[DrewG]

I have two kegs carbing up, at 33 F, 8.5 psi. Shooting for 2.5ish volumes. Set them up Sunday night, no shake. Checked the beer Tuesday night and they're both fully carbonated. Seems a bit fast.

My other clue is serving pressure...anything more than 3 psi and the beer is just flying out of the tap. 6' of tubing, maybe a 2' elevation.

So, I'm thinking my gauge is s***e.

[liquidbrewing]

Where is your Co2 tank located? Inside or outside the fridge?  Let's start there.

[DrewG]

inside the fridge

[a10t2]

Do you know how to set a regulator? Close the outlet valve and back the pressure off until it reads zero and/or starts leaking gas. Then SLOWLY turn it up, tapping the gauge periodically to make sure it isn't sticking. Done properly, it will take 1-2 minutes to get up to 10-15 psi. Once the regulator is set where you want it, reopen the outlet valve.

[liquidbrewing]

If it's inside the fridge, with your line length and elevation to the faucets, it only needs to be set at about 8 psi.  Turn off the gas to the kegs, bleed the pressure from the kegs.  Then do what a10t2 says, but only turn it up to 8 psi.  Trust me, with the gas in the fridge 10-15 is WAY too much.  Your beer will still probably be overcarbed and pour really fast, but it will equalize in a few days.

I just noticed that you want to carb up to 2.5 volumes.  That's high to me, but if it's a certain style I understand.  If you're carbing higher it's naturally going to fly out of the faucet, unless you invest in some flow control for highly  carbonated beers.  The fridge temp is part of the issue too.  33 degrees for the beer will make it carb more, and the gas that cold will also put more Co2 in it.

Check this out too:  http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html 

Calculate what volumes you want, then I would deduct about 2 psi, since your gas is in the fridge.  Hope this helps.  Nothing worse than pouring a glass of foam!

[DrewG]

Do you know how to set a regulator? Close the outlet valve and back the pressure off until it reads zero and/or starts leaking gas. Then SLOWLY turn it up, tapping the gauge periodically to make sure it isn't sticking. Done properly, it will take 1-2 minutes to get up to 10-15 psi. Once the regulator is set where you want it, reopen the outlet valve.

I definitely have not being doing that. My typical routine has been to sanitize, hook up the gas and blow out the last bit of starsan, rack over on top of the c02, hook the gas back up and turn the regulator to my desired pressure. After reading what you wrote, I'm assuming this is not the way to do it. What is the difference between the 2 methods? Not doubting what you're saying, just curious.

If it's inside the fridge, with your line length and elevation to the faucets, it only needs to be set at about 8 psi.  Turn off the gas to the kegs, bleed the pressure from the kegs.  Then do what a10t2 says, but only turn it up to 8 psi.  Trust me, with the gas in the fridge 10-15 is WAY too much.  Your beer will still probably be overcarbed and pour really fast, but it will equalize in a few days.

I just noticed that you want to carb up to 2.5 volumes.  That's high to me, but if it's a certain style I understand.  If you're carbing higher it's naturally going to fly out of the faucet, unless you invest in some flow control for highly  carbonated beers.  The fridge temp is part of the issue too.  33 degrees for the beer will make it carb more, and the gas that cold will also put more Co2 in it.

Check this out too:  http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html

I was at 8-9 psi...I either use the chart in brewing classic styles or just use beersmith. I had not read anything about adjusting for the tank being in the fridge. Hopefully I can dial it in with the tips you guys gave me. I was getting really frustrated after trying to bottle 5 gallons of overcarbed bitter with my beergun (had to for a party I had promised to bring beer to) and wasting a LOT of it. I bottled 10 gallons last night, and it went perfectly. After the last disaster I checked it twice a day to make sure it wasn't a repeat performance.

[liquidbrewing]

Check out this thread:  http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cold-co2-tank-111280/  They're mainly talking about the high pressure side, but I don't think it would affect only one gauge.  I believe it affects the high and low pressure readings.

I couldn't find too much info on this subject, but temperature does affect Co2 readings.  I've had problems with it before myself, by having my serving fridge gas on the outside and my carbing fridge on the inside.

I had a long talk with my father-in-law about this.  Actually he had a long talk with me, he's a retired Navy Master Diver, he agreed with my findings...but we were hitting my IPA pretty hard too!

[a10t2]

I believe it affects the high and low pressure readings.

No, only the high.

[liquidbrewing]

Agree to disagree.

[Jimmy K]

It affects the high pressure because pressure is proportional to gas volume and temperature, so the same amount of gas in the tank will be at a lower pressure when colder. The low pressure isn't effected because it is not a set amount of gas (the regulator provides enough gas to reach that pressure at the temperature).

[liquidbrewing]

I emailed the professor, Charlie P., and he informed me that it might affect it slightly.  I just wanted to get a clear answer on this.  Now I know, it doesn't affect it that much.