Is any amount of Co2 leak acceptable?

Hi all....

I have a secondary regulator that is screwed in directly to a 6 way manifold that appears to have a very slow leak. I hit it with 30psi and then turned the gas off and the pressure has now dropped to 28psi after about 2 hours. I have the manifold submerged in water and have not seen a single air bubble.

My question is, does anyone know if this amount of loss is acceptable or do I need to keep hunting for the leak and maybe consider that I might have a bad regulator?

Also, I don't know if this will change anything however when I plan on using this manifold the Co2 coming in will be at 30psi (because of my keg of root beer) but I will have the regulator on the manifold set at around 8-10 psi for dispensing my beer so maybe the leak will be slower.?.?

Any comments/advice will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

Find & fix the leak. Even a slow leak will drain your tank quickly. The leak may well be in the regulator of its connections. Submerge everything you can. I even submerged my entire regulator (up to the gauge stems) searching for a leak. This seems to have done no harm and it was a long time ago. You will be surprised at how quickly even a slow leak can drain a CO2 cylinder.

Thanks Catt22, that was the answer I was expecting but I hoping that I would get "don't worry, you will never notice a leak that small"

I've had it submerged as much as possible for most of the day and I have tightened every fitting and I just can't seem to find any leak

I have a wheat that is almost ready to keg and I guess if I can't get this manifold figured out I may have to break down and buy a new secondary or a dual body primary........Does anyone have a good working one they want to sell?

Thanks again Catt22

I think nearly everyone with a kegerator eventually gets burned by a small leak... sucks to think everything is cool one day, then come home to an empty CO2 tank the next. Definitely locate that leak or you'll be filling up CO2 every other day.

Is the regulator connected to a keg? could be a connector valve
try hooking it up pressurize and check for pressure loss again if you didnt already
aah crap didnt notice that it was a 6 point one

Does it have ball valves or quick connect?

hopefully last edit Can you blind off the valves and test separately/if quick connect it may be dust one one of the balls, bleed off a little with a non sharp tool(need some pressure for that)

Here is a picture of the manifold in question. I had it submerged up to where the regulator attaches and couldn't find any leaks. My Co2 tank is inside my keezer, so I used about 8 feet of extra vinyl tubing I had laying around so I could submerge it outside the keezer so that I could keep an eye on it. What is adding to my confusion is, when it was sitting out at room temp. I lost about 2 psi in 2 1/2 hours but when I took it out of the water and just set it in my keezer it dropped from 30 psi to 20 psi in about 20 minutes.

I'm beginning to think the diaphragm inside the regulator might not be sealing well and it gets worse when it's cold?? Thanks for all the advice/info so far.

question: did you set it at 30psi, put it in the kegerator, and it dropped 2psi afterwards?
if so is it still holding at 28psi?

because, chilling it down will lower the pressure, but only a finite amount. If it was 30psi at 70F and 28psi when it cooled to 44psi, and holding 28psi for several days now... I see no leak, just gas pressure dynamics.

I had it set at 30 psi at room temp for a couple of hours and it dropped on average 1psi per hour all the way down to around 25 psi then I stopped the "experiment", assuming that it would have continued all the way to zero psi eventually.

Then I tried the same experiment inside my keezer resetting it to 30 psi and then it only took about an hour for it to drop all the way down to zero.

Get real hose clamps, for starters. So it is hook from tank, to tubing, to reg? I don't think thte clear tubing pictured is designed to handle 800 psi...

Also, on the tank, do you have a nylon/fiber washer? They need to be replaced every fill.

Dunk the whole thing in water. Tank, reg, and all. Just keep the gauge above. It'll be fine.

I also recently developed a leak somewhere. Been through 2 tanks in 1 month. I submerged the entire top of the tank, regulator and disconnects and have found nothing. Of course stupid me submerged the gauges too and now I believe I royally screwed up my regulator as it no longer regulates. I check the keg lid every time I fill it so I really have no idea whats wrong.

Are you using yellow or white tape on your threaded connections?

Use of yellow tape for gas connections is highly recommended.

OP, NO AMOUNT OF C02 LOSS IS ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE THE CONSEQUENCES AIN'T PRETTY.

1. YOUR FRIDGE FILLS WITH C02, YOU OPEN THE DOOR, TAKE A BREATH...YOU DIE

2. YOUR FRIDGE FILLS WITH C02, CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE, IT 'SPLODES...CAUSIN' A FIRE...YOU DIE

3. FBI IS LIKE, WHY SO MUCH C02? YOU MAKIN' BOMBS? YOU SAY NO. THEY SAY YEAH WE'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE...HOLD A HANDKERCHIEF OF CHLOROFORM OVER YOUR FACE...YOU NEVER WAKE UP


These have all happened to my friends and I don't want to have them happen to you. Get a new regulator or make sure to fix it well.

mosquitocontrol said:

I also recently developed a leak somewhere. Been through 2 tanks in 1 month. I submerged the entire top of the tank, regulator and disconnects and have found nothing. Of course stupid me submerged the gauges too and now I believe I royally screwed up my regulator as it no longer regulates. I check the keg lid every time I fill it so I really have no idea whats wrong.

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Charge the keg(s) and see if they bleed down without being connected anything. Then connect the gas, but don't turn on the tank valve. Do open the small valve as you would when chaging the tank. Wait and check again to see if the keg lost pressure. If it lost pressure not connected, I would replace the dip tube and post O-rings first and if that didn't fix it I would replace both poppets. If it leaks when hooked up to the regulator, the leak could be in the gas supply line or where it connects to the ball lock disconnect. The keg lid O-ring is also a suspect. Lube it up with some keg lube and see if that helps. Lastly check and clean the pressure relief valve. You can usually take them apart very easily.

Another co2 tank gone. WTF. I'm almost 100% positive these are different kegs then on the last 2 tanks that I've lost. I'm losing patience and about to just give up on kegging. This is my nice thank you after taking about 6months off from brewing all together.

mosquitocontrol said:

Another co2 tank gone. WTF. I'm almost 100% positive these are different kegs then on the last 2 tanks that I've lost. I'm losing patience and about to just give up on kegging. This is my nice thank you after taking about 6months off from brewing all together.

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Have you sprayed every connection with Star San or soap water to check for leaks. There's only so many places that can leak, and it's simple to check them.

I literally dunked the tank and entire regulator with all connections in a sink full of water. I'm guessing it must be the kegs. I normally check the large o-ring and the pressure relief valve every hookup. Not really sure how to check the in/out to make sure theres no leaks because its impossible to see where it should be connected. I guess I could just change all the orings on all the kegs just to be safe. But I'm really not looking forward to that.

I'm pretty sure my 2nd port on the dual regulator is wonky since it continually creeps up to 20+ psi even with no temperature change. Maybe that has something to do with it too.

sorry if this is dumb, but is there anything in your keg (i couldn't really tell from the post) ? if you turn the gas off then as the liquid absorbs the co2, the pressure in the head space goes down.