Help With CO2 Transfer to Keg

[BigFishBrewing]

Third attempt at transferring beer from glass carboy to keg with co2. First attempt was great. Second attempt was a hazy NEIPA and something got clogged so had to do a traditional siphon transfer.

Third attempt was going well yesterday although very slowly. Pressure was set between 1 & 2 psi. With about 3 inches left to transfer from the carboy the orange cap kept blowing off from too much c02 pressure. This happened on both carboys. I don't know how to correct it and I hate to leave beer in the carboy. Any ideas? I considered clamping the cap on but that seems dangerous(?). We used a lot of co2 for something that I thought should have been minimal.

 

[VVbrewery]

Not sure exactly how you're doing this but you should be basically siphoning into the keg and just using enough CO2 to fill the carboy instead of the air that would normally fill it. If you're trying to "push" the beer into a keg that it wouldn't normally siphon to you'd need more pressure than would be safe for a glass carboy.

 

[eric19312]

I also struggle with closed system transfers with hoppy beers. Getting ready to try a Pliny clone and making several changes to my system. (1) larger diameter dip tube in fermenter. (2) using a NorCal mason jar Hop back packed with leaf hops between fermentor and keg to filter hops. (3) dry hops in nylon bag. Maybe too much but really wanting to get this to work.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I clamp the carboy cap, but only to prevent leaks/wasted gas. I use a scant 1 psi, never more.
I also have the keg on the floor and the carboy on a waist-high bench.
Have never had issues with the transfer...

Cheers!

 

[VVbrewery]

If you're going into the keg through the dip tube the poppets in the quick disconnect are famous for getting plugged easily.

 

[VVbrewery]

Found this, slick but pretty pricey.


https://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Transfer-System-Glass-Carboys.html

 

[BigFishBrewing]

I think I figured out why the cap was popping and why we went through so much CO2. I will know when I do my next keg.

I have only been brewing for a year now (16 batches all-grain) and when I first started I was pouring way too much foam even though my hose length was appropriate. The solution to that problem was, I believe, the cause of my current problem. To reduce the foam I installed an inline diffuser, ie. an epoxy diffuser. Worked perfectly to reduce foam although it can slow down the pour. I think what it does in reverse however, is to reduce the flow into the brew out dip tube of the keg and therefore builds up too much CO2 pressure and pops the cap and wastes gas.

I'm kegging again in 3 weeks and I will let you know.

 

[day_trippr]

Sounds plausible, indeed the corkscrew stick inside the dip tube could trap debris and plug...

Cheers!