Bad Regulator?

[Mustang Paul]

Hi all--

I'm still having foam issues after temping the beer and setting the regulator to the required pressure. I noticed today that after a bit, the pressure seems to be going down on my regulator. I'll have it set at 13.5 and notice after a day or so it'll drop to 12. I'll bump it up and it goes back down again. There also seems to be a lot of turning before the needle moves either up or down.

I don't see any place that I have a leak.

I pulled off the coupler and the keg seems to have a good seal on it.

The set up is from Danby and the parts are all danby. Should I invest in a better regulator?

I have yet to have a glass of beer that was less than 1/2 foam and that's a complete pain!

Thanks!

--Paul

[psychodad]

The regulator on my Danby was a creeper too. However it would creep upwards. Replaced it with one of the premium dual gauge regulators and have had no more problems.

[Mustang Paul]

Psychodad: Would the creeping regulator cause foam issues, too? That's got me stumped.

[Sketch]

It can.

A creeping regulator can't constantly apply an accurate PSI per your beer's temp and v/v.

Leaks can also lead irregulator regulator behavior and foam problems. Try a leak test before assuming it's a faulty piece of equipment.

[Mustang Paul]

Ok, I did the leak test and didn't find anything. My needle held steady over 10 minutes with the tank off. I sprayed every joint with soapy water and no bubbles. Still foamy beer.

Beer is 36 degrees.
Keg is michelob ultra
Pressure is 13.5-14.

New regulator?

--P

[KillianBoy]

Mustang Paul,
Uh, test should be done with tank valve on and regulator also on, spray connection between tank and regulator, regulator valve and the 2 gas hose connections. MM regulators are far superior than the Haier Chinese regulator or the Danby one (not sure origin). I have to tug on the pressure release valve to get the needle to move when I adjust the PSI, so when you adjust the Danby regulator, you could think your adjusting to the right PSI but creep could come from cheap regulator taking awhile to adjust, try and tugging on pressure release valve when you adjust PSI. Also by my numbers, 2.7 to 36 degrees is 12.5 to 13 PSI.
KB

[Mustang Paul]

KB---

Thanks for the tips! I was following the pressure testing write up linked above when I turned off the tank and such. I'm about ready to junk this Danby regulator and get a good one from MM and be done with it! I'm hoping I can get it here before New Year's Eve--I have a bunch of people coming over and i want to show off my new toy!

[Sketch]

Ok, I did the leak test and didn't find anything. My needle held steady over 10 minutes with the tank off

I had a problem with regulator creep - performed a leak test and it took the needle almost 12 hours to drop(let it sit overnight). When I found the leak, I isolated the problem area and that fixed my issue.

[Mustang Paul]

Needle held rock steady. I'll let it sit another 10 hours or so and see.

Beer should not be this hard! 8)