Best Way To Check If Kegs Are Setup Correctly

[sponge]

Hey hey everyone

Hope everyone is enjoying the start to their weekends

Im just wondering what the best way of determining whether or not youve got everything set up right for kegging

I have just finished fermenting my first AG and want to get around to kegging it this weekend

I just finished making the keg fridge and getting the gas lines and everything sorted. I just gave the keg i planned on using a good old clean out with boiling water and some starsan and have got some gas running into the keg now.

After 10min of leaving it to gas up a little, i was hoping a trickle of water would come out of the taps at least, just to make sure the gas was able to push the liquid out

Ive got a regulator, one way valve and a 3 line splitter which I have just opened one of the valves for.

Should i be hearing gas come out of the disconnect when its not attached to the keg at all? (its not, but just thought id ask)

The reg is set up to about 3 bar at the moment, but i cant hear any signs of gas going in.

Yes, the tank is full, as the one way valve was leaking at the start and i could hear gas escaping but ive fixed that now. And yes, the arrow is pointing in the direction of gas flow.

What can I do to determine if gas is actually coming out of the disconnect and theres no faults along the way?

Any help would be greatly appreciated


Cheers

Sponge

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Hey hey everyone

Hope everyone is enjoying the start to their weekends

Im just wondering what the best way of determining whether or not youve got everything set up right for kegging

I have just finished fermenting my first AG and want to get around to kegging it this weekend

I just finished making the keg fridge and getting the gas lines and everything sorted. I just gave the keg i planned on using a good old clean out with boiling water and some starsan and have got some gas running into the keg now.

After 10min of leaving it to gas up a little, i was hoping a trickle of water would come out of the taps at least, just to make sure the gas was able to push the liquid out

Ive got a regulator, one way valve and a 3 line splitter which I have just opened one of the valves for.

Should i be hearing gas come out of the disconnect when its not attached to the keg at all? (its not, but just thought id ask)

The reg is set up to about 3 bar at the moment, but i cant hear any signs of gas going in.

Yes, the tank is full, as the one way valve was leaking at the start and i could hear gas escaping but ive fixed that now. And yes, the arrow is pointing in the direction of gas flow.

What can I do to determine if gas is actually coming out of the disconnect and theres no faults along the way?

Any help would be greatly appreciated


Cheers

Sponge

When the disconnects are disconnected they have a valve that will seal them. If you poke something up there the gas will hiss out. Generally speaking not hearing gas come out when they are disconnected is a good sign there are no leaks.

 

[sponge]

When the disconnects are disconnected they have a valve that will seal them. If you poke something up there the gas will hiss out. Generally speaking not hearing gas come out when they are disconnected is a good sign there are no leaks.

Champion

Thanks for that. I just pressed the disconnect in and gave the rubber stopper a bit of a push with a screwdriver and gas came hissing out.

And whilst i was cleaning I pressed the out on the keg in a little and some water came out when i tipped the keg upside down, so im just assuming for the small amount of liquid i had in there to clean it, there wasnt enough pressure yet to push it out.

I think i may just jump ahead and rack it into the keg, give it a few days and see what happens

Cheers again for that.

Sponge

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Champion

Thanks for that. I just pressed the disconnect in and gave the rubber stopper a bit of a push with a screwdriver and gas came hissing out.

And whilst i was cleaning I pressed the out on the keg in a little and some water came out when i tipped the keg upside down, so im just assuming for the small amount of liquid i had in there to clean it, there wasnt enough pressure yet to push it out.

I think i may just jump ahead and rack it into the keg, give it a few days and see what happens

Cheers again for that.

Sponge

no worries mate. do what i do. Rack into keg. hook up gas. burp. then tip the keg on the side and roll it around for a couple of minutes. Then hook up your taps and enjoy. It'll be a little flat to start with but will carb up over a day or two and it won't over carb. Don't go mucking around with turning the reg up and trying to force carb. It is too easy to stuff up and over carb.

Good luck and have fun.

Cheers

 

[kelbygreen]

the water should come out the tap as soon as the gas is connected you dont have to wait (well maybe 2-3 secs). maybe your liquid d/c is buggered, the lines blocked or the tap has something wrong with it. Also make sure the gas diptube is the small one and the grey d/c goes onto it and the liquid dip tube goes to the bottom of the keg and the black d/c connects to it. Some one could have switched them over (if its possible) so maybe check that to, you should still get gas out of the tape though

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Have a search on here for force carbonation. I'ts pretty easy and takes about 50seconds to carb your beer but you'll have to leave it for a few days. I find the beer tasted much better after 2 or 3 days. If you want to carb to 2.5 then leave the reg on the keg at 70kpa for a week and it should be carbed perfect. Also you won't generally hear any gas going into the keg when the gas line is connected to the gas in.

