Newbie co2/keg question (help!)

[kingdona]

I just started kegging, literally just this weekend. For my first attempt I wanted to learn so went with something quick and easy - root beer just to get the basics down. I kegged Thursday night and put the co2 going at about 15 PSI. This was a new 5# tank I picked up Wednesday from Praxair. I am learning to work with the regulator so my adjustments have been a little too much in some instances. At one point I was up to about 45 PSI overnight and had it going about 20 PSI yesterday.

Things seem to be going fine. I learned the hard way that the pressure can be too much and had liquid shoot out of the picnic tap uncontrollably and had to relieve some of the pressure. I had another mishap where I forgot the shutoff valve at the regulator and blew off the connector letting the gas flow freely for about 3 seconds etc.

I have not been real conservative with the gas and have made a couple of mistakes, had to release the pressure on the keg etc. The root beer is getting co2 dissolved into it fine as I would expect.

I came down this morning and my tank is empty. No pressure going out and the other guage that reads the pressure from the tank is at 0. My question is do I have a leak or was I possibly that bad with wasting co2? My connections seem to fit very tight and it was a struggles actually to get the hoses all the way on the barb. I know co2 is going into the keg because I am getting carbonation and I can hear the expected hiss of gas rushing in. My understanding is that a 5# tank should be able to carbonate 20+ kegs - not sure if that is accurate, but I would hope that it can do more thank 1.

Thanks for any help or advice on things I can check.

Don

[Rob Martin]

I haven't really kept track, but it should be able to carb and push 5-10 cornies at least.

Sounds like you did waste quite a bit, but you may also have a leak somewhere in your gaskets on your keg. Maybe your lid, relief valve, posts, poppet valves, etc. If the reg was set to high, your relief valve would have let gas out (safety reason).

I keep Starsan in a Zep spray bottle (the mechanisms of cheap $1 spray bottles with break down with the corrosiveness of starson - get a $5 Zep bottle from a hardware store). When you get some more CO2, you can spray the probable areas to see if gas is bubbling out of them. Also, if the keg is used, you may want to replace all rubber gaskets.

[kingdona]

Thanks Rob. I was actually wondering about the gaskets. I just bought these new and refurbished from the Beverage Factory and they talk about reconditioning the entire thing. They look new from what I can tell. I will try the spray bottle with star san. I remember doing something similar with soapy water on a flat bike tire as a kid.

One other thing I didn't mention is that I had the canister in the kegerator with the keg. I had read that it shouldn't be a problem and that the biggest thing was the regulator guage might not respond as quickly when it is cold and that after making an adjustment you might not know what the actual setting is for about an hour. I would think that cold would not matter and it would operate fine but would be interested to hear if you have a differing opinion.

Thanks!

Don

[kingdona]

I think mystery is solved. Just went to get a taste of the root beer and nothing came out of the tap at all, lol . I pulled the release valve and nothing so I have to guess something is leaking on the keg. I must have not had the lid on properly or like you said, a bad gasket.

I am guessing there is no place to get co2 on a Sunday .

[Rob Martin]

At least you found the problem. I know a lot of people that keep the CO2 in the fridge, but on both of the kegerators I've made I keep the tank outside. The first one I drilled a hole through the side - you have to be careful doing that to not puncture a freon line. The second one I put the hole through the front door with enough hose line to let the air line flex when the door opens. Both times I used plumbers putty to seal up the hole.

[kingdona]

I would like to do that as well. Mine is a chest freezer and I have seen some pics posted elsewhere that show a wooden collar of sorts that the lid is mounted too and then it sits on the freezer itself so that beer taps and gas lines can be put through it instead of drilling through the side. I guarantee I would hit something and ruin it otherwise.

[sam]

In addition to checking everything for leaks (something you should do on a regular basis) you might try putting the required pounds of pressure to your Corny keg and then valving off your CO2. If the keg is not leaking, the guage will show that the CO2 pressure has remained constant in the keg overnight. If it is leaking (even slowly) you will have lost very little. Once you have established that you are leak free you can valve your CO2 back on and proceed with normal carbonation.

I found this info when I started kegging and thought it was pretty helpful. I am sure some of the more experienced folks on here have even better resources, but this is handy.

http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article12018101.shtml

Additionally, I always keep one of these around for emergencies and road trips. They are widely available online or from your local homebrew shop and the CO2 cartridges are the same ones used for BB guns and paintball and are available at Cotton Hardware (plug) or a big box store.

http://mountainhomebrew.com/browseprodu ... arger.HTML