Paranoid Carbonatoritus

[sbsmann]

I know we've seen this question many times and I've read several similar posts, but I'll throw this out there anyway just to help me think through my issue & listen to any ideas. I kegged & began carbing a porter about 2 weeks ago at about 8 psi. This was my first time kegging this type of beer so I just went with the "set and forget" method at pouring pressure of 8psi which gave me the recommended 2 volumes of CO2 for a porter. I poured some yesterday and it had zero head and no carbonation. This does happen to be a brand new "used" keg that I am using for the first time, but I did check it for leaks and it is holding pressure just fine. If I release the pressure relief valve there is definitely plenty of pressure being released and the CO2 tank fills it back up and stops after 5 or so seconds. Yesterday I also poured a few pints in case the level of liquid was too high up into the CO2 tube (but it was right around 5 gallons of liquid). Anyway, do I just need to be more patient or is there something I could be missing here?

 

[passedpawn]

Make sure the dip tube is on the beer post, and that the beer line is connected to the beer post.

Make sure the level of the beer is below the short (1") gas tube. (BTW, many people cut this 1" down to 1/4" to be able to fill keg higher.

These comments apply to ball lock kegs. No idea if they apply to pin lock.

 

[sbsmann]

Make sure the dip tube is on the beer post, and that the beer line is connected to the beer post.

Make sure the level of the beer is below the short (1") gas tube. (BTW, many people cut this 1" down to 1/4" to be able to fill keg higher.

These comments apply to ball lock kegs. No idea if they apply to pin lock.

Will do, thanks. I do have ball lock posts.

 

[JDXX1971]

Mother Mary whispered words of wisdom, let it be, let it beeeee.....

I don't know why but some of mine seem to take a long time to get where I want them, but they eventually do. Barring any leaks of course.

 

[gunhaus]

I have my keggerator set up, that rarely gives me trouble. And i have a second, single keg set up that I put in the shop as while back. I put a Blonde Ale on the gas at 12psi. Past experience with this beer and my regular system said 10-14 days and all would be bubbly and fine. 10 days in I pulled a small sample glass to check progress - and basically nothing. A few thin bubbles that dissipated immediately, no head, nada. Everything looked fine, no leaks, no plugs, no clue. With nothing to lose, I just cranked the gas up to 25 psi, and left it 24 hours, then turned it back to 12 and left it another week. The world had returned to equilibrium! It had a nice head, was plenty fizzy and stayed that way through the test glass. A couple days later my heathen friends callously slurped it dry. I cannot explain what exactly was going on here. I replaced the spent Blonde Ale with a mild, and after seven or eight days set at between 9-10 psi on this regulator it has progressed just like i would expect. I guess the point is stuff happens and don;t be afraid to experiment a little. Sometimes they need a tweaking!

 

[sbsmann]

Sounds like u need to better curtail your heathen friends and I need to simply relax and monkey around with it a little more.

 

[gunhaus]

Yup! I'm gonna add more hangover seeds to the next batch!

 

[MaryB]

Shake the keg a couple times a day, it will speed carbing but it will stir up the yeast making the beer cloudy...It will settle back out in a few more days...

 

[jalc6927]

Increase PSI to 12 or so and try, may be the regulator is not real accurate

 

[ong]

Note that temperature has to be part of that equation. Assuming this is somewhere around 38-42 Fahrenheit?

 

[sbsmann]

Note that temperature has to be part of that equation. Assuming this is somewhere around 38-42 Fahrenheit?

42 to be precise so on the outer edge.