 

[sponge]

the water should come out the tap as soon as the gas is connected you dont have to wait (well maybe 2-3 secs). maybe your liquid d/c is buggered, the lines blocked or the tap has something wrong with it. Also make sure the gas diptube is the small one and the grey d/c goes onto it and the liquid dip tube goes to the bottom of the keg and the black d/c connects to it. Some one could have switched them over (if its possible) so maybe check that to, you should still get gas out of the tape though

Yea i checked to make sure the IN dip tube was the small one and the OUT dip tube was the large one, so that seems all okay.

The taps (perlicks) and disconnects are brand new, but ive got two of each, so i might try hooking up the other tap and line and see if that makes any difference.

Just as a side note, ive got a gas calculator on my computer, but what level should the reg (harris 601) be at in psi? Its on 15 at the moment, which according to the calculator for the length of line and ID should be a little higher than it should be (12 psi calculated)

Cheers

Sponge

 

[sponge]

Just had a little check with the taps and still nothing coming out after testing both taps and disconnects, and giving it a good little shake up at a high pressure through the IN post.

I didnt think there was anything wrong with the dip tube as liquid came out of it when i tipped it upside down and pushed the post in with a screwdriver when I was cleaning it...

Hmmm....


Sponge

 

[razz]

Hi sponge, you may need to take the liquid disconnects out and take them apart with a screw driver. The plastic valve in the middle may have been inserted upside down, this will prevent them working properly.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=39144
See post 2

 

[sponge]

Hey razz,

Cheers for the link. Ill definitely have to have a look through that and see if thats the case.

Just as a side note, I noticed that even after 30min or so of having the gas on, the pressure relief valve did not release much/any gas, so im thinking there may definitely be something wrong with the inlet or disconnect.

As mentioned earlier, when pressing on the disconnect, gas was coming out, but would this still be the case if it was in upside down?

Also, taking the liquid disconnect off the liquid out valve and pressing the valve in with a screwdriver did not have any liquid coming out, which it definitely would if it was even slightly pressurised.

Ill have a look through the link in the morning and have a go at taking apart the gas disconnect, but as for now, im pretty certain that theres a problem with the gas inlet or something there for there to be gas coming out of the disconnect, but nothing when releaseing the relief valve or opening the liquid out valve

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated as its a little depressing not having even a slight bit of liquid coming out of the liquid out valve

I have two other empty kegs I could have a go at using as see if it is the gas in valve thats the problem

Just for testing sake, if i was to get one of the other two kegs and put the gas disconnect on the gas in valve and took the lid off the keg, should I be hearing gas come out into the keg?

Sponge

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

The pressure release valve will only go off if the gas pressure is dangerously high. It is a good thing that it isn't going off. If you have liquid in the keg, the gas connected and you press down on the liquid out post you should have liquid pouring out everywhere. So by the sounds of it you have a blockage in a dip tube or a wonky disconnect.

 

[kelbygreen]

I think he means when he lifted the pressure valve. If the d/c is working then its your post. it may not be seated properly or the post or dip tube is blocked. if you can (easy with JG fittings) hook your liquid d/c into the gas line then connect it to the beer out you should here the liquid inside the keg bubble as the c02 rushes threw it. then get something and depress the air in post (just the center) if it depresses and air comes out then the d/c may be to blame if nothing comes out then it may be blocked. Also some times just pushing the poppet (the thing in the center of the post) in a few times will make it seat properly

 

[michael_aussie]

Hey hey everyone

Hope everyone is enjoying the start to their weekends

Im just wondering what the best way of determining whether or not youve got everything set up right for kegging

I have just finished fermenting my first AG and want to get around to kegging it this weekend

I just finished making the keg fridge and getting the gas lines and everything sorted. I just gave the keg i planned on using a good old clean out with boiling water and some starsan and have got some gas running into the keg now.

After 10min of leaving it to gas up a little, i was hoping a trickle of water would come out of the taps at least, just to make sure the gas was able to push the liquid out

Ive got a regulator, one way valve and a 3 line splitter which I have just opened one of the valves for.

Should i be hearing gas come out of the disconnect when its not attached to the keg at all? (its not, but just thought id ask)

The reg is set up to about 3 bar at the moment, but i cant hear any signs of gas going in.

Yes, the tank is full, as the one way valve was leaking at the start and i could hear gas escaping but ive fixed that now. And yes, the arrow is pointing in the direction of gas flow.

What can I do to determine if gas is actually coming out of the disconnect and theres no faults along the way?

Any help would be greatly appreciated


Cheers

Sponge

Some basic starter tips:
1). Do a test run with water only. put some water in the keg, refrigerate it, force carb it, and the pour it. It will give you confidence that all is set up correctly.
2). Fill a bucket with water and immerse everything you can while under pressure - or even better over pressure. Tee pieces, gas disconnects, your tap/gun. If you get no bubbles you can be confident you have no leaks on this items.
3). Put soapy water in a squirt bottle and squirt the joints/seals/fittings you didn't immerse - keg lid, kegs posts, reg to gas bottle fitting, regulator outlet fitting, gas disconnect when connected to the keg, liquid out. If you get no bubbles you can be confident you have no leaks on this items.

