CO2 Leak

Before putting my CO2 system in the fridge, I made 100% sure I was leak free. About 1 week after putting it together I noticed I was out of gas. I quickly realized that with the lower temps, the plastic lines have all shrunk down, and are now leaking. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get arround that. Im sure I could just retighten all of the connections, but is there a better solution?

Right now I just have the hoses on the fitting nipples clamped with standard hose clamps.

i would recommend going with stepless oetiker clamps, they seal much better than the worm clamps (screw drive, standard plumbing clamps).

gnef said:

i would recommend going with stepless oetiker clamps, they seal much better than the worm clamps (screw drive, standard plumbing clamps).

Click to expand...

That is also what the owner of the LHBS here in Podump recommends. He's an A&P mechanic an seems to really know his stuff.

Lame, I found that I had another brass fitting that cracked. I have no idea how that happend. The whole syste was working for about week, and then a fitting cracked. I obviously hadnt been tightening those, so its really weird. Is it common for them to crack when they've been subjected to cooling(near freezing)/heating(to room temperature)?

I did however go out and replace the worm gear hose clamps. I couldnt find the ones you guys recomended, but I found a kind that uses a nut and bolt to tighten the top around a full circle strap. It made a much tigher fit without slippage.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/huthmakerj/Morecrap129.jpg

P.S. How do I put photos in my posts?

SoCalBrewing said:

Before putting my CO2 system in the fridge, I made 100% sure I was leak free. About 1 week after putting it together I noticed I was out of gas. I quickly realized that with the lower temps, the plastic lines have all shrunk down, and are now leaking. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get arround that. Im sure I could just retighten all of the connections, but is there a better solution?

Right now I just have the hoses on the fitting nipples clamped with standard hose clamps.

Click to expand...

I had a very similar setup, and a very similar leak. My tubing was 3/16" with a wall thickness of about 1/16". When I took the tank to get it filled, my LHBS owner said that my tubing was crap sold a lot about 7 years ago (about right) and prone to leak gas. He tossed my screw clamps, installed oetikers, and replaced the hose with some that was still 3/16", with a wall thickness of about 1/8". It was also much softer/pliable that what I had.

It must have worked, all is well now.

Cracked metal fittings are rare. If you've had more than one, you either got a bad batch of fittings or are over-tightening.