Kegs per 37cu 75/25 beer gas?

[djonesax]

Hi,

I seem to get very poor efficiency with my beer gas setup, I could swear that I have a leak somewhere because I am only getting 2-3 5 gallon kegs out of a 37cu tank. I've gotten to where I shut the tank off when I am not pouring and it seems to last longer than if I left it on which further leads me to think I have a leak. I just discovered my tank was left on and now almost empty but still enough to put 40PSI on the output side of the regulator. So I'm even more thinking leak, but I submerged all of it in water and no bubbles.... I even submerged the keg upside down with the gas attached and no bubbles... WTF?

I am pretty sure I got 2 kegs of coffee and 1 keg of stout from this bottle, so 3 kegs at 40PSI each. What are you all getting?

-David

 

[yoop89]

Who is filling your tank and what pressure are they filling it to?

My beer gas setup used an 80 cf tank and filled all the way (~2200 psi) I got 10-12 kegs out of it before selling. Still had a couple hundred psi left too. Some places don’t like to fill to the rating of the tank (I’ve heard) so it could be possibly you’re not getting a complete fill if you’ve ruled out leaks already.

 

[djonesax]

Who is filling your tank and what pressure are they filling it to?

My beer gas setup used an 80 cf tank and filled all the way (~2500 psi) I got 10-12 kegs out of it before selling. Still had a couple hundred psi left too. Some places don’t like to fill to the rating of the tank (I’ve heard) so it could be possibly you’re not getting a complete fill if you’ve ruled out leaks already.

I get it filled at Airgas and it’s 37SCF and 13.063 LBs, 75/25.

 

[yoop89]

Beer gas isn’t filled by weight, it exists in a gas form unlike CO2 which is partial liquid and filled to a certain weight. Does your regulator have a cylinder pressure gauge? That should show you what your pressure is when the tank is full.

Being that it is filled at air gas I don’t expect there not filling the tank, but I could be wrong.

Also, what is your tank rated at? It should be stamped somewhere near the valve on the neck of the tank.

 

[djonesax]

I just put on a new tank and its filled to a little over 2300 PSI. I did just now find a leak though in the tank pressure gauge, now that I have a fresh tank on it. Its faint but there so I guess I'll take the regulator apart and Teflon tape it unless there is another approach that's better?

 

[yoop89]

I just put on a new tank and its filled to a little over 2300 PSI. I did just now find a leak though in the tank pressure gauge, now that I have a fresh tank on it. Its faint but there so I guess I'll take the regulator apart and Teflon tape it unless there is another approach that's better?

That’s all I do as long as it’s pipe thread. Don’t use any Teflon on the any flare or o-ring connections though, it can and usually does cause a leak.

 

[djonesax]

I thought I should add some conclusion to this thread. I re-taped all the threads and the regulator now holds air properly. I also tightened all the connections even though they seemed tight enough. I would turn the gas on to fill the regulator and then turn it off and leave it for a day, and if the regulator pressure had dropped I knew I had more work to do and after doing this a few times over a week, the regulator is now holding pressure. Even so, I still have a little PTSD about it and still dont leave the tank on when not in use yet, so I just our a coffee and then tun the gas on and back off again.

That regulator must have been leaking from the day I got it.