kegerator / kegging problems

[Xyloft]

pretty frustrated.

I have had a dual tap Nostalgia Electrics KRS-6100SS for a little over a year I knew it had cheap components but figured i could upgrade as needed. overall it has been working great with commercial beer. not so great with my home brew.

two major problems:
I have a used pin lock keg i picked up at the local beer supply place. the keg will not hold pressure for anything. i'll hook up the gas, put in 15 psi, turn the gas off and in less than a day it's back at room pressure. and of course...this leads to flat beer. I just sprayed the oring seal with soapy water to check for leaks - nope. i just added some plumbers grease to the air inlet post (beer line is disconnected). anything else to try? i recently left the house for 2 weeks and put 12 psi in it and disconnected both beer and air lines and it had about 10 PSI left in it after 2 weeks. (beer was still mostly flat though). this makes me think it's the fitting? its a 2.5 lbs tank and if i turn the air off after the regulator it will keep pressure for months and months.

second - the faucets freeze up if i dont poor beer every day (i know right?) and they stick to the point i can't pop them loose without disassemble and soaking in hot water. is this just cause the faucets are cheap?

any help is appreciated.

 

[Toy4Rick]

Hey Xyloft

The gas should be left on the keg once beer is in it. This way as the beer absorbs the co2 it's replaced by the bottle and then when you consume the beer the overall pressure remains the same throughout the keg

Hope this helps

Rick

 

[Xyloft]

Hey Xyloft

The gas should be left on the keg once beer is in it. This way as the beer absorbs the co2 it's replaced by the bottle and then when you consume the beer the overall pressure remains the same throughout the keg

Hope this helps

Rick

well.. i guess ill give that a shot. it was 20 psi last night and 3 when i got home from work.

 

[rman18]

The CO2 gets distributed throughout the beer... as Toy4Rick stated, you have to leave it at 12 PSI for a week. It needs to stay connected to the co2 container the entire time and preferably cold.

 

[Xyloft]

well. that last 2 days. i have semi carbonated beer and an empty CO2 tank.

worst part is the beer i made is probably one of the most tasty beers i've made and i feel like i'm wasting it because i decided to keg instead of bottle.

would 12 PSI absorb overnight if the pressure was off? the o rings should have been new when i bought the tank refurbed last year. but maybe i'll try and replace those next. i've only kegged 3 batches i think.

sucks.

 

[Kingbogart]

Put the keg under pressure as you did, disconnect everything, and toss it in a bathtub under water. Look for bubbles. As long as it's under pressure water shouldn't make it in and your beer should be safe.

If you don't feel comfortable with that, you can do the same thing with a bottle of starsan, just spray the crap out of all the fittings on the keg, and look for bubbles.

 

[digglr]

Put the keg under pressure as you did, disconnect everything, and toss it in a bathtub under water. Look for bubbles. As long as it's under pressure water shouldn't make it in and your beer should be safe.

If you don't feel comfortable with that, you can do the same thing with a bottle of starsan, just spray the crap out of all the fittings on the keg, and look for bubbles.

After reading this thread, and especially YOUR post.. I started questioning my CO2 amount... did the starsan spray you suggested..BAM! small leak at my diverter valve. Three rounds of pipe dope later, FIXED! Thanks!!

 

[Xyloft]

After reading this thread, and especially YOUR post.. I started questioning my CO2 amount... did the starsan spray you suggested..BAM! small leak at my diverter valve. Three rounds of pipe dope later, FIXED! Thanks!!

sweet. found a leak this way right after my air cut off valve. which makes sense, since the keg held pressure when i pulled the lines off.

i sprayed every fitting and that was the only one i found...so hopefully that's it. i really don't feel like driving across town to fill the CO2 again since no shops are open on saturday.

i guess i was so focused on the keg, that i didn't even think to spray the rest of the air line.

 

[Spookgolds]

As stated earlier, the co2 has to remain connected the entire time. This is how the beer is "force" carbed and enables you to serve it. When I put a new keg on gas, I release the pressure a few times to purge out any remaining oxygen and then I crank the regulator up to 30 psi or so to seat the fittings. Sometimes I can hear them move into place. Turn it back down to 12 and let it sit for a week and the beer is nicely carbed.


Also, what size co2 tank are you using?

 

[Xyloft]

As stated earlier, the co2 has to remain connected the entire time. This is how the beer is "force" carbed and enables you to serve it. When I put a new keg on gas, I release the pressure a few times to purge out any remaining oxygen and then I crank the regulator up to 30 psi or so to seat the fittings. Sometimes I can hear them move into place. Turn it back down to 12 and let it sit for a week and the beer is nicely carbed.


Also, what size co2 tank are you using?

2.5 lbs. and evidently i only fixed the one leak. the c02 tank was empty again this morning... argh. i think i may have to submerge the whole thing - air tank, kegs and lines.

 

[Spookgolds]

Wow that's small. Here's a tip for finding leaks. Mix some dish soap and water in a spray bottle. Dish soap is really sudsy so if there's a leak it will bubble. That's what I use and it works.