Not happy with keg carbonation

[neo__04]

Hey all,

Been brewing for a while now and am finally pretty happy with my all grain setup.
With the exception my kegging setup & undercarbed beer.

I cant see what im doing wrong but my beer always seems flat.

I've replaced my regulator and refilled my Co2 bottle.

Running on 15 psi. Using perlick flow control taps.

No head when i pour, i can spit beer back into the glass and it doesnt foam like a commercial beer would.

Im at a bit of a loss. The beer i just tried has been kegged at 3 degrees, 15 psi for probably a month.

Any ideas what could be wrong? I have no idea now.

Its the last link in the chain to me having everything working great.

Any help would be awesome

 

[thebigtwist]

How are you carbing the beer ?
Forced or natural ?
If forced what pressure and time are you doing ?

 

[fcmcg]

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/10667-guide-to-keg-forced-carbonation/
Try this....

 

[real_beer]

With those figures you'd have to be losing gas somewhere along the way. Do you have a gas manifold for connecting other kegs, that's a good place to look for leaks. Can you weigh your Co2 bottle and see how much gas you still have. It should still be full if you haven't been loosing any Co2.

 

[neo__04]

Im just carbing the kegs up by putting them on the gas and leaving them at serving pressure.

I have looked at the force carb method with shaking it and all ive done in the past is overcarb it. So thats why i have been leaving it at serving presuure to let it do its own thing.

I can weigh the bottle, only have bathroom scales though. its a 10kg bottle from Supagas.

for gas connections i use these - http://www.ibrew.com.au/collections/regulators/products/gas-line-splitters

Havent been able to find any leaks, as this is what i assumed it was. Tried the soapy water trick on all the connections.

If i tried to force carb, partially carbed beer, is there a way to not overcarb? Or is it resonably flexible as i have flow control taps?

Thanks again all

 

[neo__04]

Sorry its a 6kg bottle. With Reg still attached it weighs 28.2kg

 

[GABBA110360]

i'm only new to the show really but all I do with kegs is first chill to about 3-4 deg c then hook the gas up at 300 kpa for 24 hrs then remove purge keg and reconnect at about 60 kpa and pour.
pretty simple really.
is you overcarb disconnect drag out in the yard shake the crap out of it leave sit for awhile and purge released gas.
cheers

 

[neo__04]

From some quick reading 27ish kg seems like a full 6kg bottle

 

[real_beer]

Neo, with those figures, 15psi @ 3 degrees your beer should be good after a week. You could try removing the splitters from the line temporarily and just run one direct line from the regulator to the keg to check their not causing a problem. Maybe your gas connector and fitting on the keg is playing up.

 

[n87]

From some quick reading 27ish kg seems like a full 6kg bottle

your gas bottle will have the tare(?) weight stamped on it. this is the weight when it is empty.
take the total weight of your gas cylinder - tare weight - reg weight = gas left

 

[michaeld16]

Are you emptying your co2 bottle quickly? After how many kegs do ya get out of a 6kg cylinder? Sounds like a leak problem

 

[neo__04]

First bottle lasted a few years, i wasnt kegging much.

I actually think it might be certain kegs. I just tried another brew and it seems ok.

Im stocking up the kegs for my 30th. Lots of full kegs.

Could it be a headspace problem? I filled a keg too much, so there is little headspace and it takes longer to carb?

I still dont think the others are perfect, but better

 

[Maheel]

is your gas on (valve open) all the time or do you turn if off ?

just checking....

 

[Topher]

Have you tried the 40psi and shake like a mofo method?
Thats foolproof carbonation.....then you can perhaps work backwards from there to isolate your problem.

 

[Grott]

Do you have an in-line non return valve in your gas line?- Could be stuck and not letting the gas through. Check by turning the gas on and depressing the gas disconnect.

This method (adapted from the Ross Method) will not fail and should not over carb. Cool keg to 2-3 degrees, take out of cooling unit, connect gas to GAS post and lay keg on its side with the gas post down the bottom. Now use a stopwatch or method to time( this is important so as not to over carb) and with pressure set at 30psi rock keg back and forth for 1min 40secs (you will hear it bubbling), turn gas off at bottle and continue to rock and the pressure will drop, if it falls below 20psi, turn gas on again and then straight off, rock and it should settle at 20psi, if drops well below do again. Twice should be the most. Place back in fridge and after 6 or so hours (next day better) release pressure in keg and connect at pouring pressure and test, usually need to leave for 4 to 5 hours to carb up properly.

Hope this helps, cheers

 

[neo__04]

Gas valve is open all the time, I do have a non return valve, gas seems to get through fine.

I've just done a brew tonight, so when its fermented i might try Grott's method above and see how it comes up.

I'll get there!

 

[real_beer]

Try hooking up a cheap plastic Bronco tap and see what the pour is like. Also when you set the psi at the regulator if you go too high, adjust it down and then release the pressure in your keg so the gauge drops, keep doing this until it's sitting at the correct reading then check it regularly for the next couple of days too see it isn't going lower. Remember you have to set the psi to match the temperature for the carbonation level to suit the style of beer you've brewed.

 

[real_beer]

Have you any pics of your setup you can show us?