INOP keg! How do i fix??

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Donthoseme

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Joined
Jan 10, 2007
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Location
Anchorage, AK
So i had a mild i kegged last year and the keg just blew foam. I tried everything and eventually just dumped the beer (not that good anyway i fermented english yeast too high and got bananna?). That keg became my sanitizer keg until now. I use a different keg for my sanitizer and i need to fix this keg. I filled it with water and it still blew just foam even at a really low PSI. JUST WATER???? How do i fix this??
 
It doesn't make sense that one keg is behaving this way. You need to strip that bad boy down and verify that all O rings and poppet valves are good. Check the dip tube for any sort of obstructions, etc.... If you have done all of that, then I don't know what else you can do.
 
Have you replaced all the o-rings...even the ones at the posts and the diptubes? Sounds like some air might be getting in somewhere---or, more precisely, the seal at the top of the liquid diptube isn't holding, so you're getting some CO2 from the headspace of the keg (or possibly even air from the outside) leaking into the liquid out line. Just a theory.
 
I've checked the dip tube and popets for obstructions. Next on my list is replacement O rings. I'll get this bastard if it kills me.
 
Let us know how the O rings work- Pressurize it to 20+ PSI and let us know if/where it leaks. Good luck!
 
did you test for leaks:
method 1) pressurize and dip whole keg into a water bath - look for bubbles.
method 2) paint keg (usually up at the top where the fittings are) with soap solution and look for foam.
 
Most likely (and I've dealt with this myself many a time) the oring on the liquid pick up tube. Also the top of the pick up tube (wide area) is rounded (flared back toward the tube). Taking the oring off and smacking it flat in the keg fitting and placing a new oring or doubling up orings will cure this.

...I'm not druk i'm just not soebr
 
Most likely (and I've dealt with this myself many a time) the oring on the liquid pick up tube. Also the top of the pick up tube (wide area) is rounded (flared back toward the tube). Taking the oring off and smacking it flat in the keg fitting and placing a new oring or doubling up orings will cure this.

...I'm not druk i'm just not soebr

Wow this sounds like a winner i'm going to try this when i get home. I was loosing CO2 around the lid at first but when i solved that it was still blowing foam. I'm going to just replace all the gaskets and o rings today and see if that works. Thanks for the advice!!! you are wise.
 
Denny, do you think this could be my problem too?

I am running 10' of 3/16" line out of a party tap. Line is inside the refrigerator, and temp is at 36F.

First, I am using a new micromatic primary regulator, and that is the only reg in use at this time. So I know that it is hooked up correctly.

As far as the pour... I cannot leave the reg at carbing (12psi) levels and dispense or get too much foam. So, I have been turning off the co2, blowing off all CO2 from the keg, setting reg to 0psi, turning back on, then slowly adding pressure until there is just enough to push out the beer.

It pushes out beer like, this, but even still I get quite a bit of foam and last night I noticed that I start to actually see foam built up right at the "input" to the party tap inside the line... I can actually see the high concentration of co2/foam sitting right there.

I started to degas the keg last night, just to see if it was overcarbed. Vented last night before bed once and a little pressure was released. Did again today before leaving for work and barely got any released. So I will do it again when I get home, but at this time I do not think it is an overcarb issue. Keg was pressure tested, so should be a good keg.

Again, do you think the liquid tube o-ring could be the culprit?

Thanks in advance.
 
KEG FIXED!!!!!! I replaced all the o-rings for a whoping $3. Looks like imperial porter on Sunday! Thanks for the help guys!
 
I replaced all o-rings but the top one was a real ***** to seal before. Now it's cake. As for the dip tubes when i unscrewed the popits there were NO O RINGS on the dip tubes. But hell i can't complain about a $5 side of the road keg. Even with the whoping $3 for o rings it made this a $8 steal!!!! To bad they don't sell them like this up in AK!
 
I replaced all o-rings but the top one was a real ***** to seal before. Now it's cake. As for the dip tubes when i unscrewed the popits there were NO O RINGS on the dip tubes. But hell i can't complain about a $5 side of the road keg. Even with the whoping $3 for o rings it made this a $8 steal!!!! To bad they don't sell them like this up in AK!

This is one reason why I bought rebuild kits for all of my used kegs. I didn't feel like dickin' around with beer-foam issues. Not to mention at $2.50 each its well worth it, to be trouble-free for a good while!
 
Denny, do you think this could be my problem too?

I am running 10' of 3/16" line out of a party tap. Line is inside the refrigerator, and temp is at 36F.

First, I am using a new micromatic primary regulator, and that is the only reg in use at this time. So I know that it is hooked up correctly.

As far as the pour... I cannot leave the reg at carbing (12psi) levels and dispense or get too much foam. So, I have been turning off the co2, blowing off all CO2 from the keg, setting reg to 0psi, turning back on, then slowly adding pressure until there is just enough to push out the beer.

It pushes out beer like, this, but even still I get quite a bit of foam and last night I noticed that I start to actually see foam built up right at the "input" to the party tap inside the line... I can actually see the high concentration of co2/foam sitting right there.

I started to degas the keg last night, just to see if it was overcarbed. Vented last night before bed once and a little pressure was released. Did again today before leaving for work and barely got any released. So I will do it again when I get home, but at this time I do not think it is an overcarb issue. Keg was pressure tested, so should be a good keg.

Again, do you think the liquid tube o-ring could be the culprit?

Thanks in advance.

Well, since OP Don's problem's been solved, I'll perpetuate the thread jack.

36*F at 12 PSIG is 2.67 volumes of CO2. On the high end, but still alright for American and European ales.

Why are we foaming? Is the line too long?
 
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