Regulator - psi drop

[Oktoberfest]

New to kegging and trying to work thru some foaming/low carbonation issues. I have a keg tapped and checked the psi before and after and it dropped 3-4 lbs after 1st pour. Is this normal? Same thing yesterday and psi creeps back up after sitting for a bit. I just thought it was a bit odd that the pressure is not consistent. Also, makes it tough to understand actual pressure I am setting the regulator at.

36 Degrees / 5 ft beer line 3/16" / Pale Ale / 1.5 ft from top of keg to spout

Thanks for any guidance.

[alanzo]

Well, the regulator doesn't instantly replace the missing headspace (from pouring the beer) with Co2. Takes about 30 seconds to do it fully.

[gwk453]

Sweet! It seems we both keep our beer at the same. I just went thru the same learning curve. Wow how the proper carbonation effects the taste of the beer! You really need a check valve to protect your regulator from back pressure, but you can live without one if you are carefull and dont have multiple kegs hooked up at the same time. Remember your beer only heads once! I jack my corny's to 30 psi for 4 days after filling. I have seen the carbonation tables and tried the recomendations. The results were BLAH. When your ready to pour, Don't pull the corny relief valve to drop the pressure because you are forming a head inside the corny and your destroying the heading chemistry. I don't have a check valve so I just shut off my CO2 gas shut off valve and let the pressure come down by pouring a few heady over gased beers. When it starts to settle to a better pour, I open the valve and set the reg to 18 psi. The charts say 10 psi at 36 degree but I had to adapt to my system. So you have to experiment to suit YOUR taste! I run about 5 ft of 3/16 hose too. My first pour of the day is a little heady, but the next is better! I just connect to what ever I feel like drinking and pour. Next year I will get a manifold multi hookup. I brew with about 3-5% Carapils and I get a dynamite long lasting head. I top up my idle cornys every couple days @ 18 psi with co2 just in case of leaks. Experiment with letting your beer warm up after pouring before tasting to find the ideal temp to suit YOUR taste!

Drink and be merry!!

[Oktoberfest]

Thanks for the replies. Regulator did go back up, but not back to original psi until after sitting for hours. Looks like I need to play with it a bit more to fine tune.

[Kbar]

Bad regualtor. I have 2, and the fill time on pour is very fast, and drop in pressure is negligible. See <<1 psi drop when pouring and do not notice much less than a 2 second lag time to get back to pressure setting with great hysteresis.