CO2 & Keg lost pressure

So I kegged my first beer last week. Everything was fine...I set the PSI to 15. The keg was in the fridge.

I thought I had enough CO2 for the Kegging process.

However, I went away this weekend and when I came back the CO2 tank was empty and the keg had lost pressure.

Is my beer ruined?

Can I refill the CO2 tank and start the carbonation process again??

Happened to me once too. Your beer will be fine, just leave the cover closed and don't purge whatever pressure is left in there. Even if there is no pressure there is still a blanket of co2 covering the beer, that's why I say don't open it. Go ahead and get the tank refilled.

Two things... 1)When you fill a keg be sure to purge the gas a few times to get the room air out of the keg. Then be sure to initially kick it up to 20-25 psi. This sets the lid and seal in place. Then you can back off to your desiderata pressure. 2)go ever your whole system for leaks. You can buy a leak detection solution, mix some dish soap with water (but sucks if it gets in the keg) or just spray all connections with starsan. In any case you are looking for bubbles indicating a leak.

Ok Thanks. Do you think there is a leak?

I checked for leaks when I set the system up. But I will check again.

bdbart said:

Ok Thanks. Do you think there is a leak?

I checked for leaks when I set the system up. But I will check again.

Click to expand...

yes, there has to be a leak. One 5# co2 tank should last for about 5 kegs, maybe more.

Either a leak, or the lid didnt seat properly.

I had the same situation. Check where the regulator and the 5# tank get screwed in. For some reason, when I was tightening down that, I ended up loosening the regulator. It took me almost throwing my system out and having a buddy talk me out of it to realize that was where it was.

A couple of homebrews and some soapy solution later, it was fixed and I was a happy boy

Setting up a kegging, leak free system takes some effort but will be bullet proof at the end.
1) Make sure that all lines are tight by checking them underwater (do not put your regulator in water)
2) If you have a manifold, check that underwater as well.
3) Use a leak detection fluid (water + saop, Star San + water, or a purchased leak tek fluid) on everything else that you cannot submerse in water to test. Use teflon tape.
I pressurized mine to 50 PSI, and checked it, took a couple of hours to get all the leaks taken care of, however it worth it knowing that your system isnt leaking.

Just a note, like others have said, be sure to check your kegs, at the lids and the posts for leaks as well.