Beer Forum

I was in the process of carbonating my California Common when my CO2 tank w/ regulator came crashing down off the table.

Any ideas how I can find out if the regulator is still working? I tried dispensing some beer with my usual setting and it seemed ok. I just wonder if I can still trust the gauge readings.

Put a nice big chip in our tile flooring too.

Crank up the pressure does it make noise. I mean if you can hear flow when you have cranked it up then it's working. The gauges are probably fine. I have a nitrogen regulator that bounces around in my service truck day in and day out. It's been dropped and abused and it still works fine. They are a lot heartier than people give them credit for.

Yep. It definitely makes noise when I crank it up (aka gas still flows).

I've just heard so much about the regulators being so fragile. That's why I was freakin' out. I need another beer

Yep, Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Homebrew!

BadRockBeer wrote:Yep, Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Homebrew!

You are obviously a Papazian fan, BadRock.

Here's the thing - gas doesn't seem to flow unless I've got my regulator set above 7. Also, when my regulator hit the ground, it was set at 20. When I picked it up, it was above 25.

Might the zero point have been reset?

One thing you should have in your arsenal of brewing gadgets is a keg pressure checker. You can pressurize a keg and then use the pressure tester on the keg and compare the readings on it against your regulator. A couple places on the web sell these or you can build one yourself. http://www.hbd.org/carboy/kegpresstester.htm

Anyone kegging should have one of these gadgets, especially if you "shake and bake" to carbonate kegs.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

Wayne, thanks for the link. I'm going to put this on my to-build list.

That is a fantastic gadget for a kegger's arsenal. And I do conduct the "shake n' bake" method.

At the moment I'm gonna risk over-carbonation and assume that the zero point on my gauge has gone up 6-7 psi. We'll see how it goes.

Now to figure out how to repair a chipped tile...

Are you sure the 6-7 psi you are reading isn't the static pressure of the keg. Try turning the gas off and pulling the connector off of the post. Then see if it zeros.