Keg Flow Rate / Carbonation

[MikeMSD]

Hey Guys,

I'm having some weird problems, and need some help. I've got a beer festival on the 18th I'm taking my beer to, and this keg is giving me tons of trouble.

This is the first time using this particular keg, I racked my Saison into it and stuck it into my kegerator which is set at 36f. I had a new regulator, and wasn't paying attention. I set the pressure to 5psi. I let it sit for a week, and tried a pour to realize that it was severely undercarbed and was barely pouring.

I looked at the regulator, realized my mistake and bumped the pressure up to 12psi. It's been 4 days since that. I checked it today, and it still hasn't carbonated and is still pouring really slowly.

I took the keg out, verified all the lines were running to the right places. Made sure all the gas valves were fully open. Pulled the pressure relief ring on the keg a few times to make sure gas was flowing and all appeared well, yet I'm still getting a really slow flow rate.

I decided that it must be my regulator as I just swapped out for a newer, nicer one that was easier to adjust and was planning on selling my old one. I went ahead and shut everything down and swapped back to the old regulator. I turned everything back on, and am still barely getting any flow.

I'm really at a loss for what's going on now. If the poppet was clogged, I'd expect it to be slow flowing but carbonated. However it is still as flat as when I kegged it. The gas line sounds like it is dispensing gas in at the proper rate when I pull the relief. I feel like I'm having some sort of trick played on me. Any ideas what to look at? Do I just need to transfer this to another keg?

 

[BigFloyd]

Have you checked/cleared the stainless pickup tube?

 

[ryancericson11]

I would bump pressure to 20 psi. Then Pop off gas connector. Keg should be hold pressure then try to pour if it is still flowing slow I would say it is the faucet, if it is still slow could be sediment in bottom of keg clogging dip tube, try tying a muslin bag to end of dip tube it will act as a filter. Could also be a worn out poppet not seating well, I would try other options before switching out poppet and post from good keg.

 

[ryancericson11]

High pressure is to ensure good seal on the lid, you could back down before pour.

 

[MikeMSD]

Have not checked the pickup tube since I put the keg back together after cleaning. I did increase pressure to 20psi this morning to try and speed up carbonation. Was going to let it ride for 24 hours then back it down and see how I'm looking tomorrow. As far as flow rate, I'm starting to bet I have a clogged pickup tube or post. I'm not sure what got in there, as there shouldn't be anything sizeable enough to clog things. I suppose it could be a faulty post as well, so failing it being clogged, I'll replace the post with one from a known good keg tomorrow.

 

[ryancericson11]

20 psi for 24 is how I re-carb flat beer after a party from a store bought keg. Sounds like your on the right track.