Keg dispensing issue

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Okay, so my kegs aren't dispensing correctly. I've a Kk3, so it's pretty stock.

In order to address this issue, I've done the following:

Upped pressure from micromatic reg
Tested PRV to see if kegs are pressurised (they are)
Pulled apart all taps and cleaned. Tested issues with plastic tap.
Pushed poppet on beer out. Beer comes out, but I expected a face full, given reg was at 20psi.
Filled spare keg with room temp water, whacked it on pressure and ran water through all the taps.

So the only solution I can assume is the two kegs have some blockage in the beer pickup tube/poppet in those 2 kegs.

Anyone else had this or something similar.

 

[ein stein]

i did recently with the first keg I had ever tapped. I turned the pressure up to 200kpa and opened closed the tap till i was able to push the blockage out. just a bit of trub 'cause I sucked up a bit when I was racking to the keg.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Done that a few times, blockage not cleared but nice to know it can happen from trub.

Might have to get a dip tube brush and pull them apart.

 

[ein stein]

can u put the gas dc on the beer post and push gas back down the dip tube by pulling PRV? I literally only started kegging so im definitly still a novice.

 

[mtb]

When my kegmenter's diptube clogs up with trub - hop matter is even worse - pushing it up through the beer post is sometimes impossible. In those situations I hook up a beer disconnect to CO2 and push some gas thru the beer post, it clears the blockage just fine. You might get the blockage again but it'll at least serve to rule out blockage as the culprit.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Didn't think of that, thanks. I'll give it a crack.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

So whacked co2 Qd onto beer posts.

No go, still the same issue.

 

[S.E]

can u put the gas dc on the beer post and push gas back down the dip tube by pulling PRV? I literally only started kegging so im definitly still a novice.

Can’t put a gas DC on the beer post but could connect a gas line on a beer DC and try that and it will probably do the job.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I put the gas disconnect to the beer post (with a touch of effort), heard the gas feeding into the beer, but when the posts were returned to their usual places, it behaved the same as before.

If I leave it for a while, enough pressure to dispense beer for 100ml at normal and then it's back to a dribble.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Frozen?
That's got me before.

 

[S.E]

Did you release all pressure from the keg and leave the PRV open?

 

[mtb]

@Danscraftbeer has a good point. That's gotten me also. Pluto gun against the back wall of the fridge..

If not - it's strange that it's happening across two kegs. Are they the same batch?
Gotta look at common denominators in that type of situation, although your kegs are pressurised I wonder if your reg is busted. Do you have another reg to test with? Maybe a minikeg reg and bulb?

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I've actually had kegs semi freeze when a critiquing visitor who swills VB preaching that beer needs to be colder.
Then crank it colder, ok for a night but left for a few days and cold spots develop and frozen kegs or frozen lines etc......
If its lines frozen you can unravel them and warm them up with a heat gun.
Frozen kegs all you can do is let it thaw slowly over a few days, waiting etc.....

 

[manticle]

Can you define 'not dispensing properly' a bit more clearly? Dribble? Not at all? Foam?

Could be frozen lines, trub/particulate, gas leak.....

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Not frozen, the Kk isn't capable of it in QLD.

Regulator is about 2 months old and kegs are holding pressure.

I'll PRV out the gas and do the gas to beer post thing again.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Dribble of foam, low positive pressure visible in the beer lines that then stops after a period of time when I turn the tap on.

Based on water getting through same taps, I'm assuming a blockage in the beer tube.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Could it be? Particles? bugger. Degas, pull it out. Its all in the spring etc....

 

[manticle]

Just one keg? Hoppy/late hopped/dry hopped?

Have you got another beer out dip tube you can swap out to test?

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

No go with depressurisation and hook kegs up to gas.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Both kegs, one possible to be trub, other very hoppy and could be that.

I do have another diptube to pull out and test. I know it works because I just used it to water through all taps.