Cant find keg leak

I purchased a keg recently off craigslist, the guy gave me the keg which was pressurized to show that it worked right. And he also gave me new o-rings to replace the ones on there. So I took it apart, cleaned it all, and put it back together like usual (this is my 3rd keg). And everything is great. I didn't check pressure because I assumed it worked (error on my part). And I transferred my beer into it and now it wont hold pressure.

Ive done the soapy water check, nothing. Ive made sure all the in/out pieces are on tight and even checked the top seal and it fits tight. No sounds, no bubbles on tests. I can't figure it where its leaking but its obviously because of me taking it apart and putting it back together. But im not sure what to do to check where its leaking and how to fix it. Any tips on what I can do?

How can you not know where it leaks? If you gas it, do you hear the co2 escape? If it is a slow leak then gas it and spray with soap again. I suspect through the post lines. Or did you gas it in the first place or just let it build pressure on it's own?

so if the thick soapy water trick doesn't work I don't know what does. You should try using a basting brush and brushing it on; sometimes the soapy water is too thin if it's sprayed and may not actually have enough to bubble at the leak.

Also, are you sure you're getting gas into the keg in the first place? if the post/poppet is bad you may not be getting gas in at all.

starsan also work great as a snoop for leaks!! pressurize and disconnect the gas and spray it down! the only other thing i can suggest is fill up the bath tub an submerge the whole keg...

I will try the soap again.

The keg works as it fills up and holds pressure for a little bit, but when I leave it for a day, it looses pressure. About 5psi per 24 hours.

I can't hear any leaks, from anywhere from 10psi to 30psi on the tank. The line and everything works fine. I know its a keg leak because I disconnect the CO2 line and it still loses pressure.

Brak23 said:

I will try the soap again.

The keg works as it fills up and holds pressure for a little bit, but when I leave it for a day, it looses pressure. About 5psi per 24 hours.

I can't hear any leaks, from anywhere from 10psi to 30psi on the tank. The line and everything works fine. I know its a keg leak because I disconnect the CO2 line and it still loses pressure.

Click to expand...

is anything in the keg or is it empty?


Edit: just read that you have beer in there...... the co2 is going into the beer.... everything is OK!!! if its at room temp, leave the gas on there at 30psi for 2 weeks and it will be ripe...

when I have crazy hard to find leaks I almost always assume it's the keg lid. When poppets leak they're pretty easy to tell since the area is limited and they show up easily with the soap test method.

You could try to take the lid off; make sure the area on the lid and keg where the big o-ring sits is clear of any debris and smooth. then hit the oring with some food-safe silicone or lube to promote a good seal.

I had a similar issue and eventually found that the hose clamp on my gas line had pinched the hose and caused a small leak. Could not see it because it was under the clamp. Disassembled it, trimmed the hose and replaced the calmp and no more leak.

Drove me crazy for a day or two.

Are you hitting it with CO2 and then taking the gas line off? Your beer takes on CO2 so if you hit it with CO2 and take the gas line off, the CO2 in the keg after a day will be less because it is now in the beer.

If you are leaving the gas line on, check everything. All the keg seals, the gas disconnect, the line, the reg, everything. It doesn't have to be at the keg.

A good way to test for leaks (when empty) is to stick it upside down in water. If you see bubbles, there is a leak.

+1, Exactly it sounds like what the posters above have stated. I bet you are taking it off the gas. Until your beer reaches an equilibrium its gonna keep absorbing the co2 and your keg pressure will drop.

Are you pouring beers from this keg? It will lose pressure if you are letting beer out. You should empty it before testing. Also, it's helpful to use keg lube on all rubber parts before reassembly.

Could be the pressure relief valve. Just found a leak on my ball lock. I don't think they sell new seals for this, in fact it wasn't obvious if I could even take it apart. For now I cleaned it out really good and stuck some keg lube in there. Seems to be holding for now.

The solution is already posted: co2 absorbed into beer. If the line was left plugged in then there would no pressure drop even if a leak was present until the bottle was empty.

