I need advice on beer in my gas line(s)

[J2W2]

Hi,

On my last few batches, I've started paying more attention to topping off my kettle and/or fermenter to right at 5.5 gallons (my recipes are scaled to that volume), so I end up very close to five gallons when I fill my kegs. In the past I tended to be more in the 4.5-4.75 gallon range.

The last keg I filled has a longer gas dip-tube than most of my others, and it must have extended into the beer. I have a spare 5 lb CO2 tank, so I start carbonating my kegs as soon as I fill them since it may be several days before they make it into my keezer.

I noticed a little beer spray when I attached the gas line in the keezer, but didn't think much about it. I used this keg for a party over the weekend, and moved it to my kegerator. When I pulled the gas line, it again sprayed a little beer.

My gas lines go into a 3-way manifold, and one of the other kegs on the manifold is having foam issues. After I removed my keg, I started checking regulator pressure on the line, since the only keg on it was the foamy one. I wanted to drop the regulator to zero psi and reset it, so I turned off all three lines, but it still showed pressure.

I figured there was still CO2 in the gas lines, so I depressed the plunger on my disconnects. When I did it on the line that had been on the keg I removed, it sprayed a little beer out, so I know I've got beer in at least that gas line.

I have a 10 lb CO2 tank with a dual regulator. The tank sits on a shelf, just off the floor, outside my keezer. Each line from the regulator runs 12-15 feet, into the keezer to a 3-way manifold, with 3-foot lines going to quick disconnects.

I'm hoping the beer has not made it any further than into the 3-foot line. Does anyone have any ideas on how to check that? I was thinking maybe using a q-tip, dipped in alcohol, to swab each end to see what I might find. If the end near the manifold appears to be clean, I would either run line cleaner and sanitizer through the line or just replace it. If it appears to have made it to the manifold, I'm considering flushing the entire line (from regulator to all three disconnects) with line cleaner and sanitizer.

I also plan to shorten the dip-tube once the keg is empty, and check the length on my others.

I'd appreciate your input on this on what you think I should do. Thanks for your help!

 

[day_trippr]

Bite the bullet: remove the QDs and the gas line from the regulator output for the suspect branch and check. Hopefully you won't find beer.
Then you can rinse and sanitize the whole system before putting it back together.

fwiw, I cut all of the gas dip tubes on my kegs down to barely a 1/2" total length using a virgin Dremel cut-off wheel. They basically don't stick below the risers. I also fill by weight, which pretty much eliminates over-fills...

Cheers!

 

[J2W2]

Bite the bullet: remove the QDs and the gas line from the regulator output for the suspect branch and check. Hopefully you won't find beer.
Then you can rinse and sanitize the whole system before putting it back together.

fwiw, I cut all of the gas dip tubes on my kegs down to barely a 1/2" total length using a virgin Dremel cut-off wheel. They basically don't stick below the risers. I also fill by weight, which pretty much eliminates over-fills...

Cheers!

I removed the 3-foot section as I was setting up for cleaning my liquid lines. I'd say it was half-full of beer, which does not make me happy!

The only good news right now is that two of my five kegs are still in the kegerator from the party, so I can work on this issue without needing to use that entire line right now.

I've joined the 3-foot section to the liquid lines, so I'm circulating line cleaner through it right now. I'm going to complete my liquid line cleaning, and then get back to the gas lines tomorrow.

As you suggested, I'm going to disconnect from the regulator and check everything at the source. Assuming that looks good, I'm going to release a little CO2 through the manifold and see if there's any beer coming through. Regardless, I think I'll run line cleaner and then sanitizer through all the lines on that section.

I suspect that some of the beer went into the line when I dropped the PSI at the regulator to work on the foam issue with the other keg on the same line. The manifold sits higher than the 3-foot lines, so hopefully it never made it that far.

I like the Dremel idea as I did not know what I was going to use to cut the dip-tubes. I have a Dremel, so I'll just need to pick up a cut-off wheel. I intend to check all of them as I cycle through my kegs and make sure they are as short as possible.

Thanks for the help!

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I used two chunks of soft pine to clamp the dip tube in a bench vise then chopped it off with the cutoff wheel (I use the fiber wheels as they aren't prone to grenading as the smaller harder solid wheels). I then use a cone grinder to bevel the outer and inner edges...

Cheers!

 

[J2W2]

fwiw, I used two chunks of soft pine to clamp the dip tube in a bench vise then chopped it off with the cutoff wheel (I use the fiber wheels as they aren't prone to grenading as the smaller harder solid wheels). I then use a cone grinder to bevel the outer and inner edges...

I was at Home Depot this morning, so I picked up a pack of the fiber cut-off wheels. I was wondering how I was going to clamp the dip tubes, and you've answered that one as well. Thanks again for the help!

Regarding my initial issue, I released some CO2 through the manifold, into a small plastic glass, and did not get any liquid back. However, I'm still concerned about the possibility of beer in the line. The manifolds sit at the top back of my keezer, the highest point by far of the entire line run. If beer did make it to that point, it would have probably collected in the tubing at floor level behind the keezer. Blowing CO2 through the line may not have been sufficient to blow any of that back up a three-foot rise.

Initially I was a little concerned about leaving liquid in the gas lines if I do run line cleaner and sanitizer through them, but then I realized it makes more sense to blow it out from the high-side (inside my keezer), instead of from the low-side (regulator).

Right now, I'm thinking better safe than sorry and proceed with cleaning the lines, but before I do, I wanted to ask one more time if anyone is aware of any downside to doing this? My gas lines are all the red dual-layer gas hose, if that makes any difference.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[balrog]

I especially noticed how you used grain oriented soft pine so the flange easily mooshes down into the clamping wood.

 

[kevink]

You can also hold the non-flared end with needle nose pliers and cut off the "good" end.

 

[day_trippr]

I especially noticed how you used grain oriented soft pine so the flange easily mooshes down into the clamping wood.

Yup. I also began by clamping the two halves tightly together and boring a 1/4" hole a few eights deep in the "crack".
Then every time a keg came free I cut its tube. Eventually all 16 kegs got done. I still have that jig though...

Cheers!

 

[balrog]

Yup. I also began by clamping the two halves tightly together and boring a 1/4" hole a few eights deep in the "crack".
Then every time a keg came free I cut its tube. Eventually all 16 kegs got done. I still have that jig though...

Cheers!

And I should not use hacksaw because of something with iron filings, right?

 

[day_trippr]

I wouldn't - especially with a used blade potentially loaded with microscopic bits of iron.
Wouldn't use a used cutoff wheel, either...

Cheers!