Co2 closed transfer disaster. Help.

[olotti]

I use a simple closed co2 transfer with my glass carboys using the cap with the ss racking cane, homemade co2 inlet etc. it’s worked great for a year making mostly neipas, little learning curve n the beginning but now usually takes me 20-30 min to pressures transfer starsan from one keg to the other, set up equipment, transfer and force carb. So today follow same process and set my regulator to 3psi, beers moving along, I adjust the racking cane down a hair and I do have a line before it bottoms into the gunk, and it stops. Release pressure, pull off gas in line to keg thinking I clogged someth8ng. clean the tube, great flow, sanitize and put back, start process over and the racking cane isn’t pushing anything now from carboy to keg? Wtf? messed with it a few times before I noticed the carboy cap bulging like it was under serious pressure and wanted to shoot off, wondered if I had a leak under the cap, took it of, put it back on, opened the gas at 3psi, nothing. So finally I racked it using my siphon which also stalled out a couple t8mes for no freakin reason so in the end I left about a gallon of awesome smelling NEIPA in the carboy, oxygenated the **** outta my beer when transferrring with the siphon having to start it multiple times and only got about 4 gal into the keg. Any idea why the beer when I cleaned the dip tube and there was no clog wouldn’t push beer over under pressure? Every time I redid it I watched the beer level for atleast a minute and it never moved. So weird, frustrating and disappointing. I’d love any theories in case it happens again.

so I got double doubled. I thought I cleared the post so racked as I said above then 5 hrs later went to pour a beer and nothing. Pulled the out post and the dip tube was full of hop flakes. Cleaned that out. Poured a pitcher of funk to clean out the bottom and seems better now and that qd I went back and blew it out and a bunch of hop matter blew out so that plus the relief pin were both my issues I’m guessing. Tough day.

 

[VikeMan]

How were you venting the receiving keg during the closed xfer?

 

[olotti]

How were you venting the receiving keg during the closed xfer?

I pull the little pin and set it to open. But ya know I got so flustered and frustrated it wasn’t till after I calmed down and the transfer was over and I rethunk what happened I wondered if it didn’t slip closed at some point and I was looking for every other reason than that. It would explain the back pressure into the fermenter and why the beer wasn’t moving to where it should’ve.

 

[olotti]

How were you venting the receiving keg during the closed xfer?

So You think that’s what it was then??? If so fine at least an easy fix if it happens again. Like I said I was on tilt I couldn’t begin to think why it was happening.

 

[day_trippr]

Maybe the beer post or QD at the receiving keg got clogged...

Cheers!

 

[VikeMan]

Yeah, with your carboy cap bulging and nothing moving even though the line it was clear, my guess would be either no vent or a clogged liquid poppet at the keg.

 

[olotti]

Maybe the beer post or QD at the receiving keg got clogged...

Cheers!

first thing I did was pull the post and dip tube and run sanitizer through em and they were clean.

 

[olotti]

Yeah, with your carboy cap bulging and nothing moving even though the line it was clear, my guess would be either no vent or a clogged liquid poppet at the keg.

I puled the post and dip tube first thing as I assumed as I watched the chunks float into the line but after I pulled em I ran sanitizer through both and they were clean.

 

[Harleybrew32]

Im sure you know this but i will share how i do transfers.
fill keg with starsan, push starsan out with Co2, repurge my transfer lines with Co2.
swap bung with my transfer bung and open spigot. The Co2 pushes back into carboy from the keg.
if your using a carboy should work the same just leave a little pressure in the keg and the siphon should start.
could of been your relief valve popped closed too.

 

[olotti]

Im sure you know this but i will share how i do transfers.
fill keg with starsan, push starsan out with Co2, repurge my transfer lines with Co2.
swap bung with my transfer bung and open spigot. The Co2 pushes back into carboy from the keg.
if your using a carboy should work the same just leave a little pressure in the keg and the siphon should start.

thanks. Yeah similar to what I do. I think the relief valve popped close when I was taking of disconnects and I was so flustered at why the beer wasn’t moving after I cleaned the dip tube and post I didn’t realize the relief valve was closed. Like the others said it would explain the bulging in my carboy cap cuz the pressure was just backfilling.live and learn. I’m just gonna have to drink this beer a little faster before I’m afraid it’ll oxidize from the old school racking I did to move the beer over. I did purge the keg Again multiple times when I finally moved what I could over to it.