Question on kegging from a newbie

[Dean_cox]

Hello fellow brewers!

My name is Dean and I have ao far brewed 12 beers using extract and just completed my first all grain brew last week. I am just getting Ito this hobby and it's great. A big thanks to this forum who have answered many questions.

I am now fed up with bottling and have just purchased my first keg system. 2 corney ball lock kegs, 5lb Co2, 2 facets etc. This I now all hooked up in my home made keggerator (nice) I now need some help. I have the temp set to 34F and have 2 kegs full of beer at 25 psi. I am trying to force carbonate. I have shaken the kegs and left them in the fridge for 10 hrs. I just went to pour my first beer and all I got was foam. The lines from the liquid out to the faucet seem to have air in them? So can someone please help me and let me know what I'm doing wrong? Should I leave the kegs for a few more days and keep shaking them every couple of hrs? When I served re beer I reduced the psi to about 9 by pulling the release valve on top the keg and changing the regulator to 9 psi. I was hoping to drink tomorow at a party?

I look forward to your though and help. A step by step for the first tome keggerator would be nice.

Thanks

Dean

 

[Sea]

I force carb at lower pressure, so I'm no expert on the shake-n-purge, but I think you should leave it on the high pressure for another 10-12 hours, then reduce to serving pressure (8-12 PSI), and purge, purge, purge, purge, and purge some more. You'll be amazed at how much purging you'll have to do. That's one of the reasons why I just wait the week now.

 

[mummasan]

I've never had that problem, are you sure you have the long dip tube in the 'beer out' side? If the co2 tank is cold, it will not show accurate psi. Maybe take your keg out of the keggerator and make sure the connections are tight. It sounds like you have the right idea and it should be carbing nicely. FWIW, my first pour is not usually pretty, there is usually some gunk, extra foam and some spray too. I could tell you how I get my kegs to carbonate but that wont help you by tomorrow.

 

[daveooph131]

How long is your beer line? Short line can be a problem. Most people go with 10 ft.

 

[howabouttheiris]

"lines from the liquid out to the faucet seem to have air in them"

Is it possible that your connectors are backwards (out on in, in on out)?

This would get you air (and maybe foam) regardless of the pressure.