Set and Forget Carbonating Corny Keg and PSI loss

Brewing Processes
1

I have two corny kegs of a blonde ale hooked up to a kegerator with a single CO2 regulator split to two gas lines . One I force carbonated by carbonating at 30 PSI for two days and then turning it down to 10PSI and letting sit for another 2 days before drinking. At that point I hooked up the second keg, so that they’re both being pressurized continuously at 10 PSI and I could use the “set it and forget it” method to carbonate the second keg, while I drink from the first. I leave the regulator on at all times. I have two questions:

  1. Should I leave the second gas line flowing at 10 PSI to the keg that I’m not currently drinking from after the 6-10 day set it and forget it period ends  (it may be a month or so before the first keg is tapped and I move on to that one) or will it become over carbonated? If I take the gas line off should I blast in a layer of CO2 before I do so??

  2. Since hooking up the second gas line, I’ve walked up to the regulator a few times in the past week to find that the PSI has dropped to 0. No idea why. I turn it back up to around 10, I can hear it start to flow and it seems to hold there for a few days but I’m wondering what may have caused this.

2

  1. The whole reason it’s “set it and forget it” is that you’re done now. The CO2 will saturate the beer given enough time.

  2. It’s possible your regulator is defective… I’ve found that most home brewers don’t know how to set a CO2 regulator:

  • Close the regulator outlet.
  • Turn the pressure down until the gauge reads 0 and/or gas starts leaking from the regulator body.
  • Slowly turn the pressure up to the desired reading - the gauge will lag several seconds behind your adjustments.
  • Reopen the valve to the keg(s).
3

First, welcome to the forum!

Second, I would check the system for leaks - usually a keg issue, which may be solved with something as simple as keg lube applied to posts and lid o rings, or something as complex as a regulator leak.  I use a product that does a good job at bubbling when a leak is covered, but you can go with a Starsan solution and spray down the suspected areas to pinpoint the leak.  Good luck!

4

We had a product in the GC/MS lab called “Leak Detect” (or something) that was basically 1 tsp of dish soap in 100 or 200 ml of water. These days I use the dish soap method, and it is in no way inferior to the commercial product.

Charlie (no, not THAT Charlie)

5

Always bring the regulator up to your pressure. Never down. If you try to drop the pressure it may hold for a while, but not end up at the set point you were hoping for.

Charlie