Kegging Issue

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by NGennaroL777, Nov 6, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    So a buddy and I have a four tap Kegerator we made. We have four home brews we kegged in Coca Cola corny kegs. The splitter doesn't fit our line so we had to force carbonate our kegs one by one. Only one of our beers is pouring and we don't know why.

    -We have three CO2 tanks we hooked up one after another. All three are close to full.

    -We tried adjusting the co2 pressure. No dice.

    -We purged the kegs. Nothing.

    The other three beers have little to no pressure coming out and beer dribbles out barely at all.

    Any questions and/or suggestions are welcomed.
     
  2. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah


    Run a mix-and-match on your CO2 tanks, regulator(s), tap lines, and your kegs. One keg pours fine out of one tap. See if the other kegs will run fine out of that same tap. See if your keg that pours well out of the tap pours well out of the other taps, etc. This will help you minimize the number of problems.

    You should see beer pouring pretty freely after several minutes of pressurizing the keg, even if it is just flat beer. Start checking for leaks if you can get the beer flowing, also.
     
  3. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    We bought the line for all the kegs at the same time at the same store. What does switching them do?

    The one keg that is working has a different keg top than the rest. Aside from the possibility that co2 could be leaking out of the other 3, could that be an issue?
     
  4. 2ellas

    2ellas Maven (1,302) Feb 20, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    switching kegs from the non working tap to the working tap will eliminate kegs from the non working part of the equation. You've provided limited details of an issue that could be anywhere in your setup. A picture or two would be quite helpful. How are you getting co2 to the other kegs if your splitter isn't in the mix? Many other factors and variables that could be causing your problems here so we'll need a bit more info to go on.
     
    NGennaroL777 likes this.
  5. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    [​IMG]
    We went from keg to keg and shot in around 25 PSI of CO2 for a minute or so, so the kegs have CO2 in them for the night. Today we'll be buying new line for the splitter so the one CO2 canister will be able to feed all four kegs. We just wanted to put CO2 in the kegs last night as a placeholder until we could fix the problem. The only picture I currently have is of the outside of the kegerator.
     
  6. 2ellas

    2ellas Maven (1,302) Feb 20, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    Very nice build! So it sounds like only one keg is being fed co2 continously and if that's the case, that's the problem. Once you get your gas distributor in line and have co2 to all kegs at all times, they should pour correctly. If I'm misunderstanding still, send us more info. Either way keep us updated!
     
    NGennaroL777 likes this.
  7. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    The one beer that pours isn't being fed the CO2 continuously. Which is making us scratch our heads even more.
     
  8. 2ellas

    2ellas Maven (1,302) Feb 20, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    Hmmm...depending on the head space in the keg and how many psi of co2 you pumped in there, I would imagine it would pour a bit but shouldn't pour much. Beer is replaced by co2 as it's poured from the keg so you need a steady stream of co2 to keep up the pressure to pour. I'm sure some of the more experienced folks will chime in and provide more details but that's my understanding of the entire process.

    Did you dry hop in any of the kegs? The liquid tube could potentially be clogged and that could cause the issue as well. Getting gas to all kegs is the first step though.
     
    NGennaroL777 likes this.
  9. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    We're quite sure we were able to get gas to all the kegs. The beer moved THROUGH the lines when we turned the CO2 on. We saw the beer move through the line up to the tap, but next to no beer actually comes out. We did not dry hop in any of the kegs.
     
  10. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    I would be looking at the disconnect and making sure the needle is properly seated in the disconnect….cause if it was flipped over or the spring isn't in place, it maybe the problem…cause then it would not properly engage the poppet on the keg allowing the beer to flow out. Just one thought...
     
    NiceFly likes this.
  11. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    ***UPDATE***

    After cutting and attaching the new line to each individual port and using a new CO2 regulator and tank, we have two beers pouring. They happen to be the two beers we bottled and didn't et carbonation on. The two beers we just siphoned into the keg aren't pouring. Could trub clogging in the beer line inside the keg be an issue? We are lost
     
  12. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    Clarification..

    We Brewer a brown ale and a black IPA months ago. We screwed up somethings in the bottling process because when we popped them open, we got no carbonation. Fast forward four weeks to yesterday: So we opened each bottle and pout the beer in their respective keg hoping forced carbonation would work. That's neither here nor there.

    We brewed two IPA's and siphoned them directly from the primary into the keg yesterday. We made sure not to get a lot of trub into the keg but naturally you can't atop it 100%. These two beers aren't pouring. Could trub buildup in the kegs be causing a clog and forcing the beers not to pour? Yhe really is beer in all four lines up to the tap.
     
  13. Mullen2525

    Mullen2525 Zealot (627) Dec 9, 2012 Massachusetts

    Dip tubes/poppets could be clogged with hop trub, been known to happen.
     
  14. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    Mullen --- what would you suggest to fix it?
     
  15. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    r
    Turn off the gas. Vent keg. Remove quick disconnect, post, and diptube. Clean and sanitize them. Re-install.

    ETA: when cleaning the post, remove the poppet from it and clean separately, if the design of your post allows it. If it's an older keg, it probably does.
     
    Mullen2525 likes this.
  16. 2ellas

    2ellas Maven (1,302) Feb 20, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    Are you able to get some internal pictures yet? Have you tried swapping kegs around to see if it's the keg or something in the lines?
     
  17. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    I can take pictures, yeah. We haven't switched the kegs yet but we know it's not the kegs because now two of the beers work great, only one did yesterday.
     
  18. 2ellas

    2ellas Maven (1,302) Feb 20, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    You said there might be some trub issues in there though right?
     
  19. NGennaroL777

    NGennaroL777 Zealot (500) Aug 15, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    Yes could be. I don't know what else it would be
     
  20. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I would try it anyway. I don't see where you have eliminated all potential keg problems. The keg that started working could have been because you inadvertently cleared a clog in that keg while you were re-doing your connections.

    ETA: By keg problems, I mean problems isolated to the keg (including trub), and not the beer line, faucet, or gas supply.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.