Regulator calibration

[Drackean]

Hey guys,

First time poster, long time reader from Quebec, Canada. You guys greatly helped me over the years to brew some pretty decent beer and to really get hooked on the hobby. I rarely seen a community that nice and knowlegable, and I mean it. Thank you all !

What drives me to write this first post is a kegging issue I just can't understand. Since I'm fairly new to kegging, I like to turn off the main valve of my cylinder when not using my system to prevent any loss due to an eventual leak (I lost one already !). Say my regulator is calibrated at 10 PSI before being turned off. When I turn it back on a few days later, it will usually suddenly rush to 15-20 PSI, as if the regulator had been cranked up while the gas was off.

I keep tweaking my dial to fix this and I just don't understand why it happens. My beer is carbonated perfectly, at least I feel so.

I hope you guys can figure it out, as usual

 

[JRems]

It's just the way the regulator works. It's an inverse relationship, As the input pressure is less ( for an instant when first turning it on) the output pressure rises. When you first turn it on you should purge the air out of the line re adjust the regulator to your desired psi. Your best bet is to fix your leaks and leave it on. It should not change until you are almost out of gas.

 

[LovesIPA]

I don't know what an "eventual leak" is. Either there is a leak in your system, or there isn't. If there is, fix it. Then you won't be wasting CO2 and having weird regulator problems.

 

[Drackean]

Indeed, there is a leak or there is not. I once lost a whole cylinder to a leak, so I carefully checked my whole system a second time to be sure it was ok. Since I don't know a way to be absolutely sure, I didn't have the balls yet to open it up and just leave it be. I suppose I should do it and see what happens.

Thanks for the help. I guess I missed some homeworks on regulators.

 

[LovesIPA]

My first CO2 tank was gone in about two weeks. I didn't know any better so I just thought that's how it was. Two weeks later, another one. Then I started to think about it and realized I probably had a leak. I'd checked all the fittings that I crimped together when I built it and they were good. I made a bowl of soapy water (starstan works just as good though) and went through the WHOLE system. Turns out I had three leaks at my apparently cheap and poorly constructed distribution manifold. Tightened them up and no more leaks. CO2 tank lasts about 2-3 months now.