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?

2. 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.

3. 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.

[dj_van_gilder]

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.

[wild]

[QUOTE=Riles;13129]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?[/QUOTE]
If I don't plan to have another pint for a day or two then I clean my lines. But if its just until the next day, I just spray some BLC into and around the fawcet before pulling a pint.

[QUOTE=Riles;13129]2. 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.[/QUOTE]
If there are no leaks, a 10# tank should last at least 5 sankes.

[QUOTE=Riles;13129]3. 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.[/QUOTE]
If I don't plan to have another pint for a day or two then I'll shut the gas off.

[QUOTE=Riles;13129]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.[/QUOTE]
As dj_van_gilder said, check for leaks. A tank should last you several kegs.

Wild

[dlihcsnatas]

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?

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 21:36:13 -0500, dlihcsnatas
<dlihcsnatas.2n08xi@usenet.brewtank.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>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?[/color]

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

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:00:31 +1100, Shill #312
<govshill312@REMOVEoptusnet.com.au> wrote:
[color=blue]
>On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 21:36:13 -0500, dlihcsnatas
><dlihcsnatas.2n08xi@usenet.brewtank.com> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>
>>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?[/color]
>
>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[/color]
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.

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.

If you do not want to spend what it takes to get a good regulator, get some
inline check valves if you are using a regular sized keg. If you are using a
syrup container for a keg, the metal connectors have check valves in them
and all you have to do is turn off your CO2 bottle when not in use.
"Riles" <riles32807@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1172690466.782819.15390@m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> 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?
>
> 2. 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.
>
> 3. 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.
>[/color]