Beer Forum

Did I read some where that the regulator reads different when it's colder? Or was it that it had to sit in the cold for a time before it was accurate?

Basically I have the corny, the CO2 everything at ~34F.

yinzer wrote:Did I read some where that the regulator reads different when it's colder?

Yes. It will read lower if it's colder.

siwelwerd wrote:

yinzer wrote:Did I read some where that the regulator reads different when it's colder?

Yes. It will read lower if it's colder.

Thanks, so if it's reading lower then I run the risk of over carbonating. Any idea how much it will be off at 32-34F?

yinzer wrote:Thanks, so if it's reading lower then I run the risk of over carbonating. Any idea how much it will be off at 32-34F?

No, the output pressure is okay. What reads low is the gauge telling you the pressure in the CO2 tank. All this means is it will be a little harder for you to predict when you will run out.

siwelwerd wrote:

yinzer wrote:Thanks, so if it's reading lower then I run the risk of over carbonating. Any idea how much it will be off at 32-34F?

No, the output pressure is okay. What reads low is the gauge telling you the pressure in the CO2 tank. All this means is it will be a little harder for you to predict when you will run out.

Ok, that makes total sense. Thanks!!

Yeah, I hear this question all of the time: "don't I need to turn up gas when I put my CO2 tank in the kegerator?" Lol, no! You are putting more CO2 into the keg when the PSI is set and you put cold gas through it but...here is the key...your keg temp is constant so when the denser CO2 at given pressure goes into your beer you will form an balance with the gas in the keg and the headspace pushing back at the same pressure as your regulator is set to. When the beer and keg are warm, yes, you need more PSI for a specific "volumes of gas" in solution. In the case where the keg has not changed, as the first reply states, only the tank pressure changes.

11amas wrote:Yeah, I hear this question all of the time: "don't I need to turn up gas when I put my CO2 tank in the kegerator?" Lol, no! You are putting more CO2 into the keg when the PSI is set and you put cold gas through it but...here is the key...your keg temp is constant so when the denser CO2 at given pressure goes into your beer you will form an balance with the gas in the keg and the headspace pushing back at the same pressure as your regulator is set to. When the beer and keg are warm, yes, you need more PSI for a specific "volumes of gas" in solution. In the case where the keg has not changed, as the first reply states, only the tank pressure changes.

thanks, but that's not what I was asking. I'm using the charts to set my regulator. In fact I was pointing more towards setting it lower.

I finally found what I had read. from http://morebeer.com/view_product/16190/ ... Dual_Gauge

"Regulators work best at room temperature. If you must use your regulator in the cold it will take up to 4 hours for the adjustment to register. For example: If you are at 10 PSI and you change the pressure to 12 PSI the regulator will move to 14 or 15 PSI over the next 4 hours. Once you have found the correct pressure the regulator will work perfectly fine but it will take some trial and error to get it adjusted. "

Now that I read it and being a bit more sober I think that i understand it. The accuracy does not change. It's the interaction of the setting and temp. Lucky I set the regulator very low. It's been in the at least six hours so I set it where the charts say too.

later.

Ahh, I see, I have not heard that before. Cool