What am I missing?

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Manfish

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Joined
Apr 26, 2010
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Location
Issaquah, WA
I have a hef that has been on the gas for 2 weeks tomorrow. The PSI ranging from 30psi down to 8psi over that time with the bulk of that time around the 8-12psi mark. Well, this hef is flatter than my 2nd grade girlfriend was, yet the other 2 kegs I put on the gas it only took 4-7 days to be carbed up good. The corney is holding pressure nicely, yet the beer is flat... am I missing something? For the record the kegerator is at roughly 40*.

Thanks!
 
If you have gas continuously flowing at 25 psi to that hefe it should carb up in 2 days and be rather bubbly...there is no reason I can think of that makes your beer not carbonate. Try chilling it down to 35 and hit it with some pressure, shake it up really well or roll it vigorously on the floor for 30 min...if that doesnt carb it than you have mutant beer.
 
Ok, so I went out to the kegerator to remove the gas from taps #1 and #2 and up it on the hef. I pulled the keg out and much to my surprise as I moved it I could hear ice chunks moving around inside.... I would assume that this is why its not carbing properly is because its got ice in it and the gas cant penetrate it?? Correct?
 
That'll do it!

Hard to carb ice :drunk:

You might want to install a small fan in your cooler to get the air moving... It can help prevent such unhappiness.
 
I think what happened originally is that I was getting temps in the 20's in my kegerator (even on the warmest setting of the fridge). I added a barrier, a 3/4 inch piece of plywood, between the freezer and where I have the kegs and now the temp is right close to 40, maybe a degree or 2 variance only. However, the keg of Hef was in the kegerator during the full time it was colder and I think it just never got the chance to full thaw out. I knew it had ice in it previously, just thought it would have thawed (as the temp went up, especially after almost 10+ days)... guess not. Anyway, I left that keg out in the garage for an hour, rolled it around a few times and the ice was gone. I then reattached to the gas at 30psi for 30 minutes, rolling it occasionally. I then dropped the gas down to between 20 and 25 psi, put the keg back in the kegerator and let it sit like that for an hour. After that I came out, lowered the psi to serving, purged the gas from the keg, and pulled me a glass.... pretty much all foam on my first couple pulls, but it got a little better (and there was most certainly carbonation in it!). No worries though, as I figured it was pretty foamy in the keg from being jostled around like that. So I have been letting it sit since about 7pm last night, will take a pull off of it this afternoon. :)
 
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