Hi all - this is the second time this has happened to me. I have a keg of beer hooked up to a CO2 supply, regulator holding at 12 PSI, plenty of CO2 in the tank, for days, even weeks. Then one day, I open the keezer, to see the tap on the floor, all the beer that was in the keezer spilled all over the place, and the CO2 tank completely empty.
Fortunately, this time, there was only a scant gallon left, but, damn was it a good belgian blonde. Worse, the first time this happened, it was almost a full keg that got forced out. Of Lucid Foto. I try not to think about it too much, too sad.
So, the question I’m trying to answer is: how could this happen? I noticed that each time, the dispenser end was on the floor. Could the way it was leaning tick open the tap open just enough for the beer to start being forced out? Is the answer to make sure the tap is hanging on something and not leaning on anything when not in use? Do I need to turn off the CO2?
I’m hoping to never have to waste all this beer again, so if anyone could lend some sage advice, I would be most grateful.
Thanks!
Help me understand this…
- sanke or ball/pin lock?
- does the tap pop off by itself or are you removing it?
It sounds like the liquid out poppet is sticking open. This allows the beer to flow out. The regulator continues to fill the head space pushing more beer out. As that happens the co2 continues to flow and is leaking out the same poppet that is stuck open.
Edited because auto correct changed sanke to snake (tried it again here).
Are you talking about a picnic tap? Once I closed the fridge door and it squeezed open my p tap. Didn’t loose much since I opened it right away to put something away but it could have been bad, full keg. I’ve been more careful after that. I do feel your pain though.
Oh missed dispensing end… if it is a picnic tap you have to be very careful with those. Thanks for pointing that out to me Brew Cat :oops:
Yes, it is the picnic tap that was on the floor of the keezer. My guess is it’s either faulty or, was leaning on the ground. But, if it was faulty, my guess is the problem would have reared its ugly head within a short while of my tapping it, rather than several weeks later.
Either way, as a precaution, I’m thinking of just cutting off the CO2 supply at the tank if I’m not going to be partaking of the beer for a few days, as well as being extra careful and making sure there’s no beer coming out of the tap when I finish pouring myself a beer. And, of course, making sure it doesn’t wind up the floor.
Thanks, guys!
Be careful about shutting off the CO2 on kegs, especially with beer faucets. I shut mine off once because a few beers were pouring too much head (for some inexperienced guests) and after a while, there was not enough pressure to fully seat the faucet. Luckily I caught it before the drip tray overflowed.
sure thing, thanks for the advice.
This happened once to me with 5 gallons of cider. Until I finally purchased perlicks, I disconnected the beer line each time I was done with it.
I wasn’t going to let it happen again. Those picnic taps are great but I don’t trust them at all for long term unsupervised attached to pressure.
This happened to me a few months ago - and my keg had just perfectly carbed and we only had the chance to enjoy a few pints. It was a picnic tapper and there is a part to the tap handle can screw on/off and it was just slightly turned and allowed enough pressure overnight to dispense the entire keg into our keezer. We just finished building out our collar and perlick tappers hoping to rid ourselves of those sensitive picnic tappers forever!
My suggestion…time to build out your keezer or kegerator!
[quote=“JacquesC”]Yes, it is the picnic tap that was on the floor of the keezer. My guess is it’s either faulty or, was leaning on the ground. But, if it was faulty, my guess is the problem would have reared its ugly head within a short while of my tapping it, rather than several weeks later.
Either way, as a precaution, I’m thinking of just cutting off the CO2 supply at the tank if I’m not going to be partaking of the beer for a few days, as well as being extra careful and making sure there’s no beer coming out of the tap when I finish pouring myself a beer. And, of course, making sure it doesn’t wind up the floor.
Thanks, guys![/quote]
Cutting off the CO2 supply will prevent the CO2 tank from going empty if this happens again, but it won’t prevent the beer from spilling out. If you have half a keg of beer, there is enough gas pressure in the top half to push out all the beer even if the tank is not attached. You need to disconnect the picnic taps to prevent the beer from leaking.
By the way, I used picnic taps for about 3 years like that, and never had any problems with leaks. I’m guessing you have a tap that is faulty and can somehow get stuck open under the right conditions.
