I can't get a seal on my corny!!

One of the kegs from a kit from Midwest just won't seal airtight. It came pressurized so it should be able to seal right? No matter how many times I try to seal it there's always a leak from a corner of the lid. Is there anything I can do or try and get a new one from them? Pissed me off cause I got a seal to make sure before I transferred my stout to it and now it won't seal as it sits in the keg in my kegerator. Any chance of it goin "bad" lettin it sit til I get a new one?

Did you inspect the O-ring? maybe there's a tiny piece of something stuck to it that's not allowing it to seal. Have you tried keg lube?

I just got a kit from Midwest this weekend too and had a huge pain with one of the kegs too. Turn your regulator to 30psi, connect the gas line and that should help.

When i put this much pressure on it for a few seconds, I would press around on the lid too and move it around a bit until it seats right.

They come pressure tested, so they will seal. I learned the hard way and after swearing at it for an hour. Dont worry, mess with a bit to figure out how to seal it. Then you will know how that keg works and what you need to do going forward.

Yeah I've used lube but I'll try what you guys have said

The 30 psi thing worked. Hopefully it will hold and I don't wake to an empty co2 tank

sometimes the lids are finicky, you can try turning it around, wiggling it, etc. Sometimes it takes some pressure for the seal to seat, kind of like seating the bead on a tire.

With the lid removed take a small hammer and lightly tap (straight down/no angle) all around the edge of the opening. This worked for one of mine several years ago.

I have a couple that I have to tap the lid with a small ball peen hammer. Not hard just a few light taps while the gas is on. I guess it helps to set the o ring

With a lubed main oring, pull up on the bale and wiggle/rotate the lid, then snap it home. Also if there isn't a nice positive snap when you latch, the bales may have bent a bit. Use a big pair of pliers to bend the feet down a bit.

Thanks all. Ive seemed to fix the problem. Hopefully it will hold.

You should probably still do a bubble test to see if it is still leaking a tiny bit. I typically just use Starsan solution in a spray bottle. Just spray it on any suspect area (like around the lid seal, the base of both posts, and the top of the posts without any QD attached) and you should see bubbles where ever there is a leak.

SpanishCastleAle said:

You should probably still do a bubble test to see if it is still leaking a tiny bit. I typically just use Starsan solution in a spray bottle. Just spray it on any suspect area (like around the lid seal, the base of both posts, and the top of the posts without any QD attached) and you should see bubbles where ever there is a leak.

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Yeah I should. Ill give it a try when I get home. Should I crank up the PSI for this. Ive got it at 10 for a stout "set it and forget it".

Usually once they seal they're good up to pressures most would never use for serving. These things were actually designed pretty well...they use the pressure inside the tank to help make the seals even better. Sort of like the vacuum in a mason jar allows that lid to seal...those mason jar lids do not hold positive pressure worth a ****...and these corny kegs wouldn't hold vacuum worth a ****. You pull more vacuum on a mason jar and, to a point, it just seals better and better. Similarly, you increase the pressure in these tanks and, up to a point, they often seal better and better.

timmystank said:

Thanks all. Ive seemed to fix the problem. Hopefully it will hold.

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What did you end up doing?

I think he goosed it with pressure and the lid finally sealed.

I cranked it up to 30 and it sealed. But now another problem with both. I set me psi to 12 for the cream ale and 10 for the stout using the set and forget and the damn thing always creeps up 3-4 psi's. Any thought on this?

You need to bleed the keg with the relief valve a few times to see what the regulator is actually going to shut off at, I usually do a few quick bleeds and wait for the sound of gas refilling to know what's up.

bdavanza said:

sometimes the lids are finicky, you can try turning it around, wiggling it, etc. Sometimes it takes some pressure for the seal to seat, kind of like seating the bead on a tire.

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yeah turning the lid around , fliping over the o-ring and keg lube will get most all
i wonder if the presser is climing because of off gassing in your beer??
does the pressure increase with the keg unhooked?

Clayton said:

yeah turning the lid around , fliping over the o-ring and keg lube will get most all
i wonder if the presser is climing because of off gassing in your beer??
does the pressure increase with the keg unhooked?

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I haven't noticed that it does but then again I haven't left it off the keg with pressure on it

timmystank said:

I cranked it up to 30 and it sealed. But now another problem with both. I set me psi to 12 for the cream ale and 10 for the stout using the set and forget and the damn thing always creeps up 3-4 psi's. Any thought on this?

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If I'm understanding the problem: You need to let it stabilize after you set it and connect the kegs. If it's flowing gas you're not seeing the actual 'set pressure' of the regulator, you're seeing a little less than the set pressure. One thing you can do is to set the reg, connect the kegs, and let gas flow until it almost stops flowing...then close the isolation valve(s). That should let you see the actual set pressure of the reg. This won't work if the reg flowing a lot because the reg will 'overshoot' the set pressure due to the high flow.

Also, as you get down to the last bit of CO2 in your tank...the decreased supply pressure causes the reg output pressure to increase (kind of counter-intuitive). But that should only happen when your tank gets really low.

EDIT: also: If you're putting warm CO2 into cold lines and cold tanks...just the gas cooling down will cause it to compress which will cause the reg to flow and you'll likely see less than the actual reg set pressure.