Corny Keg Leak? Or Is The Beer Just Absorbing CO2?

[BrewBlender]

I'm still new to kegging and I am trying to carbonate this batch with Corn Sugar instead of just hooking up the CO2.

The keg expert at the homebrew shop suggested priming as if I was going to bottle, apply 30# and remove the gas hook-up...Then bleed the keg down to 10# each day, until it stayed at 10.

SUNDAY I primed and applied 30# to seal the deal, disconnected the tank and waited until Monday. This morning I woke up and it was down to 2#. So I applied 30 more # of pressure and sure enough by the end of the day, it was down to 5.

How long does it take before the Corn Sugar starts building up the pressure again? Is it possible that the beer is just absorbing the 30# I pump in? Since the tank isn't hooked up, is the beer absorbing the CO2 or do I have a leak? I checked for leaks with soapy water, etc.

Help!

[seanhagerty]

I would suspect the beer is absorbing the CO2. There is a certain amount of gas that a liquid qill absorb into the solution. Once it gets full, it will not drop any longer. The sugars you put in there should take about the same amount of time to carb as a bottle would (about 3 weeks).

Just be aware, that as you drop the temp, the solution will absorb more gas, so your pressure will drop.

[Speyedr]

My understanding is that the sugar is fermented in less than 24hrs. It is the ABSORPTION of CO2 into the beer that takes 2-3 weeks. So, after a day or two the CO2 is there in the headspace, it just needs time to disolve into the beer. That said, if you are pressurizing the keg and then it is dropping by 25lbs or more in a day, I'd look for a leak in the keg. I don't think the beer would be absorbing that much CO2 in 24hrs. Of course, just my 2 cents.

Good luck.

[linuxelf]

Do you guys generally remove the CO2 tank from the keg once you've got it carb'd?

[SunkenBier]

I do if I dont know its a known good keg. Id rather have a small leak from a keg then loose the whole co2 tank and possibly have all the beer on the floor. Been there done that, didnt enjoy the cleanup.

Once I know the keg is tight Ill leave it on

[BrewBlender]

I made a mistake in the first post. I did drop the pressure down to 10# after sealing with 30#. Would this cause a leek or should it stay sealed?

This is the first time I've ever primed with corn sugar instead of just hooking up the CO2.

The guy at the homebrew shop suggested to apply 30lbs to seal the top and then remove the CO2 tank completely and bleed it down to 10#.
Then check the pressure every day and release it down to 10#, if it's gone up above 15. The next day, it's supposed to go up and then I release again...repeat until it stays at 10, then try the beer.

However, after the first day, I checked it and it was down at 2. (8# drop). I think today it's hanging out at around 10. I'm at work now, but I'll let you know what it is when I get home. If it's above 10-15, then this method is working.

[DannyW]

I tried letting fermentation finish in a keg by pulling the relief once in a while and found that once the pressure started climbing it would sometimes go very high very fast. I'd bleed it down to 10psi and by the time I got home it would be a 60psi! By the time I vented it down again, I'd have sprayed myself and the room with plenty of foam from the standard pressure relief valve build into the lid of the keg.

Then I built a keg pressure tester with a relief valve and quit worrying about it. Here's Mike Dixon's version, and where I got started:

http://hbd.org/carboy/kegpresstester.htm

I found that over time the needle valve would corrode or something and not seal. I replaced it with an adjustable pressure relief valve from http://grainger.com something like part number 6D915, but not exactly. In fact, from my searches it appears that Grainger does not sell the one I have any more You can see a picture of it on page one of http://bubrew.org/pressure-ferment.pdf as part D.

That thing lets me set the valve at 25psi (which I think is around 2.5 volumes at 65F) and just forget about it. No more venting, and the keg is perfectly carbonated at the end.

[DannyW]

I looked again and Grainger does still sell that adjustable pressure relief valve as part number 4TK26 for $9.13