Beer not carbonating in keg

[Lewis]

I kegged my beer on tuesday and have blasted it with gas whilst rolling the keg around and let it settle for 2 days my problem is the beer isnt as gassy as i would like. When i gassed it the beer was cold (3oC) and i agitated the keg so to absorb the gas better and did this for the last 2 days. However on dispensing this afternoon the beer had hardly any gas in it at all. There is no notable fizzing of the beer or any visible bubbles surfacing it stays heady for about 10 minutes but that is it. There is no leaks in the keg or lines and i poured about 5 pints using increasing pressure but to no avail. This is my first brew in a keg and it has deeply disheartened me. What have i done wrong? The brew is a Tooheys New clone, fermented for 2 weeks kegged, burped and refridgerated until 3 degrees then carbonated with 220kpa CO2 left to settle and dispensed at 70KPA CO2 BUT STILL NOT BITINGLY GASSY

[Shaun]

Lewis did you leave the keg with the gas turned on at 220kpa for 2 days or did you gas, shake then turn the gas off and left the keg to settle for two days?

If you left it with the gas turned off you have not shaken it for long enough to gas the beer to your required carbonation level. To fix this you can turn the gas on again, shake then try until you get it right, or turn the gas on and leave it on for 24 hours then try.

If the gas was on for two days at 220kpa I would suspect you have a leak and this is why the beer has not carbonated. Were all the seals replaced in the keg when you got it? The seals under the gas and beer post on the dip tubes are normal the culprits. Or it may just need more time try 300kpa for 24 hours and see what its like.

There is lots of info on kegging in this thread
http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=gassing+kegs&start=20

[Guest]

No i didnt leave the gas on am i meant to? Maybe i misread the post i thought it meant give the keg a blast of gas at 220KPA then disconnect leave it 24 hours and repeat. I didnt know the gas had to be left on for 2 days at 220KPA. Is that what you are saying?

[grabman]

When I gas my kegs I leave in fridge with gas connected at 200kpa for 2-3 days. Then drop pressure to dispense. works for me.

[Dogger Dan]

I blast it at 30 psi and let stabilize at 15 psi

Then it is clean sailing.

1 are you over carbonating, this will blow off at the tap and leave you with flat beer

2. You have a leak, check the keg for being able to maintain pressure, the easiest is set to 15 psi, come back two days later and see if you can get more in. You may get some but shouldn't get a lot.

3 You didn't shake it up enough in the first place.

4. You are using to long a hose run and using a Cobra Tap, what a POS, I hate them more than C&W. Get ride of the Cobra.

Sorry guys, been a while since I had rant at Cobra

Dogger

[Shaun]

Lewis there is three ways to gas a keg.

First you need to burp the keg. This involves turning your regulator all the way up connecting your gas to the keg then turning the gas bottle on until gas stops rushing into the keg (you will hear it). You then turn the bottle off wait for about 30 seconds to a minute the let some of the pressure out of the keg using the bled valve. You repeat this 3 - 4 times. This removes any oxygen from the keg.

Gassing method one.
Place the keg in the fridge, connect your CO2, set your regulator to 220kpa - 300kpa turn on the bottle and leave it for 2 - 3 days. It should then be gassed. This method allows the beer to slowly absorb the CO2.

Gassing method two.
You can turn your regulator to 200-300kpa and start shaking your keg with the gas connected and turned on you do this for about 5-10 minutes beer should then be gassed. This method rapidly forces CO2 into the beer however you can easily over carbonate.

or

Using a temp versus Carbonation level chart you can set your regulator to the required pressure then shake the keg until the beer stops absorbing gas, beer is gassed. This is the most accurate way to gas your kegs and is explained in detail in my link above. This method will give you a predictable level of carbonation without the risk of over carbonating.

Gassing method three.
Bulk prime your beer and let it naturally carbonate like bottled beer.

For yours as you only gave it a burst of gas then left for 24 hours I would connect the gas at 250kpa and leave (in the fridge) for 24 hours then try and see if it needs more, if it does not improve I would start looking for a leak.