Co2 tank Drained...beer flat

Hello Everybody,

I'm new to kegging and am having a tough time getting started. 2 days ago I hooked up a keg and put the Co2 at 10psi. I had primed the keg with sugar 10 days before that.

The first glass came out carbed and then I left it for the CO2 to do its thing. Got home yesterday night and the CO2 tank was empty and the beer was flat.

Any ideas of where I went wrong??

Illinibrew said:

Hello Everybody,

I'm new to kegging and am having a tough time getting started. 2 days ago I hooked up a keg and put the Co2 at 10psi. I had primed the keg with sugar 10 days before that.

The first glass came out carbed and then I left it for the CO2 to do its thing. Got home yesterday night and the CO2 tank was empty and the beer was flat.

Any ideas of where I went wrong??

Click to expand...

It sounds like you have a leak somewhere in one of your lines, or from around the lid to the keg.

Did you put all new seals on everything (lid & poppets) before using the keg for the first time?

-walker

no. Could it hold pressure for a little bit and then leak due to a bad seal?

I didn't check it before work yesterday, but it did hold pressure monday night when I hooked it up and while i was checking through the evening.

I take it that I should replace the seals anytime I get a new keg. How long do they last for?

Illinibrew said:

no. Could it hold pressure for a little bit and then leak due to a bad seal?

I didn't check it before work yesterday, but it did hold pressure monday night when I hooked it up and while i was checking through the evening.

I take it that I should replace the seals anytime I get a new keg. How long do they last for?

Click to expand...

EDIT (re-read the post to better answer):

You should replace the seals whenever you get a used keg. If the keg is new, the seals should be new. With proper care, the seals should last at least a few months. One technique is to replace them every 3-5 fills of the keg. My technique is to inspect them and replace any that are drying out, worn, or cracked.

CO2 leaks can be slow and insidious. The tank should push about 10 kegs with no problem, and it should last indefinitely if you hook it up to your keg and never pour a beer. Because of the volume of gas available, the keg will appear to hold pressure even with a small leak somewhere in the system. To find leaks, pressurize the system, then sponge a soapy water solution all over the connections and seals. Leaks will cause tiny bubbles to appear.

So is the beer in the keg going to be ruined now that It was conditioned with sugar and now flat... can i replace the seals and get my co2 tank refilled and give it another go???

Why would it be ruined? There really was no need to prime with sugar in the first place. Just find the leak and get some more pressure on it to recarb.

Your beer is fine. I'd go get more CO2 and put about 30 psi on the keg. Then take the hose off the keg and check the pressure in the morning. That will let you know if the keg is ok.

The main sources of leaks are the connection between the regulator and the tank, not back-seating the tank valve and the lid in the keg not seating properly.

I experienced a leak between the tank and the regulator once. After driving an hour to get it filled again, I now check connections.

Spray a little Star San on the connections to see if bubbles appear. Works for me.

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone!

sounds to me that the leak is in between the tank and the keg. If it had pressure on it at first (from priming sugar) the the keg should be fine. I may be wrong, just my two cents.

I found that it allways helps to put a little keg lube on the regulator o-ring where it meets the tank. If you have a leak elsewhere it wont help, but thats a common leak spot.

I recently drained a 10 lb bottle of CO2 due to a slow leak (well, two actually). Two of my kegs both leak at the pressure release valve. I can't hear the leak, but soapy water quickly reveals the leak with lots of bubbles. The valves are screwed in tight, and I did put keg lube on the seal before kegging, so I guess it's time to replace the valves. Any other suggestions? Those valves are pretty expensive. For example, NB has new ones for $10.90 each.