Problem cleaning lines

[stickperson]

Hi all. I'm going to keg my first beer soon and had some time today so I decided to play around with some things. I wanted to see if I could get the setup correct, so I filled my keg with a bit of water and hooked everything up. My regulator is super powerful and I can't seem to get it below 50psi (I can post a pic if this will clarify things).

I turned the CO2 on and checked all connections for leaks. No leaks, good. However, when I try to let some water out through the faucet nothing comes out. I see a little bit of water in the line but not much. CO2 is definitely going into the keg-- I can release it using the release valve and you can see all the air in there when I take the lid off.

Any idea what's happening? Also, I can't get the gas disconnect off the keg for the life of me. Yes, it's on the "in" side of the keg. Any clue?

Thanks for much.

 

[day_trippr]

Turn off the gas tank valve, turn the regulator pressure control knob or screw counter-clockwise until it bottoms, and disconnect the gas line from the regulator. If your regulator has a shut-off valve where the gas line attaches, open it. At this point the low pressure gauge should read zero. If that isn't the case, something is horribly wrong.

Next, turn on the tank valve. The low pressure gauge should still read zero. If it doesn't, there's something keeping the regulator seat from closing. Could be debris, in which case there's a chance you can clear it.

If the gauge reads zero, close the gas shut-off valve (if present) then slowly open the regulator by turning the control clockwise. The low pressure gauge pressure should rise as you turn the control, and should stabilize when you stop turning. If that isn't the case, there's something wrong with the regulator.

If you get this far and the regulator is working properly, the next thing to debug is the beer side. Depressurize the keg, remove the beer QD and verify you can depress the poppet on the Out post at least a good 1/8" without breaking a sweat.

If you can't budge it, or it takes a ridiculous amount of force to get it to move, there's a chance you have the wrong poppet for that post, or you have a so-called "universal poppet" that isn't. These often need to have a loop or more cut off their springs to get them to work reliably.

If the poppet moves easily, next take the beer QD and make sure you can get the spring-loaded valve inside to move. If you look at the business end of the QD you'll see a post, push that in and it should move without major force. If it won't move, there's something wrong with the QD.

That ought to keep you busy for a bit.

As for the gas QD: use a prying tool under the barrel of the QD while you hold the locking ring fully up...

Cheers!

 

[stickperson]

Turn off the gas tank valve, turn the regulator pressure control knob or screw counter-clockwise until it bottoms, and disconnect the gas line from the regulator. If your regulator has a shut-off valve where the gas line attaches, open it. At this point the low pressure gauge should read zero. If that isn't the case, something is horribly wrong.

Next, turn on the tank valve. The low pressure gauge should still read zero. If it doesn't, there's something keeping the regulator seat from closing. Could be debris, in which case there's a chance you can clear it.

If the gauge reads zero, close the gas shut-off valve (if present) then slowly open the regulator by turning the control clockwise. The low pressure gauge pressure should rise as you turn the control, and should stabilize when you stop turning. If that isn't the case, there's something wrong with the regulator.

If you get this far and the regulator is working properly, the next thing to debug is the beer side. Depressurize the keg, remove the beer QD and verify you can depress the poppet on the Out post at least a good 1/8" without breaking a sweat.

If you can't budge it, or it takes a ridiculous amount of force to get it to move, there's a chance you have the wrong poppet for that post, or you have a so-called "universal poppet" that isn't. These often need to have a loop or more cut off their springs to get them to work reliably.

If the poppet moves easily, next take the beer QD and make sure you can get the spring-loaded valve inside to move. If you look at the business end of the QD you'll see a post, push that in and it should move without major force. If it won't move, there's something wrong with the QD.

That ought to keep you busy for a bit.

As for the gas QD: use a prying tool under the barrel of the QD while you hold the locking ring fully up...

Cheers!

Thanks for the tips. When I turn the pressure control knob down, the pressure goes down but only slightly. I'm going to get a different regulator and see if that's the problem.

I could push down the poppet on the out post when using a pen or something (fingers too big) no problem. I could also move the spring at the top inside of the beer QD.

So yea, I'll try a new regulator. Question though-- Co2 is definitely getting into the tank albeit way too much. Even though I'm having a hard time controlling the pressure, shouldn't liquid still be coming out?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Even though I'm having a hard time controlling the pressure, shouldn't liquid still be coming out?

Yes. And that's why you checked both the out post and beer QD.

If there's still water in the keg, seal it up, put just a slight shot of gas in it, grab a towel and hold it over the out post while you push down on its poppet. If that post doesn't spit some water, your dip tube must be blocked.

As for the regulator, it may have some crud trapped in the seat. [aside: I've seen brand new regs loaded with brass machining debris, and if that gets into the seat it'll drive the owner nutty]

If it's just some minor junk, you can often clear it thusly: shut off the tank valve, remove the gas tubing, open the shut-off valve (if equipped), turn up the regulator 'til the screw or knob almost falls off or runs out of travel, then - with the output port pointed away from any living soul or anything really important - open and close the tank valve in a few short blasts.

Then close the regulator all the way back down, open the tank valve slowly, and see what if anything may have been accomplished...

Cheers!