Regulator Problems?-Beer not carbonating

[BrewersVocation]

I'm at my witts end! My beer has not been carbonating to the correct C02 Volume. It's carbonated but pretty flat. I've tried 2 different brews and they are both the same. Could this be a regulator issue? I've waited a week for both brews. My C02 Tank was just filled. I increased the PSI from 11 to 13 for a week and it was still pretty flat. I have a 3 way manifold hooked up as well. Temp is 35 F. My CO2 tank and Regulator fell over in my keezer awhile ago as well so I'm thinking regulator?

What can I test to pinpoint my problem? Thanks fam..

https://www.morebeer.com/products/co2-regulator-taprite-dual-gauge.html

 

[jddevinn]

If you vent the keg can you hear the replacement CO2 flow into the keg?

 

[1HW]

Other place to check is the keg itself. You could be pressurizing correctly and have a leak in the keg lid or poppets.

 

[BrewersVocation]

I vented the keg. I could hear C02 coming in. It's a torpedo keg. I took apart the quick connectors and 1 of the rubber o rings is missing on the beer side. I think this may have been it. For torpedo kegs how do you know which stem is the gas and which is the beer? There is a notch on one of the stems.

 

[1HW]

Notch is gas.

 

[wsmith1625]

Just remember to put the post on correct when you break down the keg for cleaning. The gas post with the notch goes on the short dip tube. The liquid post without the notch goes on the long dip tube.

Also, remember the disconnects.

Black = Beverage or Beer
Gray = Gas

 

[BrewersVocation]

Thank you Fam! I'll let it sit for a few days and check back!

 

[bracconiere]

it's not pouring foam is it? (and, lol, when i first was reading your post i thought you said Mr. Beer, had me wonder how your regulator could be bad! )

 

[BrewersVocation]

it's not pouring foam is it? (and, lol, when i first was reading your post i thought you said Mr. Beer, had me wonder how your regulator could be bad! )

Haha! No, it's not pouring any foam, just beer with no head.

 

[bracconiere]

Haha! No, it's not pouring any foam, just beer with no head.

well then it's got pressure it should absorb some of it.....you don't have more then one keg on the line without check valves between them like me do you? when i hook up a new keg even with the co2 off, i can hear pressure move from one keg to the new one.....

 

[bracconiere]

not to sound stupid, but could you actually have a problem with TOO long of lines? lol how long does it take to pour a glass?

 

[bracconiere]

and just an off the wall thought i had, don't even know if the reg would fit it. but this isn't "beer gas" is it?

 

[doug293cz]

What is your process for purging the air out of the keg headspace after filling, and before setting aside to carbonate? If most of the air isn't purged from the headspace, then your regulator/gauge will be measuring the sum of the air pressure and CO2 pressure in the headspace. If there is significant air in the headspace, then your CO2 pressure in the headspace will be lower than the set value of the regulator, and your carbonation level will be lower than expected.

Brew on

 

[bracconiere]

What is your process for purging the air out of the keg headspace after filling, and before setting aside to carbonate?

i did notice, when because of my IDGAF attitude....when i don't purge my head space it'd take way longer to carb at serving pressure.....you did it for me, i'll post the one that goes to 50!

(50psi is about the max i can get my reg too, without the PRV's on the kegs hissing, otherwise i'd want one that went to 60! )

 

[BrewersVocation]

Shiz, so I only purges once at 12psi, then when I added the gelatin later I didn't purge at all.

You think that has a big impact? I'll purge 5 times at 30psi here now. I'm now sure where you found that graph...

What is "Beer Gas"?

 

[day_trippr]

If the O-ring that was missing was on one of the dip tubes I'm guessing that keg was leaking gas.
And leaky kegs tend not to carbonate...

Cheers!

 

[bracconiere]

What is "Beer Gas"?

LOL it's 60% nitrogen and only 40% co2, so you can give it to it, without it getting to carbbed.....strangley, just so that you can force the little carbonation out of it later with more pressure.....it's an irish thing....

edit: never tried it myself, but they say it's good.....

 

[doug293cz]

Shiz, so I only purges once at 12psi, then when I added the gelatin later I didn't purge at all.

You think that has a big impact? I'll purge 5 times at 30psi here now. I'm now sure where you found that graph...

What is "Beer Gas"?

Yep, too much air in the headspace, which limits the CO2 pressure to less than gauge pressure.

I created the chart and table with a spreadsheet, using simple dilution math and the Ideal Gas Law.

Brew on

 

[1HW]

LOL it's 60% nitrogen and only 40% co2, so you can give it to it, without it getting to carbbed.....strangley, just so that you can force the little carbonation out of it later with more pressure.....it's an irish thing....

edit: never tried it myself, but they say it's good.....

Beer gas is used primarily to help "push" beer through long tap lines— a situation you might find in a pub or restaurant. Nitrogen does not readily dissolve in beer the same way CO2 does. It's also much higher pressure. Lets say you had to push your beer up two flights and 25' to the tap. The serving pressure needed to move the beer that far (i.e., to balance your tap line) would be significantly greater than the ideal pressure for carbonating the beer (i.e., you would have overcarbed beer if using CO2). Because the higher pressure Nitrogen does not dissolve well in beer, you can mix it in ratio with CO2. The smaller amount of CO2 dissolves into the beer carbing it properly. The Nitrogen gives you the oomph to get it to your tap at the ideal serving pressure.

People often confuse this purpose with beer gas as it is used to serve stouts (e.g., Guinness). The nitrogen in beer gas used for stouts is paired with a special tap that has a restrictor plate in it. The restrictor plate creates the tiny happy bubbles from the nitrogen gas that we all love.

 

[Vale71]

Shiz, so I only purges once at 12psi, then when I added the gelatin later I didn't purge at all.

You think that has a big impact? I'll purge 5 times at 30psi here now. I'm now sure where you found that graph...

What is "Beer Gas"?

If you don't purge at all and then set 13 PSI on your regulator you'll be carbonating with about a 50:50 mix of air and CO2. This means that you're actually carbing at about half the pressure that you've set on your reg and as you can see from a carbonation table at half the pressure the beer will be very undercarbonated indeed.

 

[jseyfert3]

Not to mention a lot of oxidation is going to happen on an unpurged keg.

 

[BrewersVocation]

Update: After replacing the gasket & purging the keg I got really good carbonation after 4 days!! Thank you guys!!