I've had issues with the check valves on a few of my gas lines. I'll carb a beer in my basement and then hook up my gas line to the keg. Beer races down the gas line, I cuss a lot, and I have to break down the line and clean it. Anyone else failing here?
I've only had an issue once...when I was in a hurry and attempted to force the gas line on the out post of my keg. Still, only a few droplets got in. Are you positive you have a check valve? I ask because I only know I have one as it was advertised on the Co2 distributors I bought.
Never had that problem.. I have them on all my gas lines that go into my distributor.. Do you think they are sticking open somehow?
Yeah. Remove them. Blow one way and it should go through. Turn it over and repeat. Shouldn't allow air/liquid through.
Are you using cornies? The beer shouldn't be able to get into the gas line from the keg. It can happen, though. What I've done is cut all of my longer gas dip tubes to a very short length, and I ensure I don't over fill the keg. That said, the check valves should work too.
What @Naugled said. I would cut the gas dip tubes a little short and watch how high you fill the keg. I haven't ever had that issue, but I always have a couple inches of head space after filling a keg.
I once had an had issue with overcarbed cornie and no check valve. When I connected the gas line, CO2 immediately started venting at the regulator. The sudden release in pressure caused the beer to foam, which quickly sprayed from the regulator. That's one of those mistakes you swear you'll only make once.
What would a shorter gas line do. I've always been told that gas pressure is constant and that line length doesn't really matter.
@inchrisin I'm not sure what a shorter gas line would do. I (& @Naugled ) were saying to shorten the dip tube on the keg inside the post so it doesn't reach down as far into the keg so as to pickup the liquid and send it out of the keg.
I've had it happen, even on a manifold that supposedly has check valves built in. I am now careful to not be too greedy; I make sure I fill the kegs to below the bottom of the dip tube. I ,too, should probably cut the longer dip tubes.
Like some other folks, I have cut all of my gas dip tubes. They really only have to be long enough to hold the O-Ring. Make sure you have a way to hold the dip tube tightly while cutting with a dremel. I once spent about an hour finding one that had flown across the basement. ETA: I don't have check valves on my regulators, and have never had an issue.
I tried a dremel tool and butchered the crap out of a dip tube. I bought a small pipe cutter from lowes for about $10 which works great.
What cutter did you use on the dremel? I used to use a pipe cutter but it deforms the tube. I've found that a dremel with an abrasive cut off wheel does a much cleaner job of it.
That is the one I used. But...I have a generic brand from Harbor Freight. So maybe mine sucks. As far as the pipe cutter, you have to add pressure very slowly and keep turning over and over again or it can deform the tube.
I may try to find something to sneak inside of the dip tube to help keep the shape while I cut it. Thanks for making me smarter. I may try to snug it down into a drill and use it as a drill bit. I'll clamp a hack saw blade to the vice clamp and see what damage I can do.