Other than that, you have to take the plunge and put your beer in the keg!!

good luck.

 

[kymba]

3). Put soapy water in a squirt bottle and squirt the joints/seals/fittings you didn't immerse - keg lid, kegs posts, reg to gas bottle fitting, regulator outlet fitting, gas disconnect when connected to the keg, liquid out. If you get no bubbles you can be confident you have no leaks on this items.

this, and also check any time you drop a JG fitting. it sucks balls when you loose 2 bottles of gas in a month to a fkn MFL fitting on a gas disconnect - seriously, who checks that?

 

[Deebo]

Make sure your no return valve is pointing the right way I made that mistake once.

 

[katzke]

No magic with needing to wait for the gas to be able to push out liquid from a keg.

You are dealing with water so I would just test to see if you are getting gas in the keg. Vent the keg to make sure there is no gas in it and take the lid off. Hook up your gas in and you should have water blowing out the lid if your gas is on.

If not then try a different gas connection as you say you have a 3-way splitter I am guessing you have more then one. If you have no gas on the second one you have problems with, or before, the splitter. Turn the gas bottle off and start checking lines before the slitter. If you have gas there, work your way down to the disconnects and you will find the blockage. You can set the regulator to a low setting so you do not blow gas all over.

If your regulator is set to 15 psi as I read you will not hear a his from the disconect when you test it. You will have gas blow out.

Did you use tape or other thread sealer? If so that may be your problem. If you got any inside the lines it has to go someplace.

You sure you have the correct valve on your splitter open?

 

[sponge]

Hey everyone. cheers for the quick replies

I unfortunately have already filled the keg with the brew in a rush to hope it worked.

I have made sure that when i open the valve on the splitter, the gas was coming out of the correct disconnect when i pushed the rubber stopper in on the disconnect, which it did. so im thinking that both disconnects, the splitter, and the one way valve are all doing their thing correctly.

I just tried hooking up either of the two gas lines to the keg and pressed the liquid out valve in with a screwdriver and no liquid came out both times.

I think i may just get one of the other empty kegs I have, fill it with some water, and then see if i can get any liquid coming out of the liquid out post when pressing down while gas going in to the gas in post. that will at least tell me if its just the valve on the keg im using, or if the disconnects are just not working for some reason, even though gas is coming out of them when pushed in.

on a lighter note, the fridge i was using managed to trip itself overnight, so ive now got a faulty fridge and keg system

glory days <_<

ill go and test the other kegs with water and see if i can get something working.

Cheers

Sponge

 

[kelbygreen]

I am thinking its to do with your gas post. push the poppet in a few time to try to seat it. or just unscrew, take the post off and the dip tube out, put glad wrap over the hole and check to see if the dip tube is clear if it is put some keg lube on the oring and put that back in (after you sanitise it) then pull the poppet out of the post and inspect it if it looks good (not bent or broken) then sanitise and put keg lube on the little rubber at the top and put it back in and carefully screw it back on. depress the poppet a few time to make sure its seated properly and try the gas again.

If the gas comes out the gas d/c and the liquid comes out of the liquid post then it has to be the gas post

 

[Maheel]

i know this sounds stupid but check the disconnects really are connected and check the beer line to the tap is not frozen
i find you have to sometimes have to lift the DC collar up and push them on nice and tight if they are new DC's

i am very nooob to kegging (only my 1st keg) but have already frozen the beer line as it was touching the cooling thing in the fridge and also had the disconnect only "half" on so no gas was getting in when i was wanting a bit of pressure.

1st day or so of kegging i was thinking i would go back to bottling as the keg was to much drama... but it's coming good

 

[sponge]

I have tried using all three kegs I have with all three gas lines and disconnects, and no gas seems to be coming out of the posts when i attach the disconnect and open the lid.

All three lines have gas coming out when I press in the rubber disconnect valve, but surely theres not a problem with all three posts

I have even tried attaching the gas disconnects to the liquid out posts and still no gas seems to be coming out of the dip tube. I have also pressed the valves in on the posts to make sure theyre not stuck or anything

Im assuming im attaching the disconnects to the posts correctly (lifting the base of the disconnects and just pushing them securely over the posts)

Are they supposed to clip or lock into place at all with the movable bases of the disconnects, or just kind of fit securely on there? I can take the disconnects off without lifting the base of them - like to attach them to the posts - but they seem fairly secure when theyre in place.

It just seems weird to have three different gas lines and disconnects, and three different kegs, and none of them being able to have gas come out at either post even though gas is coming out of the disconnect when i press the rubber stopper in.

I was hoping to have found the source of error by using the other kegs and hoping at least one of them would be able to have gas coming out of a post, but there just seems to be no way to get the gas going through either post on any keg


Sponge