Two noob kegging ?'s

I'm kegging for the first time soon and I've get everything nailed down except two (maybe even weird) concerns. I searched the forum and beyond and found nothing, so maybe this is a bit on the overly worried side... I've only dealt w/ co2 when I played paintball many moons ago, and that's far removed from this hobby.

1) Is there any reason for me to attach my regulator when I take my co2 bottle to get filled?

2) Do I need to turn the gas off before removing the gas quick disconnect from the keg?

I am assuming that the answer to 1 is "No." and 2 is "No, because the ball lock connector is self sealing.", but you know what they say when you assume...

Thanks!

No and yes, I do, but I just flip the lever on my regulator, not turn it off at the bottle.... though I'm not sure I need to.

No and no.

For (2), it's a good idea to turn off the gas anyway. It might still leak on an empty ball-lock (since it's only really supposed to seal when in a keg), and my portable charger says that running pressure in a disconnected ball-lock runs the risk of damaging it.

You don't need to turn off the gas or turn the lever, but you can. Even though my system does not leak (after lots of tweaking...hopefully your system is easier than mine), I still turn off the gas when I'm not drinking. Why risk it? I would hate to try to pour and then realize that I've been bleeding gas for a few days and now I'm empty.

Eric

it is impossible to get every leak. after a few days of the valve off the gas will bleed off somewhere undetectably. my solution: a 20# bottle so it isn't a concern to refill for a few years.