• Please visit and share your knowledge at our sister communities:
  • If you have not, please join our official Homebrewing Facebook Group!

    Homebrewing Facebook Group

How to set the PSI?

Homebrew Talk

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rockweezy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Messages
202
Reaction score
0
Location
Oahu, HI
I bought the lowest end CO2 regulator from Northern Brewer and I have no idea how to set the PSI. I know there is a screw, but whenever I turn on the CO2 the gauge just keeps rising. The gas never stops going in the keg until it is over pressurized. I feel stupid cause all I do is blast it until the pressure is reached then I turn off the CO2. I repeat as pressure drops every few beers cause I don't know how to set it. Get me simple directions please, I am very slow apparently.
 
I am not the most knowledgable but it sounds like the regulator is not even working. It supposed to turn the gas off when it reaches the set pressure. On my guage the screw turns clockwise to raise the pressure.
 
Loosen the screw (counterclockwise) until it no longer has any tension (feels completely loose...you can actually back it out to the point where it falls out of the regulator housing without hurting anything). Turn on the gas, then tighten (clockwise) until you get the desired pressure. If that doesn't work, your regulator is likely broken.
 
Just be VERY careful, your CO2 tank can easily explode your keg if you get it in a runaway situation! Chances are it will only rupture, but I would not want to be near it.

Someone needs to take a corny out into a field and film it being overpressurized to the point of failure. I'd love to see what happens! (with and without liquid in it)
 
Just be VERY careful, your CO2 tank can easily explode your keg if you get it in a runaway situation! Chances are it will only rupture, but I would not want to be near it.

Someone needs to take a corny out into a field and film it being overpressurized to the point of failure. I'd love to see what happens! (with and without liquid in it)

Send me a couple cornies and blast shield. I'll figure out how to fill it! haha
 
Luckily MOST cornies have a pressure relief valve to keep any exploding from happening...

Fixed that for ya'. I have several that have no pressure releif valve (except for the gas out post). Seems to be a more common thing for the Pin Lock kegs than the ball lock.

New lids with releifs can be bought separately tho'.
 
I've seen a few that don't have a manually controllable relief valve, but the ones I've always seen at least have something that'll blow off at 135 PSI. But I have only worked with ball-lock, i don't doubt there are some out there that either never came with them or were welded up with the relief valve went bad.
 
Also, before you start to screw the screw back in, vent the regulator. Just make sure it starts at 0 psi. Most regulators have a manual vent thingie. Yours may not, it being the econo version. If I am turning down the pressure on mine from 20 psi to 10 psi it will still read 20 until I vent the thing.
 
Back
Top