C02 absorbtion or a leak?

[Wez]

Yesterday I transferred a beer (~16/17L) which had hardly any carbonation from a KK to a Corny set the reg at 20psi and left it for about 7 hours turning the gas off when I went to bed, the reg stayed at a steady 20psi however tonight i've checked the reg and it's zero psi - I open the cylinder up again and it's gone up to 20psi again. The beer that I've just poured is nicely carbonated now. So, is it possible that all the c02 was absorbed into the beer overnight? Or is it more likely that I have a leak?

Cheers

Wez

 

[Aleman]

Yes!





:rofl:




TBH I would expect beer to absorb all that CO2 fairly quickly at the current low temperatures

 

[Wez]

Right - so best to leave the gas on all night at 20psi?

 

[Aleman]

Right - so best to leave the gas on all night at 20psi?

At what temperature?

My Lager was left in teh shed overnight (at around freezing) with 10psi on the keg and I have a good rising bead . . . . If I raise the temp up to 8-10C I'll be pouring foam

 

[Wez]

It's at around 3 or 4 degrees.

Should I drop it to say 3 or 4 psi and leave it on :?

 

[BrewStew]

i've figured out i know when i've got a leaky JG fitting (happens more often than you'd think cos they come unscrewed from faffing with the piping) if the pressure drops on the gauge when the grey cornie disconnect hasn't been connected and lost the pressure in the pipe overnight (when the gas is off). it's a nice signal to tell me to do them up before connecting the cornies back up to give them their daily fill

a simple cornie leak test i do is to fill an empty one to 20 PSI... leave for a couple of days and hook up to the reg (without the gas on) to see if the pressure was maintained.

unfortunately i've not figured out how to test if the regs themselves have any leaks :?

 

[BrewStew]

oh and to answer your question :lol: ....

i think you've got a leak.

the beer wouldn't absorb ALL the gas to make it reach 0 psi as there needs to be some pressure there for it to force it's way into the beer.... surely :hmm:

reason i've come to that assumption is on my best cornie, that is, my only cornie that holds pressure almost indefinitely it's never gone to zero, even after a week under pressure without topping up.

 

[Aleman]

It's at around 3 or 4 degrees.

Should I drop it to say 3 or 4 psi and leave it on :?

If its nicely carbonated that is what I would do . . . although I would just top up when I pour a beer . . . . unless you know you system has no leaks . . . What I'll do is to leave the reg open and disconnect attached, and just turn the gas bottle off there is more than enough HIgh pressure CO2 in the Pipe from the bottle to the Reg to keep it toppd up till next time

 

[BrewStew]

What I'll do is to leave the reg open and disconnect attached, and just turn the gas bottle off there is more than enough HIgh pressure CO2 in the Pipe from the bottle to the Reg to keep it toppd up till next time

i guess that's ok if you've got one reg connected to a single cornie.

with my gas board i've got 3 regs... two singles and one reg for four lines.... if i leave all four valves open and one keg leaks, they all lose pressure... watch out for that if your controlling several kegs from one reg

 

[Aleman]

I've got a three way reg attached to the cylinder . . . one way of which goes into the Kegereezer to another 4 ways . . . all connected to kegs . . . . You can get one way valves that attach to the disconnect which stop gas/liquid back flow I think Candirect do them . . . they do sell them separately . . . . solves the problem on one leaking keg emptying eveything

 

[Wez]

Cheers, carbonation is great so considering it was pretty much flat when I put it in there last night it's absorbed quite a bit

Dropped it to 4psi

 

[Wez]

hmm it dropped from 4psi to 0psi over 30 mins, so it looks like I do have a leak. Is it common for cornies to have leaks and how do I find out where it is?

 

[BrewStew]

i've found most of my cornie leaks have been around the PRV's, or the lid hasn't sealed. you may struggle with low pressures unless you change the lid O-ring for a softer one cos the pressure inside wont be strong enough to force the lid shut.

soapy water brushed around the PRV, lid, poppets etc should show bubbles where you have a problem :thumb:

 

[Wez]

Right, a job for tomorrow

 

[BrewStew]

it'll become a labour of love in no time mate

soon you'll know your cornies like owning a classic car, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses and the fiddly bits that give them character :lol:

out of my 6 cornies, i've got two problem ones both PRV related, and need some fiddling with to stop leaking, two that'll hold pressure for a few weeks to couple of months which i think is a really, really slow leak but doesnt bother me. and two that'll stay pressurized all year long. my only problem is that i never seem to get chance to show the weaker ones some love and give them new lids with detachable PRVs as those two are welded on

 

[Vossy1]

unfortunately i've not figured out how to test if the regs themselves have any leaks

Assuming the cylinder to reg fitting is sound, insert a blanking plug into the regs 3/8th JG fitting, set the reg to x psi, open the C02 cylinder valve, shut the cylinder valve.
Test the blanking plug for leaks and if o.k keep an eye on the reg pressure :thumb:

 

[BrewStew]

ah ha! nice one vossy! ta very much :thumb:

 

[crasher600]

I have been reading this post with some interest as i have just had a problem with a leak on my king keg (on first brew !). I lost all pressure after second fermentation and couldnt get it told hold pressure from a c02 injection either. After messing about with the seal a few times i have hopefully narrowed it down to the mis positioning of the internal ruber seal on the prv. My beer was obviously flat as hell so i am interested in this carbonation you guys have been talking about, for the last couple of days in have given the keg a daily squirt of co2 in the hope i will get fizzy beer again, should i keep doing this to let the beer absorb some or should i just do it when ready to drink if i lose pressure as it seems to be holding now ?

 

[BrewStew]

if it's holding, keeping it under pressure will force carbonate.

it's worth getting a regulator or at least a pressure gauge so you know how much pressure to add.

i think i've said this before in this thread but I generally keep to a rule of 1PSI per degree C that the keg is stored in. a week at that pressure should give it a nice carbonation after a week or two, then you can drop the pressure for serving

hope this helps :thumb:

 

[crasher600]

cool thanks, i didnt even know you could get a gauge or reg for a king keg, thought that was reserved for you corny boys :grin: . will yhave to check out some shops to see if i can get my mits on one.
thanks