Flat beer with tap system

[DeniqueCoelum]

Finally managed to get CO2 for my tap system, but I've had another snag. Flat beer. I've got a keg of black lager and a keg of Irish red ale in there, both of which taste great, but are flat as the proverbial pancake. I've tried cranking up the psi on the regulator, checked for leaks, nothing. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've probably overlooked something vital... 'elp!

 

[RichardM]

How long have they been in the keg with the CO2 on? Did you use a calculator to work out what PSI to use for the temperature and desired carbonation level?

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

How long have they been in the keg with the CO2 on? Did you use a calculator to work out what PSI to use for the temperature and desired carbonation level?

About half an hour... I feel like I've asked a silly question now! Since there are two different styles of beer in there, I just looked online and chose a middle-ground of 14 psi and the temperature at 4°C. I reckon I need to do some proper calculations and make adjustments before I complain any more about flat beer!

 

[Caramel Ox]

The beer doesn’t carbonate as it comes out, it carbonates over a week or 2 with top pressure, or quicker if you roll the keg around …

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

The beer doesn’t carbonate as it comes out, it carbonates over a week or 2 with top pressure, or quicker if you roll the keg around …

Ahh. Every day's school day! Thank you very much.

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

The beer doesn’t carbonate as it comes out, it carbonates over a week or 2 with top pressure, or quicker if you roll the keg around …

Well... that's been a good wee while now, and the beer is still completely flat. No idea what I'm doing wrong...

 

[Rwilts]

Is the gas getting to the beer? Is there gas left in cylinder? Or you have a leaking keg

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

Is the gas getting to the beer? Is there gas left in cylinder? Or you have a leaking keg

Gas appears to be getting to the beer, yep. I tested the spare gas line on an empty keg, and it whacked gas into it no bother. There should be plenty of gas in the cylinder - it's brand new for this kegging and it's a 6.35kg one. I've had a good listen and I can't hear gas escaping anywhere. When I adjust the pressure on the regulator you can here the pressure building up and then the gas flow stopping, as expected...

 

[Rwilts]

And the taps are pushing the beer out as you would expect

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

And the taps are pushing the beer out as you would expect

Yep, the flow is just fine, not over pressurised but not weak either.

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

Duplicate post, sorry.

 

[Rwilts]

The only other thing I can think of is the pressure,I normally carbonate at 30 psi at 4 degrees

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

The only other thing I can think of is the pressure,I normally carbonate at 30 psi

Okay! I've had it a around 9, which sounded a bit low, but I was doing what a calculator online told me to for schwarzbier. I'll crank the pressure up and leave it for a while, see what happens!

 

[fluketamer]

yes crank up the pressure and wait . co2 will go into your beer unless there is a leak it has nowhere else to go.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Don't just blindly crank up the pressure: the correct pressure depends on the temperature of the keg (CO2 dissolves much more easily at lower temps).
Consult a carbonation chart for the correct pressure to use, such as the one here: https://ikegger.eu/pages/how-to-force-carbonate-brew-under-pressure

 

[Davegase]

If you want it carb'd quickly, here is an old video from one of my YouTube favorites.

 

[Madhouse]

Last time I had Issues carbing in a keg I'd just installed a manifold and didn't realise it went off/on/off so inadvertently wasn't letting any gas through.

Doesn't sound like your issue though, 14psi at 4 degrees should do you ok - it's about what I do over a couple of weeks. Of course more pressure will be faster and if you roll the keg around too it'll be even faster still.

If gas is getting through to your keg and you're holding pressure then it should carb up just fine.

 

[gavp1979]

May be a silly question but not one that I have seen asked yet, are you leaving the gas constantly turned on? If you are gassing up to 9psi and then turning the gas off again that would explain why it has not carbed up after a couple of weeks. I normally set my pressure to around 12psi and my beers are always carbed in 1 week

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

Thank you all for your exceedingly helpful advice on this thread - much appreciated! I now have perfectly carbonated beer from both my kegs!

 

[DeniqueCoelum]

If you want it carb'd quickly, here is an old video from one of my YouTube favorites.

Followed the advice in this video (rolling, shoogling the kegs) and it's worked an absolute treat. Thank you!