Kegging Carb Problems

[smmcdermott]

I am fairly new to kegging, having kegged four beers so far. Two of them were aggressive (30 psi for night or two) and two were set and forget. The set and forget ones did not come out carbed at all really. It was a Bourbon Barrel Porter and the Apflewien from EdWort. The have both been in the keg for 2+ months. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

I hooked the gas to the gas in line (have heard of putting it on the out line but have not done that), put in the fridge and let it sit for two weeks (I know, early) before taking a sample. I like to see how things age and the difference. I set them both to 12.5 PSI and still do not have much carbing after months. The porter does get foam on the top by the end of the pour, but it fizzles off rather quickly.

I have ten feet of liquid tubing, but would prefer to not mess with that. Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks for the advise!

 

[Yooper]

Well, the apfelwein could be carbed but not seeming so simply because it's "thin", if that makes sense. Carbed wines (like soda) seem to need more bubbles to be "right".

But if it's happening with your porter, too, then I suspect your psi is too low for your system. What's the temp of your fridge?

My fridge is 39 degrees, and that is about perfect for 12 psi.

 

[smmcdermott]

Well, the apfelwein could be carbed but not seeming so simply because it's "thin", if that makes sense. Carbed wines (like soda) seem to need more bubbles to be "right".

But if it's happening with your porter, too, then I suspect your psi is too low for your system. What's the temp of your fridge?

My fridge is 39 degrees, and that is about perfect for 12 psi.

To be honest I am not positive on the fridge temp. I just asked my GF to check who is home. The fridge is the Fridgidaire Model FCC445GB. Thanks for the help.

 

[smmcdermott]

OK, just found out that the temperature is 36 degrees. I realize that is a little cold, but will 3 degrees make that much of a difference?

 

[Yooper]

OK, just found out that the temperature is 36 degrees. I realize that is a little cold, but will 3 degrees make that much of a difference?

Actually, yes. But the other way, it should OVERcarb the beer at 36 degrees.

Is it possible that your regulator isn't working, or that you're out of gas?

 

[smmcdermott]

Well i bought the regulator brand new and the gas was a full 5 lb tank and this is just my fourth kegging (the porter was third and the apfelwein was fourth). So I was assuming that it was not either of those. Any other ideas? Thanks for the responses Yooper!

 

[david_42]

Is your line 1/4" or 3/16ths?

 

[MadDwarf]

A full tank 4 kegs ago doesn't rule out an empty tank - leaks happen. If you pull the pressure release on your corny keg to release all the pressure, do you hear CO2 hissing back into the keg?

 

[joeldp144]

I am somewhat of a newb to kegging, but one thing that I have found is that my regulator pressure differs from many of the folks in the forums. I think that my regulator is probably just cheap and not as accurate as most people's. In any case, I have found that I need my pressure to be consistently in the 14 to 15 psi range to have any really noticable carbonation. Again, I think my gauge just sucks.

I suggest increasing the pressure a couple of psi and leaving it for a week to see what happens. You'll have to play with it.