My 1st time kegging/force carbonating

[maddyp75]

Okay so I kegged my first beer into a 5 gal corny keg yesterday. Rolled it around on 35 psi for a while then put it in the frig which is between 35 and 40 degrees for the last 24 hours at 12 psi.

Went to check on it when I got home and the C02 in the keg has dropped from approximately 750lbs to 500lbs. My first thought is that I have a CO2 leak somewhere but I checked it before placing in the frig and couldn't find any.

So my question is how much CO2 do you guys use when force carbonating? Any suggestions for how to check for leaks if thats what you guys suspect?

 

[day_trippr]

Did you put your CO2 tank in the fridge, too? If so, that's most likely why the pressure gauge has dropped so much.

I have a 5 pound tank and typically force-carb six five gallon batches plus purge cornies and carboys plus flush cleaners through my keezer before I need to refill it...

Cheers!

 

[maddyp75]

Yeah I did put the tank in with it, not sure why I didn't realize what was going on as I typed this. I've actually been in the basement tightening all the lines and checking for leaks again while waiting on a reply.

So my next question on this is are you not suppose to leave the keg hooked up to the CO2 the entire time?

 

[Golddiggie]

I saw pretty much the same thing when I put my 5# CO2 tank into the fridge the first time. I thought I had a leak. I did everything possible to find one, and I actually did. That being said, it was the cold that made the high pressure gauge read low. I've since moved my CO2 regulator outside the fridge (installed two bulkheads, feeding two manifolds with different pressures) so it's now a non-issue. I can also easily see what the pressures are. So I know if something's going sideways without opening the brew fridge door.

I'm using 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs right now. I expect to add 5 gallon kegs once I've moved, and get a keezer (or larger brew fridge) setup. I still intend to have the gas tanks outside the brew fridge/keezer. Worst case, I'll put the bulkhead through the door, or collar (for the keezer).

IF you do suspect you have an actual leak in the gas system, there is an easy way to check. Take the gas QD off the keg. Charge the system to 30psi, then turn off the tank valve. Check on it in 30-60 minutes. If the high pressure side has not moved, you're probably good. Let it go 24 hours and you'll KNOW if you're leak free. You can also listen for leaks. With 30psi going into the lines, you'll hear even a minor leak. Unlike at <15psi. That's how I located the leak in my system the first time.

I would recommend doing the above testing anytime you change a fitting on your gas side. I'm not talking about QD's, but manifolds, hoses, etc... It's a pretty quick/easy way to locate leaks. If you have a manifold with shutoff valves on it, you can also use those to isolate lines/feeds to narrow down where a leak actually is. Just use some good old Vulcan logic man...

 

[Yooper]

Yeah I did put the tank in with it, not sure why I didn't realize what was going on as I typed this. I've actually been in the basement tightening all the lines and checking for leaks again while waiting on a reply.

So my next question on this is are you not suppose to leave the keg hooked up to the CO2 the entire time?

Yes, of course you leave the co2 hooked up! As the beer absorbs the co2, some gas will go into the headspace to keep it carbonated.

I'm not a "roll around at 35 psi" kind of person. But either way, the beer will be carbed up soon, once it cools and absorbs the co2.

 

[maddyp75]

Good deal. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong but I always side with caution and prepare for the worst with things like this. Once I get my other two kegs filled its time to build my keezer.

 

[subliminalurge]

Never hurts to check for leaks when you're using new parts on your kegging system (or a whole new kegging system). So go ahead and do that.

But it's perfectly normal (and startling!) to see a major decrease on the high pressure guage once you put the co2 tank into the fridge.

When I kegged my first two batches my freshly filled tank went from 800 psi to just over 500 psi overnight. Force carbed those two kegs, served those two kegs, wasted a lot of co2 just dinking around and experimenting with my new toys, then pulled everything out once those kegs kicked so I could clean the fridge (picnic taps drip a lot) and wait for new batches to be ready.

One night at room temp and the high pressure guage was back to 800 psi.

 

[TejasBrewing]

I was about to post on this subject. Thanks for all the answers. I kegged my first porter and set the pressure at 9psi at room temp, then turned my keezer on and have the temp set on 38. Went to check on my pressures and my gauge went down from 800psi to just over 500psi and thought I had issues, but I guess not. Thanks