Keg force carbing, absorption rate?

I've been having some issues with my kegs leaking while the pressure is high to force carb. They've been slow leaks so what I've been doing is hitting them with a dose of about 30PSI and closing the valve so it can't drain my whole tank (again).

I assume there is a natural amount of pressure that should be lost by the beer absorbing the co2, but I'm not sure at what point I should expect to see the pressure holding steady or if I'm still experiencing a slow leak.

The current new keg was hit with about 30 PSI last night, maybe 20 hours later its about 3 PSI. I let the pressure build at 30 PSI until I couldn't hear gas flowing and closed the valve.

I suspect a leak still, I would think it should keep more pressure than that, even after a short burst.

I don't know the answer to your question about absorption rate, but it doesn't sound all that strange that 20 hrs later the gas would be absorbed - the headspace on a full keg is pretty small so how much gas could you really have given it with a single burst? I think my bigger question would be if you think you have a leak how are you going to get your keg to carb, dispense, and stay carbed? I think you need to diagnose that.

chickypad said:

I don't know the answer to your question about absorption rate, but it doesn't sound all that strange that 20 hrs later the gas would be absorbed - the headspace on a full keg is pretty small so how much gas could you really have given it with a single burst? I think my bigger question would be if you think you have a leak how are you going to get your keg to carb, dispense, and stay carbed? I think you need to diagnose that.

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I agree. The beer will absorb the co2 that is blasted in the headspace. That is what carbonates the beer, if enough is applied.

Fix the leak. That's all there is to it- if you don't fix the leak, the system will never be right. You can't blast, turn the gas off, blast, turn the gas off, then dispense. It'll be flat, or else foamy. Just fix the leak, and then leave it on the gas.

I couldn't find a leak so left the gas on, lucky the pressure held. I didn't realize that the beer could absorb all of the head pressure if you don't leave it on.