Pressure difference in two kegs on same regulator

[schwarzk]

So, this seems physically impossible, but it's been going on long enough that I figured I'd ask for some help.

I have two corny kegs hooked up to the same CO2 tank, but one of the beers is really carbonated and the other one seems to be getting flatter and flatter. They have both been hooked up for over a month, and the tank pressure isn't changing, so I don't think I have a leak. (Plus I did a soapy water test and found nothing.)

The gas line from the regulator is split, with the valves controlling each line completely open. The pressure is at about 8-10 psi, and the beer lines going to the tap are the same length.

Any ideas? What could I be missing? Thanks!

 

[lumpher]

if it's a dual regulator, maybe the valve is stuck/bad on 1 of them.

 

[schwarzk]

It's just a single gauge regulator--the split to the two kegs is in the gas line only. The weird thing is that the beer still flows fine from both taps--it's just gotten really flat out of one of them. I can still purge out the CO2 from the flat one and hear it refill, so there's gas flowing to the keg. I can't figure out why the two beers wouldn't carbonate to at least about the same level.

 

[DustinHickey]

Very strange especially because you can purge and you hear it refill. I am at a loss. I cant think of anything that would do this because the hoses split and run to the tanks with nothing different. Did you try swapping the lines on the kegs? Maybe the disconnect has an obstruction preventing proper flow into the flat keg?

 

[TipsyDragon]

are both kegs at the same temperature? that does make a difference.

 

[Jewrican]

could be a slow leak.

Hit it with serving pressure, take it off the gas, let it sit for a day or so, and try to purge air. Did it hold pressure?

 

[schwarzk]

Thanks for the suggestions--I think tonight I'll try taking the flat one off the gas to see if it can hold its pressure for a few days. The kegs are both in the same fridge, so temp. shouldn't be an issue.


It's probably unrelated, but in the interest of full disclosure:

When I kegged the "good" beer about a month ago, I think I bumped the regulator gauge, because I lost half a tank of CO2 and most of the carbonation in my older (now flat) beer in a couple of days. I found a leak in the regulator/gas line connection using soapy water, tightened it up, and purged both kegs a few times, but the carbonation never came back to the flat beer. I stopped losing CO2, and the new beer carbed up to a good level just fine over the next couple of weeks. Around this time, we also started noticing some sediment in the older beer. Could it have been ruined by losing CO2 pressure (and I guess possibly being exposed to a little O2) for a few days? And could this somehow now be preventing it from re-carbonating? It tastes ok--not great, but I've been chalking this up to its flatness.