Keg dispensing issue

[phildo79]

Hi guys


Bit of a strange one. I was all set to force carb a brew last night and thought I’d run off a little to get rid of any trub / sediment from the bottom of the keg. The gas was connected and whilst the tap coughed straight away, very little beer came out. Then no beer came out. I switched the flow control tap for another and the same thing happened.


I poured some water into an empty keg and connected the gas. Both taps struggled to pour but eventually did. So I figured it wasn’t a blockage issue with the taps. I tried them again with the keg with beer in it and they wouldn’t pour. One of them gave me a very slow trickle of beer. So I thought the dip tube had to be blocked. I removed it and it wasn’t blocked. Nor was the liquid out post or poppet blocked.


I eventually got a half decent pouring flow going and thought the issue was resolved. So I force carbed. Re-attached the tap and was straight back to square one.


I thought that the keg might be the culprit. I only just bought it and it is a used keg from THC. But it could also be the taps. I recently had to switch out the flow control lever on one of them and it was a right faff. I am wondering if I have done something I shouldn’t have and they are somehow bunged up. But then they both ‘eventually’ poured water from the tried and tested keg. WTF is going on?


Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[HarryFlatters]

What pressure was your regulator set to? If you're force carbonating, I'm assuming it's at 30 or 40psi?

If so, have you checked your gas line and connectors for leaks?

If so, have you disassembled your tap to make sure that there's no grime built up in the flow control mechanism?

 

[phildo79]

The reg was set at 30 psi. I then dropped it to 12 psi. Then tried 20 psi. Didn't seem to matter what psi I used. There are no leaks from the posts. I seated the lid 24 hours before hand and the keg was still pressurised.

I will have to dismantle the taps tonight and check for grime / blockages. I don't see how just changing out the flow control lever would have this affect on the taps but I am struggling to think of anything else.

 

[The Baron]

I would do a full tap clean down myself to eliminate any blockage at all

 

[Ghillie]

Simple fault finding.

Have everything as it is normally, then:

-Disconnect the beer out QD from the keg and then remove the beer line from the tap.

-Put your thumb over the end of the beer line and connect the beer out QD back on the keg.

-Gently release your thumb and see if beer flows freely through the line.

If all of the above is good, then the fault has to be with your tap(s).

 

[foxbat]

If you lifted the beer out disconnect from the non working keg, connected it to a water-filled keg and it worked then the only explanation is blockage upstream of the disconnect.

That means the dip tube or poppet. You say you checked them but it's possible the block gets drawn to the bottom of the tube but doesn't go into it and fell away when you lifted the tube.

Do you use unbagged hops anywhere in your process? When kegging any such debris should be kept out of the process either by bagging or some other sort of filter.

 

[phildo79]

Disconnect the beer out QD from the keg and then remove the beer line from the tap.

I don't have a beer line. My taps are connected directly to the posts.

 

[phildo79]

Do you use unbagged hops anywhere in your process? When kegging any such debris should be kept out of the process either by bagging or some other sort of filter.

I use unbagged hop pellets. And there wasn't even that many for this brew, compared to others. I use a very fine straining bag over the end of my syphon tube when racking from the primary. Basically impossible for a large piece of debris to get through.

I hear what you're saying but why did both taps struggle when used on the water filled keg? Surely they should have worked perfectly straight away?

 

[Ghillie]

I don't have a beer line. My taps are connected directly to the posts.

Even easier, less bits!

Without confirming that you have a fully functional component (i.e. a tap) to fault find with, you're flying blind.

Might be worth checking your regulator isn't shot.

 

[phildo79]

What happens when co2 runs out? Is everything working fine one second and then just nothing at all or are there signs that it's running out?

 

[foxbat]

What happens when co2 runs out? Is everything working fine one second and then just nothing at all or are there signs that it's running out?

Your high pressure gauge will start to drop after the liquid CO2 in the cylinder has all gone. You're then basically transferring a cylinder pressurised at 600ish PSI to your keg with nothing replacing it so the gauge will quickly drop. The gauge is your sign.

 

[phildo79]

Doesn't seem to be the gas then. It must be the taps. I was having trouble fitting a new lever onto one of them so started messing about with the other one to see what was what. I have a gold tap and a chrome tap. I started thinking my replacement lever (chrome) wasn't interchangeable with my broken lever (gold). Turns out they are and something inside the tap wasn't lined up correctly.

 

[Ghillie]

Doesn't seem to be the gas then. It must be the taps. I was having trouble fitting a new lever onto one of them so started messing about with the other one to see what was what. I have a gold tap and a chrome tap. I started thinking my replacement lever (chrome) wasn't interchangeable with my broken lever (gold). Turns out they are and something inside the tap wasn't lined up correctly.

You never told us you cannibalised both taps.

"Was struggling messing about with one so I decided to mess around with the other."

Think it might be the taps pal...

 

[phildo79]

Well I just took the chrome lever off, tried it on the gold tap and then put it back on the original tap. Seemed to go back on no problem. The reason I couldn't fix the gold tap was because the little dimple on the flow control bar had slipped. So I just put it back into position and everything seemed to fit snuggly.

Both taps were working when I put them back on the kegs. There was still beer in them at the time and there were no issues. So this is even more confusing.

 

[Ghillie]

Well I just took the chrome lever off, tried it on the gold tap and then put it back on the original tap. Seemed to go back on no problem. The reason I couldn't fix the gold tap was because the little dimple on the flow control bar had slipped. So I just put it back into position and everything seemed to fit snuggly.

Both taps were working when I put them back on the kegs. There was still beer in them at the time and there were no issues. So this is even more confusing.

You just removed the tap handle?

Make sure the chrome circled bit (top part) in the photo isn't too tight. If it is, you restrict the amount that the tap can open - resulting in a ***** flow. Loosen it right off and see how it you go.

EDIT - I see you're meaning flow control lever, no experience so can't really advise sorry. If they're intertaps - try stripping the whole lot down like this guy has and then reassemble in the opposite order to dismantling.

My experience of things like this has always taught me that things tend to only go together and come apart in a specific order. It's likely something isn't lining up properly IMO.

 

[phildo79]

Fixed!

As suspected, it was the taps. Even though the flow levers were screwed on tight, they weren't perfectly aligned with the inner flow control barrel. So no amount of moving the lever actually achieved anything. The only thing I can think of as to why they worked on the water filled keg is that water is thinner than stout and was able to get through.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys. Appreciate it.

 

[foxbat]

Well done, enjoy your stout!

 

[phildo79]

Good idea