Regulator Leak?

Okay, at some point, on my first tank of CO2 I was getting a buzzing noise, very faint from my regulator. It appeared to be coming from the tank pressure gauge area and I tightened down that gauge a little bit and it went away. Not too long after that I finally ran out of gas on that tank. I’d gotten roughly 7-8 kegs out of that tank. So, I didn’t suspect any further issue. I hooked up another tank a while back and looked at the pressure gauge a few weeks later and it is almost empty, yes I do understand how the tank pressure gauge works and how temperature has an effect on it. So, I’m assuming a leak somewhere.

If I close down all the valves leading out to the lines and pressurize the regulator section, with no pressure set on the regulators, and then turn off the CO2 tank, the tank gauge remains at the tank pressure, based on the remaining pressure in the regulator area. When I come back hours later the gauge has dropped to zero. Wouldn’t this indicate that there is a leak somewhere up in the regulator head area? I just want to make sure I’m not misunderstanding something here, but it would seem that if I pressurize that area and seal it off the gauge shouldn’t move unless I purge the regulators.

Don't worry, I've shut everything down and will be checking the line connections and QDs this weekend, but started with the regulator assembly because of the previous noise I heard coming from it.

Check for a small hole near the adjustment screw (the one that controls the pressure setting). Spray some soapy water near the hole and see if that is the issue. I went through the process similar to you and figured it was in the regulator area. Air was flowing pretty hard out of the small hole.

If you are getting gas flow out of the hole, then you most likely have a leaking gasket in the regulator body. I was able to locate a kit designed for the specific regulator I had and it was pretty easy to replace successfully.

I only use my taps about once or twice a week and since then have just brought the system up to pressure and turned off the main gas valve at the tank. I open it up to repressurize about once a week and then turn it back off. That seems like more work but it stops my tank from emptying in the event of a bad connection.

wbown said:

Check for a small hole near the adjustment screw (the one that controls the pressure setting). Spray some soapy water near the hole and see if that is the issue. I went through the process similar to you and figured it was in the regulator area. Air was flowing pretty hard out of the small hole.

If you are getting gas flow out of the hole, then you most likely have a leaking gasket in the regulator body. I was able to locate a kit designed for the specific regulator I had and it was pretty easy to replace successfully.

I only use my taps about once or twice a week and since then have just brought the system up to pressure and turned off the main gas valve at the tank. I open it up to repressurize about once a week and then turn it back off. That seems like more work but it stops my tank from emptying in the event of a bad connection.

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I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip!

I hear you on turning the thing off. Seems like a pain in the butt, but it's also a pain to come in and find that you're out of gas and you haven't even gotten a full keg out of the thing.