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CO2 System Questions

Howdy all, I recently bought and set up a CO2 system, and I've got a couple of questions about it.

  1. The directions say to clean the dispensing line 'often', how ever 'often' is a pretty relative term. Should it be cleaned once a week? Once a month? When ever the keg is changed?

  1. About how long should my 10lb tank last? (I realize there's a lot of factors involved) My fridge is at 40 degrees, my low side pressure is set to 7-8 PSI, and I only draw about 6-10 pints a week.

  2. Do people typically leave the tank open and system pressurized? Or do you close the tank/check valve when you won't be dispensing for a couple of days.

I'm asking the second two questions because after about 3 weeks, my tank is empty and it doesn't seem like I've used it that much. A quick search through old posts leads me to believe that I need to re- check all my connections and seals for leaks.

Thanks.

Reply to
Riles
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Definatly check for leaks and make sure you have plastic washers on all of your conections. After wasting a few tanks like this I don't even take a chance anymore and always close off my tank when I'm not using it.

Reply to
dj_van_gilder

'often', how ever

once a week?

If I d> 2. About how long should my 10lb tank last? (I realize

there's a lot of

pressure is

If there are no leaks, a 10# tank should last at least 5 sankes.

Riles;13129 Wrote:

pressurized? Or

dispensing for a

If I d> I'm asking the second two questions because after about 3

weeks, my tank

quick

all my connections and seals for leaks. As dj_van_gilder said, check for leaks. A tank should last you several kegs.

Wild

Reply to
wild

While I am still new to kegs I too wonder how often I should clean lines. Not sure how many weeks I have had my kegs going but I still have not cleaned a line one. I normally kill a few mugs a day so my kegs get a normal workout but I am not sure that simply keeping things active is enough. Will there be a time that I have to clean lines?

Reply to
dlihcsnatas

What I do is, and this is by no means *right*, but it works for me, I rinse my keg(s) with water - put 5 litres of water/sanitiser into a keg - pressurise it to 20psi - swish and swill and roll up and down the hallway - then connect the tap line to the keg and, using the 20psi in it, decant this water/sanitiser off into a bucket (or 2nd keg if I'm doing a couple) - next I put 5 litres of water into the keg and repeat the process above to flush out the sanitiser. I end up with sanitised and flushed kegs and lines.

Shill #312

-- Homer no function beer well without. Homer J. Simpson

Reply to
Shill #312

Sanitizing your kegs is fine but is by no means enough. Every so often you still need to thorougly CLEAN them.

Once per year I completely tear down my kegs, and soak all the parts in PBW, scrubbing if necessary. The same goes for the taps. Once dry, I put it all back together, then mix up about 3 gallons of PBW and put it in the keg. I pressurize, then run this through the lines to clean them. Then I use regular water and push about three gallons of that through the lines to rinse them.

You can't sanitize a dirty system. It needs to be cleaned first.

Reply to
NoConsequence

Riles, You have a leak somewhere. If you can not find one in the connections you may need a better regulator. Some of the cheaper ones leak in the part of it that allows it to bead off when you turn down the pressure.

Reply to
Roy Boy

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