I guess I didnt realize the CO2 would be absorbed and cause a decrease in PSI. I guess I dont remember this on my other beers, since ive done the same thing. I will keep trying it and seeing if it levels out, its probably absorbed.

Brak23 said:

I guess I didnt realize the CO2 would be absorbed and cause a decrease in PSI. I guess I dont remember this on my other beers, since ive done the same thing. I will keep trying it and seeing if it levels out, its probably absorbed.

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Exactly how are you carbing your other beers. I can't imagine much (quick) success if you keep taking the co2 off the keg. Now if you fully carb the beer with co2 connected for say 3-4 weeks at the correct psi for temp, then take it off co2, you'll be fine.

Like I said once the beer reaches an equilibrium say 12 psi at 38F for 1 month, its not going to absorb any more. You can take it off co2, check it a month later and it should still be at 12 psi. Provided temp is constant and no leaks.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm having a similar issue and im wondering if it just hasn't reached equilibrium. Heres my issue

I filled 2 keggs with nectar and hit it with co2, bleed o2 from top of kegs to eliminate 02. let it sit for about an hour everything seemed good, heres where my concern comes in

when I shut the valve on the tank off the pressure on the tanks guage drops. the pressure on the keggs seem to stay good at 12 psi with little to no drop,

also if I disconnect the grey/gas connector at the kegs and do this same thing the the guages dont move a bit, this tells me its at the kegs,

I dont like the idea of leaving it over night with the possibility of loosing co2 from a small leak, ive tried soaping it down and nothing.

kegs all have had new seals and orings 2 brews ago and held pressure fine with those.

any comments are appreciated at this point

If you think it's in the lines, place all connections in a bucket of water. Wherever the leak is coming from it will bubble


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I tried to quote your third paragraph but that feature doesn't appear to function well on my phone

If you have leak tested your equipment and there are no leaks. Chock the irregularity, if there is one, to a bad regulator reading or inexperience. Not trying to be a jerk to you but i doubt anything is wrong.

I might be. Maybe something I'm not understanding from your description .

If your new equipment is not leaking and the regulator not malfunctioning. Operator error


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There may not be a problem.

First, there isn't a lot of gas held within the regulator.

Second, whatever it is you're trying to carbonate will absorb CO2 until it reaches equilibrium. With the kegs attached, when you shut the tank valve, the low pressure gauge should maintain whatever pressure you set the regulator to, while the high pressure gauge will drop, reflecting gas is being "lost" somewhere. Eventually when the gas in the system reaches equilibrium the low pressure gauge may drop below set point - if the fluid hasn't reach equilibrium first...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

There may not be a problem.

First, there isn't a lot of gas held within the regulator.

Second, whatever it is you're trying to carbonate will absorb CO2 until it reaches equilibrium. With the kegs attached, when you shut the tank valve, the low pressure gauge should maintain whatever pressure you set the regulator to, while the high pressure gauge will drop, reflecting gas is being "lost" somewhere. Eventually when the gas in the system reaches equilibrium the low pressure gauge may drop below set point - if the fluid hasn't reach equilibrium first...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I do believe this may be an equilibrium issue, as of now it seems to be holding longer than usual. I don't quite understand how the high gauge works, if there are no leaks and the tank is on and then I shut it off shouldn't the high gauge stay the same? it seems to do so when I remove the grey gas fitting from the keg, but if it is attached as soon as I shut the co2 off it drops off sometimes quickly and other times it takes 5-30 minutes.

I'm going to leave it on for the next 6- 8 hours and then try again tonight.

Again, with the tank valve closed, there is not a lot of gas trapped in the high-pressure side of the regulator and stem. If gas is passing through the low pressure side at the regulated pressure, you should expect the high pressure gauge to drop while the low pressure gauge remains stable - until the system runs out of gas and reaches equilibrium. The question is whether the gas is going into solution or being lost to the atmosphere.

Coupling/uncoupling a disconnect could allow gas to escape, but otherwise if you have a leak-free distribution any gas lost is to carbonation. The fact that things remain stable when you leave the disconnects disconnected narrows the scope to carbonation or a leak at the keg or coupler...

Cheers!