Am I doing something wrong......

A forum to discuss the various ways of getting beer into your glass.
Tomp
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Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Tomp » Sat Jun 17, 2017 4:56 pm

:roll:

This is all new to me. Just got a corny set up in the fridge and for the life of me, I can't work out what I'm doing wrong.

Its the Parweld Pressure regulator here: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.p ... ductId=588

Am I operating it wrongly? As I understand it, the left dial shows pressure in the keg and the right the pressure in the cylinder.

To adjust the pressure in the keg, I turn the big black knob on the front - clockwise for more pressure, anti clockwise for less. Only, I don't seem to be able to get the keg to sit at a low enough pressure - it keeps creeping up and I have to go and release the pressure using the relief valve in the keg to bring it down. Currently the knob is backed out all the way and the gauge is still creeping up past 10 psi. It seems to be a gradual creep.
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

Manngold
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Manngold » Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:21 pm

How much pressure did you carb it with? 10psi is much higher than I would serve at. Try to vent the top of the keg and start again?

Manngold
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Manngold » Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:23 pm

Also, how long Is the beer line and what size, as that will impact the beer coming out.

Fil
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Fil » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:26 pm

pressure gauges on regs with a finer 2 psi gradient are best but many use 4 or 5 psi increments making it very hard to set the sort of pressure needed for low to medium conditioned beers that are not chilled to zero ;) sourcing a 2ndary gauge to fit inline can help, and and it can be a case of fettling and nudging back, once set however a dab of tippex can be used to mark positions to start the fettling next time if you shift the gauge ;)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

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vacant
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by vacant » Sun Jun 18, 2017 8:22 am

I bought that regulator from MM a couple of years ago when I switched to kegs.

I keep the cylinder turned off unless I'm drawing a pint or giving a quick burst of carbonation (say five times during the first day to 30psi, I'll adjust the final pressure when I have room in the dispensing fridge).

I have noticed that sometimes when I turn the cylinder off, the high pressure side will instantly vent which pushes up the keg side a bit.

What you need to do is turn the cylinder off and then check after a while what the keg pressure is. If it keeps increasing you have gas coming out of the beer. If the pressure stays constant you have a faulty regulator.
I brew therefore I ... I .... forget

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IPA
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by IPA » Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:22 am

Sounds like you kegged it too soon and the yeast is still active and creating co2. Leave it alone until the secondary fermentation has finished then release the excess pressure. Forget all that nonsense about beer line length and diameter. The only reason people have a dispense problem with cornies is because the beer is over carbonated.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

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Tomp
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Tomp » Sun Jun 18, 2017 8:05 pm

Now it's chilled down it seems to have settled. Nicely carbed and perfect considering the 32' temp outside..... Result


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

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Kev888
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Kev888 » Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:20 pm

There are three main reasons for keg pressure climbing past the set temperature. The most common two are that the temperature of the beer is increasing, or that the beer is still fermenting or priming. The other is a leak inside the regulator, but this is far less common with new ones.

Most regulators are good at out-putting the set pressure but are quite reluctant (or incapable) of dumping excess pressure that occurs for other reasons. So in the wrong circumstances, over-carbonation can occur even with a regulator attached. If there is a huge increase in pressure then the PRVs should save the day, if they work, but they are for safety and aren't there to subtly regulate mild increases.
Kev

Fil
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Fil » Tue Jun 20, 2017 2:51 pm

with a varying keg temp Allways vent a keg prior to serving to normalise the internal keg pressure to that set on the regulator ;) once per session should suffice :)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Tomp
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Posts: 97
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 8:01 pm

Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Tomp » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:06 pm

Got back after a bike ride yesterday, with a mate of mine, ready for a brief mid week session.

Turned the gas on, turned the pressure regulator to the desired pressure and poured 2 lovely pints.

Went back for second helpings to find the contents of the keg all over the fridge and cellar floor :x :x :x

Spoke with Rob at Malt Miller on the phone this morning (couldn't have been more helpful) and he thinks I have a faulty regulator. So it's not me after all...... :=P :=P

New regulator ordered. I've also gone for a more 'brewing specific' regulator this time so will report back when it's all fitted.

Fingers crossed.

I will, of course, be having a minutes silence for the lost keg........
Last edited by Tomp on Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

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mozza
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by mozza » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:28 pm

Tomp wrote:Got back after a bike ride yesterday, with a mate of mine, ready for a brief mid week session.

Turned the gas on, turned the pressure regulator to the desired pressure and poured 2 lovely pints.

Went back for second helpings to find the contents of the keg all over the fridge and cellar floor :x :x :x

Spoke with Rob at Malt Miller on the phone this morning (couldn't have been more helpful) and he things I have a faulty regulator. So it's not me after all...... :=P :=P

New regulator ordered. I've also gone for a more 'brewing specific' regulator this time so will report back when it's all fitted.

Fingers crossed.

I will, of course, be having a minutes silence for the lost keg........
Is that the shiny Italian one he sells? Let me know how you get on with it, I ordered one a couple weeks ago but not tried it yet!
Cheers and gone,

Mozza

Tomp
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Tomp » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:33 pm

mozza wrote:
Tomp wrote:Got back after a bike ride yesterday, with a mate of mine, ready for a brief mid week session.

Turned the gas on, turned the pressure regulator to the desired pressure and poured 2 lovely pints.

Went back for second helpings to find the contents of the keg all over the fridge and cellar floor :x :x :x

Spoke with Rob at Malt Miller on the phone this morning (couldn't have been more helpful) and he things I have a faulty regulator. So it's not me after all...... :=P :=P

New regulator ordered. I've also gone for a more 'brewing specific' regulator this time so will report back when it's all fitted.

Fingers crossed.

I will, of course, be having a minutes silence for the lost keg........
Is that the shiny Italian one he sells? Let me know how you get on with it, I ordered one a couple weeks ago but not tried it yet!
It is. Should arrive tomorrow. Looks like a nice bit of kit.
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

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Kev888
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Kev888 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:51 pm

In what way did the gas regulator cause a beer leak - was it excess pressure finding a weak spot in the beer line?
Kev

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Mashman
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Mashman » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:53 pm

Where did the beer leak from? Not sure the regulator would be my first suspect....

M
Two Valleys Brewery

Brewing up trouble

Tomp
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Re: Am I doing something wrong......

Post by Tomp » Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:02 pm

The beer was coming out the safety valve on the top of the keg.

Minimal research after the event, suggests these release pressure at around 130psi. The pressure was off the scale on the gauge (in the red) and the gauge was only open a tiny amount.

Good news, if any - it pressure tested all the John Guest fittings in the line and none blew off.

I reckon I lost about 20 pints in 10 minutes.
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

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