Full kegs but no beer...

[Nattydstar]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a full two-tap kegerator setup, and until now I've been buying kegs from a local microbrewery. That was great at saving me money, but old mate is pretty limited in his range and there's only so much corona and xxxx I can take. This got me interested in brewing my own. I did a few stove-top to bottle (partial grain) batches which worked out great, and so i decided to go all-in and buy myself a Robobrew and two second hand kegs from Clever Brewer. I Brewed two All Grain batches within a week and both times, although I learned plenty from my own stupidity, went off without much of a hitch - lots of fun.

On Monday, I transferred the first batch to a keg, and let it sit at 20PSI overnight. The next day I attempted to pull a sampler (pretty excited as you can well imagine) only to find nothing would flow out. I did some research online. Figured, maybe the dip tube is clogged, so I removed product and gas lines, purged the gas, and connected the gas line to the product post, heard it bubble up from the bottom, purged gas, repeated. I then reconnected the gas and product lines, but still nothing flows out.

I figured, meh, I'll deal with it in a few days after it's carbed. Anyway, today I kegged my second batch, and I have the same problem with that keg, pretty much right after siphoning it in. I figure sediment cant have immediately settled to the bottom, so quickly that i cannot even pull a sample.

This lead me to think through the anatomy of the keg itself and what could be wrong, and in doing so i remember when I was reassembling these kegs after cleaning them (the dip tube is straight), I had to push down quite hard on the product post (ie: pressing down on the spring/poppet a good 4mm) just to get the post to latch onto the thread, then it screws in another few mm, so I've already taken a good 6mm out of the range of this poppet. So, I'm thinking my problem may very well be that the bottom of the dip tube is jammed against the bottom of the keg - therefore allowing nothing to flow out.

Does that sound like it could be my problem? Should I pull them out and give them a bend? Any other ideas? Two full kegs and nothing to drink Thanks for any advice and sorry for the long post...

 

[dcan6303]

The dip tube shouldn't move in relation to the post or poppet, and even if it is against the bottom of the keg it wouldn't form a watertight seal, so i don't think thats your problem.

Are you sure your kegs are pressurised? One way valve the wrong way round? Are you sure your disconnects are attached properly? Can you see beer in the line? What sort of taps are you using?

It's a pipeline from gas to tap - just work your way along it. Sounds like something isn't set up properly.

 

[Nattydstar]

Thanks for the reply. The taps came with the Kegking kegerator setup, and they both worked a few days ago with the kegs I had from the local brewer.

Yeah, the kegs are definitely pressurised, ie: I hear the gas flow into the keg when I connect the gas. I can then remove the gas line, and it stays pressurised, ie: I pull the relief valve to check that.

Actually, I just remembered - I pressurised the kegs and ran some starsan through the beerlines and taps on Monday so maybe I have just got a problem with sediment blocking the diptube, in which case, would bending them help? they're both straight, but in most videos I've watched online the dip tubes are bent.

 

[timmi9191]

You heard it bubble, so doubt the beer out tube is sealed on the bottom. No need to bend.

Im assuming from the background your plumbing worked when you were purchasing kegs.

I once had a blockage i could never explain, what I did follows:

Do you have a spare keg? Fill with some sanitiser/beer line cleaner - good opportunity to clean the lines at the same time. Pressurise to 3 bar. hold a bucket or similiar under tap and blow the line and tap clear. (watch out - solution will rocket out) This should clear the taps, lines and disconnects of anything that might be blocking them. Re attach the beer keg and if no flow, the problem is in the keg.

2 solution I suggest. First, do the same as above. This should blow clean anything blocking the keg posts.

Second, if you dont want to loose some of the precious beer using the first method, replace the post from the clean keg onto your blocked keg, or if you dont have a spare keg, dismantle and clean the posts of the blocked keg.

