Setting up my gas supply to Cornelius kegs

[Fil]

Check all the lines are pushed well home into any jg fittings.. some can be stiff

how did u cut the line? a shrap knife sliceing through i found is best, blunt blades or sclssors can deform the tube, u want a nice clean perpendicular cut.

wrap any thread fittings with a wraps of ptfe tape

 

[ECLIPSE]

I used a swiss army knife and cut it over a chopping board in 1 clean slice. I dipped the ends of the tubing in star San before connecting Into the speed fittings too. I have a sneaky suspicion that its coming from a new connector I got that screws onto the output of my regulator. It has a small black washer in it but the plastic body was hitting up against the reg output possibly before the washer was being fully compressed! I'll investigate further tonight. I may have to cut some of the plastic sleeve away on the threaded side of the JG adapter so it can screw on far enough.

 

[Fil]

ptfe tape 10 wraps or so before you strt cutting fittings down

 

[pittsy]

not sure what's going on there (i'm new to kegs n gas too ) but i did come across this http://www.cornykeg.com/store.asp?pid=29968

 

[ECLIPSE]

Tried this over the weekend to no avail! I've not ordered a new barb tail connector with a larger 1/4 inch diameter so will try connecting my grey gas line directly to this when it arrives.

On a side note. My regulator has started behaving very strangely again. When adjusting the gas pressure rather that the needle gradually moving up the gauge it jumps and the whole reg makes quite a loud vibrating noise as its letting gas through.

Should I be worried?

 

[Fil]

When connecting bits you didnt dip the bit you screwed into the reg in sanitiser too? moisture n regs dont mix well?

And check you have the gas bottle valve wide open too, i was using a set of primary regs as 2ndary for a while and they took their time to 'settle' post pressure change and made some slight noise while doing so, I think? due to the lower pressure feeding them?

the fridge is looking TOP..

 

[ECLIPSE]

Nope. Only the ones further down the line.. I'll wait and see how it goes when I get my new barb fitting and I can leave everything hooked up hopefully without any leaks! I plan on having my 2 cornys both hooked up to the reg all the time and the reg constantly set on 10psi. But I'll only turn on the co2 bottle when its a drinking day. Will this work OK or would I be better disconnecting the gas in qd's if I'm going to be turning the cylinder off?

Edit... Maybe 1 of these valves would do the trick?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330981050027? ... 1423.l2649

Then when I turn off the cylinder I can keep the pressure in the kegs the same without the back pressure on the reg all the time.

 

[Fil]

while i can do as u suggest, your gas system should be gas tight, while special gas fitting ptfe tape exists standard plumbing stuf works just as well so just ensure any threads u fit uses lots of it.
also use it on the bottle valve thread.

pressure drop when attached to beer could be easily explained by a bit of pressure conditioning going on where the beer is absorbing some of the gas and therefore the pressure drops. which is why its best to set the co2 at the perfect level to maintain the condition you want (back to the charts), set n leave you only have to worry when u get the gurgle of an empty keg, generally preceded by pouring the clearest pint from the keg

 

[ECLIPSE]

I've just dunked both gas quick disconnects in a bowl of water whilst pressurised. As a last resort, and discovered that 1 of them leaks! I feel so stupid now! Looks like that's what was leaking after all and my connection to the cylinder is fine. I've hooked the leaking qd up to a corny on 10psi and turned the gas cylinder off. 1hr later and the regulator gauge is still at 10psi.

 

[Fil]

U can dismantle the disconnect to clean, it should seal .. use a coin to unscrew the top, but be careful there is a spring inside and the clear plastic bit can just fly out..

you can google for a schematic or pictures..

 

[ECLIPSE]

Cheers Fil. Did this tonight but its still leaking, just not as quickly. I emailed Norm as It came with 1 of the kegs he sent me and he's sending me another 1. Fingers crossed Ill finally have a gas tight system in a couple of days!

 

[AZZKIKR]

I did have the same regulator as you on my setup and I started off using JG fittings on the QD side. I found it to be less than reliable as in it worked most of the time but the slightest kink in the line and I could hear the gas escaping at the disconnect. I replaced this for a barb and a jubilee clip and it is working ok now. I don’t rate that pipe that comes with these regulators because it has that thread in it rather than being solid. I may replace that on mine at a later stage but I am still fairly new to using cornies too.

Also I know some people turn their gas off when the system is not in use. I was always under the impression that leaving it on but at a low PSI was the best option.

 

[BeerBloke]

If you've a gas tight set-up and stable temperatures there's no harm in leaving the CO2 turned on all the time.

I do this with my lager tanks and once my desired level of carbonation is achieved it remains constant.

Think about the kegs in a pub, they're connected to the gas 24/7.

If it's frothy add more 3/16 beer line. Simples :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

If it's frothy add more 3/16 beer line. Simples :thumb:

Oh yeah remember how well that worked with my wheat beer?

 

[ECLIPSE]

That's a good point about the gas line. It would be nice to get some more flexible stuff that can still be used with JG fittings

 

[PaulCa]

Just read this thread. I'm in the same position regards serving pressure. With the reg registering just about 0 (possibly 1-3PSI) I get half a glass of foam before it starts to pour and even then it's near impossible to get a nice pint with 10% head. Usually results in 60% foam and then it's slightly flat by the time it settles. If I leave that over night I get mostly foam on the next pull.

Seems pressure is building up in the keg by a few PSI overnight. Which would suggest CO2 is leeching out of the beer into the headspace.

In order to get a good pour I have to dump the pressure in the keg completely and then pour using the regulator pressure. This seems like a waste of CO2 and my beer may be flattening.

It's my first attempt at kegging.

It's stored in a fridge at about 5C. I might take that down a bit more, but I fear the fridge actually freezing something and breaking a dip pipe, hose or poppet.

Did you get anywhere with the longer dispensing hose?

 

[PD]

what pressure do you force carbonate your beer initially ?

 

[ECLIPSE]

I had the exact same issue as you. Now I use 3/6 beer line. Only need about 2ft and it pours a perfect pint at 10psi

 

[PaulCa]

what pressure do you force carbonate your beer initially ?

As this was the first it was 30psi for a day at room temp, then 30psi for a day in the fridge (only bought the fridge!). Then I tried 10psi to serve a test beer and got foam. Dropped all the pressure, opened the reg slowly until I got a pour I wanted and it was 1 or 2 PSI. For a few days I kept putting it back up to 10PSI and dumping pressure to pour in the evenings. Now I have just left it at 1-2PSI, but the first pour is still foam

 

[PD]

I've found 20psi to force carb then leave the corny a week in the fridge. connect to tap and serve at 3psi works well.
Occaisionally a brew might need 30psi initially