Keg don't pour

[AromaticOtter]

Hi all,

I'm new to kegging, and bought a 10L minikeg from KegLand (I tend to brew 10L batches). That kit precisely : 10L MiniKeg Sodastream Kit.

I kegged my first beer a few days ago and decided to keg condition it (no force carb). After two weeks of conditioning, I decided to give it a try. I tried to serve it at room temperature (around 16C) as I don't have a fridge yet. A bit of beer poured really weakly at the beginning, and then nothing. If I try to pour from the party tap, I can only hear some gas coming out and the inside of the keg bubbling. At this point, I know that my keg is almost full, that the gas cylinder (SodaStream) is full and that the line isn't frozen as it has been stored at room temperature. I started at 10-12 PSI and played a bit with the pressure up to 25 PSI, but nothing changed. I thought that the dip tube (silicone) could have been clogged up by sediments, as it was keg conditioned. But I finally ended up opening the keg and checked it manually : it was not even the case.

Any idea where that could come from?
It's my first kegging experience, so maybe I am missing something obvious but I can't figure out what it could be.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Banbeer]

Only a suggestion but have you got the gas and out the wrong way around?

 

[AromaticOtter]

I checked it was correct. In fact, I even tried to invert them on purpose, to push some CO2 down the tube, just in case it was clogged up. But it didn't change anything...

 

[Banbeer]

So what happens when you pull the PRV (red in pic) does any C02 come out?

 

[AromaticOtter]

Yes, all the pressure is released. So there is CO2 coming in and I can also see it on the gauge indicator

 

[Banbeer]

So theoretically it can only be the out ball lock/poppet, the disconnect or the tap

 

[AromaticOtter]

Yes, that is what I thought! But I have tried to replace the party tap with a faucet similar to this : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Steel-Faucet-disconnect-chromed/dp/B075CF8GW6/. The ball lock is changed as well and I still have the same issue! (this time I filled the keg with water, my next batch hasn't finished fermenting and I don't want to waste it but it should work the same, right?)

 

[foxbat]

Try this outside the house: Remove the tap from the keg. Very very carefully press down gently with a small screwdriver on the poppet in the center of the disconnect on the keg. If there's any pressure behind it then liquid should start to spurt out. That'll prove the keg part of the system is good.

Be careful not to push down too far on the poppet or it'll latch up behind the lip and liquid will fountain out with surprising force giving you a face full of it until you pull the PRV and stop the flow. Don't ask how I know.

 

[Banbeer]

yeah , always test stuff with water first, that way no beer is wasted. Can't think of anything else really as I use 19L cornies so not exactly the same setup

 

[Banbeer]

Try this outside the house: Remove the tap from the keg. Very very carefully press down gently with a small screwdriver on the poppet in the center of the disconnect on the keg. If there's any pressure behind it then liquid should start to spurt out. That'll prove the keg part of the system is good.

Be careful not to push down too far on the poppet or it'll latch up behind the lip and liquid will fountain out with surprising force giving you a face full of it until you pull the PRV and stop the flow. Don't ask how I know.

OP says ball lock has been changed, I was going to suggest what you say.

 

[terrym]

Unless you are clear what the problem is I suggest you talk to your supplier. They should be able to advise. If you damage anything trying to sort it out you may not be able to claim if anything turns out to be faulty

 

[AromaticOtter]

Thanks for the advice! Just tried to push the poppet manually and only gas was coming out... As with the tap. I may have solved the problem though (well partly). I attached a spoon to my silicone dip tube to force it to sink at the bottom of the keg. And now it pours! So the dip tube was in fact floating at the surface of the liquid...

Now, isn't a dip tube supposed to sink to the bottom by itself? I know there exist some floating balls to only have the clear surface being poured, but isn't it supposed to work out of the box? Now it works fine because I have a stupid spoon attached to it, is there a more elegant way to proceed to have the end of the tube submerged?

Cheers

 

[Dads_Ale]

I use a length of PVC hose in my 7 litre version of your keg and it works fine, no need to weight it down.
Mine has a screw thread to attach it to and I had to fit a small fuel hose type clamp to ensure it was sealed.

 

[Banbeer]

Glad it's sorted

 

[MickDundee]

If it’s a keg mounted tap you might need to burp the keg and pour at 5PSI or less. I had a similar problem with mine.

 

[AromaticOtter]

I'll try that! Thanks

 

[Seghes]

I use a length of PVC hose in my 7 litre version of your keg and it works fine, no need to weight it down.
Mine has a screw thread to attach it to and I had to fit a small fuel hose type clamp to ensure it was sealed.

I had the same problem with a floating dip tube and no pouring. Replaced the tube with a hard plastic one and it solved the problem

 

[AromaticOtter]

Will try that too! Cheers!

 

[Libigage]

I've just received the same bit of kit and I've just set it up to test it with sanitiser and mine does the same!! Just gas!! Surely it's just the 2 of us that have had this problem

 

[jonnyconga]

I've had this problem before also: The issue is you need liquid in the dip tube to get it to sink. To fill the dip tube with liquid, invert the keg or put it on its side whilst dispensing - this is to get the end of the dip tube below the liquid level and then draw liquid into the dip tube. It may need a little bit of fiddling but once it's full with liquid it will sink and work fine.
Another solution is to fill the minikeg via the beer out post so that the liquid dip tube is full of beer from the start.