I take all care for my suggestion but no responsiblity for any negative out come :super: :super: :super: :super:

 

[Grott]

Hi, you say the problems with both kegs therefore I'd say it's not keg blockage problem in the kegs. As the problem is common to both make sure the beer line is not crimped/crushed somewhere between keg and tap. Is there beer in the beer line? If so for both kegs then either you have the beer connects on the gas posts or you have done something wrong with assembly of the beer posts.
Cheers and hope this helps.

 

[dcan6303]

Oh yeah, the gas and liquid posts aren't the same. The gas post is marked with a notch like this:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=157295&d=1383250488

 

[cliffo]

Check that the beer in the line hasn't frozen.

This has happened to me a couple of times.

 

[Nattydstar]

Check that the beer in the line hasn't frozen.

This has happened to me a couple of times.

Oh, hey, maybe there was some starsan solution left in the beer lines, and that froze (assuming it'll freeze at zero) - my kegerator is frequently below zero and that's not usually a problem as the lines are usually full of beer, I'm increasing the temp a few degrees, hopefully that'll do the trick. I'll let you know. I'm almost certain the posts are assembled correctly, and around the right way, but that'll be my next port of call if this fails. Thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

[Moad]

Depress the poppet (without the disconnect on obviously) does liquid come out? Could be the disconnect not pushing the poppet in enough

 

[Nattydstar]

I switched off the font fan, warmed up the fridge and had no improvement. So I pulled out the dip tube of one keg - it was full of hop material, the inside of the post/poppet was also jammed full of hops, yikes.

I cleaned and sanitised it, put it back in and whoosh, I managed to pour about 30ml before it's blocked again. I'll be using a bag for dry hopping in future, but does anyone have a solution that'll end this torture?

Even the consolation hop hog I self-prescribed doesn't taste good at this point.

 

[Moad]

Steel wool stuffed at the bottom of the dip tube

 

[peteru]

Hops will clog the spring under the poppet pretty quickly. I have a solution. You need a sharp wood 8mm drill bit and one of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161914899721

Use the 8mm drill bit to enlarge the hole in the filter, it will then slide over the end of the dip tube. I now have these installed in every keg as standard.

 

[Nattydstar]

Hops will clog the spring under the poppet pretty quickly. I have a solution. You need a sharp wood 8mm drill bit and one of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161914899721

Use the 8mm drill bit to enlarge the hole in the filter, it will then slide over the end of the dip tube. I now have these installed in every keg as standard.

Hah! I was just looking at these on ebay, thanks.

Well, at least I've uncovered the problem, and I'll rig something up to get me by, until these little devices arrive. Cheers all.

 

[Grott]

Glad problem found. Until you get your filters a bit of panty hose and a rubber band on the dip tube could help with these kegs.
Cheers

Well, at least I've uncovered the problem, and I'll rig something up to get me by, until these little devices arrive. Cheers all.

 

[tj2204]

Glad problem found. Until you get your filters a bit of panty hose and a rubber band on the dip tube could help with these kegs.
Cheers

Yep, I was going to suggest paint strainer bag and a zip tie - pretty much exactly what Grott said.

 

[Nattydstar]

Thanks guys, yep, the tricky bit will be attaching it to the end of the dip tube while it's partially submerged in beer - using sanitised rubber gloves I'm thinking.

 

[TheWiggman]

Curious as to why you have hop material in the keg. Are you dry hopping directly into the keg?

 

[Moad]

Thanks guys, yep, the tricky bit will be attaching it to the end of the dip tube while it's partially submerged in beer - using sanitised rubber gloves I'm thinking.

Take it out of the keg? You'll have to take the post off

 

[Nattydstar]

Take it out of the keg? You'll have to take the post off

Yep, but I wont be able to fit the dip tube back through the hole with something wrapped around it.

Lots of dry hops in the primary (they're both IPAs) and much of it must've been transferred into the keg, due to my noob siphoning skills.

 

[Coodgee]

yeah you don't want hops in the keg at all. It's a recipe for disaster as you have discovered. put a hop bag on the end of your siphon in future if you are not confident.