Kegged beer and cider flat

[mtb]

its a standard keg king bottle that I brought pre filled on ebay.would have to double check who it was supplied from

You're probably okay then.. but for ~$20 it may be worth buying peace of mind by getting it refilled

 

[Gloveski]

Appreciate this must be frustrating for you but I would now do this. A basic check of keg carbonation would be to disconnect the gas, release all the pressure from the keg then wait an hour and check if any more gas can be released. If bugger all I'd say the beer in the keg is flat and we can look at a forced carb. option.
Cheers

well hour is up and and there was bugger all pressure so looks like undercarbed......................as they are new kegs do ou think maybe I should check the gas posts ?

 

[mtb]

well hour is up and and there was bugger all pressure so looks like undercarbed......................as they are new kegs do ou think maybe I should check the gas posts ?

See if it retains pressure, yeah. Gas it to a nominal pressure, ie 100kPA, turn off your gas bottle (but leave it connected to the keg so your reg reads 100kPA). Leave for an hour and see if that reading changes at all.

 

[Grott]

Well at least we have something to work on. Let's check the gas post by taking the cold keg out of the fridge, set gas bottle at 30psi, connect to keg gas post and lay the keg down. Rock the keg back and forth and you should here fairly loud bubbling of gas, if not the gas post is the problem.

*****WARNING***** do not do this if you do not have a non return valve for regulator protection.

If all ok let's get some carbonation going. Rock keg back and forth for 90 seconds at the 30 psi, then stand keg up and remove disconnect. Put keg in fridge again and leave for a couple or hours to settle. Then release pressure in keg, set gas to pouring pressure and connect. Leave 15 mins and pour a beer to see how it is, my need to leave overnight on the gas.

 

[Grott]

See if it retains pressure, yeah. Gas it to a nominal pressure, ie 100kPA, turn off your gas bottle (but leave it connected to the keg so your reg reads 100kPA). Leave for an hour and see if that reading changes at all.

He has already checked lines and kegs for leaks.

 

[mtb]

He has already checked lines and kegs for leaks.

Pays to read the thread, doesn't it..

You've got this in hand grott - but I have a sneaky suspicion that the eBay seller filled his bottle with a nitrogen/CO2 mixture (it's mega cheap to do if you have a pub gas bottle and the necessary gear to transfer between bottles)

 

[Mardoo]

That's some great trouble shooting advice grott. You should do a wiki article on it mate.

 

[Gloveski]

Well at least we have something to work on. Let's check the gas post by taking the cold keg out of the fridge, set gas bottle at 30psi, connect to keg gas post and lay the keg down. Rock the keg back and forth and you should here fairly loud bubbling of gas, if not the gas post is the problem.

*****WARNING***** do not do this if you do not have a non return valve for regulator protection.

If all ok let's get some carbonation going. Rock keg back and forth for 90 seconds at the 30 psi, then stand keg up and remove disconnect. Put keg in fridge again and leave for a couple or hours to settle. Then release pressure in keg, set gas to pouring pressure and connect. Leave 15 mins and pour a beer to see how it is, my need to leave overnight on the gas.

Done this Grott could definately hear the loud bubbling of gas for both kegs so this is a good sign.................will now let them rest for a few hours.
Maybe starting to think I may have been so concerned with purging air from kegs I may have just bleed out all that initial 30 psi when initially force carbing .
Thanks so much for your help mate I will report back later today with how it went

 

[Grott]

Mmmmm, you only need to purge the keg after you have just filled it. I connect at 20psi and give 5 or six releases from valve.
Cheers. Will await your report, looking good..........I think. Ha.

 

[Lethaldog]

Just a side thought, if it's carbed and has good head when you first pour it, maybe also try sterilizing your glasses with boiling water aswell !

 

[Grott]

Question asked and he states after head collapses no bubbles in the beer and it tasted flat. Believe the fact that after he released gas in the keg with gas not connected the keg didn't put further gas into the headspace as it would if carbonated.

 

[Tony121]

My thoughts are you may need to just have a bit of a trial and error phase.

After a bit of mucking around, I have found that "with my system" I need to set to 14-15psi at 3 deg. C to get the carbonation I want for a standard pale ale.

 

[Grott]

No disrespect intended but have you read all of this thread, the set up to carbonate is not the issue, as it would seem the keg did not carbonate thus the problem.

 

[mtb]

Patience of a saint..

 

[Gloveski]

No disrespect intended but have you read all of this thread, the set up to carbonate is not the issue, as it would seem the keg did not carbonate thus the problem.

Well I would like to add I know have a beautifully carbed beer thanks so much for everyone's help and especially you Grott big thumbs up from me . Hopefully the cider is the same

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Edit: Post not required, looks like you've nailed it!!

Great work.

 

[Tony121]

No disrespect intended but have you read all of this thread, the set up to carbonate is not the issue, as it would seem the keg did not carbonate thus the problem.

None taken, and also none intended.

Yes, I did read the thread and I still believe that it is a trial and error situation.

My point was that it takes time to dial your system in and I have found a higher pressure works for me.

OP seems to have sorted, but looking back at it it seems as though beer/cider wasn't carbed properly in the first place not that it was going flat.

If the OP had increased his serving pressure he may have been happy in a couple of days.

I don't carb quickly, I set and forget and get results I'm happy with so my comments may not apply.

Anyway, you have done well to sort the situation and I honestly appreciate people like yourself lending your experience on this forum to assist others - I have learnt a hell of a lot here.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

Congrats to Grott, the Keg Whisperer.

 

[Grott]

That's great and thanks for the appreciation by fellow Brewers. Now your initial method of 30psi for 24 hrs is not a problem and reasonable practice. So what happened? Either you lost the impact by "purging" as you mentioned, the non return valve didn't activate or you didn't turn the gas bottle on. Regardless of all that I'm thrill your happy and carbonate your next keg as you did, as it should work.
Cheers

 

[Gloveski]

That's great and thanks for the appreciation by fellow Brewers. Now your initial method of 30psi for 24 hrs is not a problem and reasonable practice. So what happened? Either you lost the impact by "purging" as you mentioned, the non return valve didn't activate or you didn't turn the gas bottle on. Regardless of all that I'm thrill your happy and carbonate your next keg as you did, as it should work.
Cheers

thanks mate for all your help , the beer has a slightly to big a head but the carbonation is spot on so I am one happy camper no doubt it will be trial and error for the first few kegs to get it dialled in perfectly , your explanations were spot on and helped me no end