorbing the co2, thus lowering the pressure. I hope that helps.

Right.

And storing carbed beer isn't a problem at all- because the beer has absorbed c02 equal to the pressure in the headspace, so it can't absorb more, if that makes sense. Once it's equalized, it will hold the carbonation indefinitely if there are no leaks.

 

[magpiebrew]

Awesome, thanks guys that makes sense. I've been struggling with these kegs for awhile. Thought I had leaky kegs, really just a leak of my chemistry learning from the brain...