New liquid leak in Corny when under pressure

So I bought another used ball lock keg because I've started brewing more than a single batch at a time. I did the usual cleaning, rinsing, checking for gas leaks under pressure, etc as I did with my other kegs before I decided to use them. Everything looked fine.

So I went on and kegged one of my beers and started carbing in the fridge (set and forget). I checked it every day and everything was fine and dandy.

Fifth day in, and when I go and check I notice my fridge has about a cup of beer lying on the bottom of it. There is beer leaking from the bottom of my liquid out post all of a sudden. When I relieved the keg of pressure it stopped leaking.

Any idea what the problem might be and what I can do to fix it? Keep in mind I have almost a full 5 gallons in that corny, and I'd really prefer not bottling. Right now I'm keeping it off the gas (probably gonna lose those 4 days of carbing worth of gas, o well) so as not to waste beer. The sooner I get some help the better, thanks!

Gonna guess the o ring is not seated properly, check to see that your o ring is on the dip tube and that it is not torn or damaged.

It's leaking from where the post meets the rubber top of the keg. Would that still be a potential o-ring problem? Also, would I be able to take that apart and check it with beer still inside?

ZeeSniper said:

It's leaking from where the post meets the rubber top of the keg. Would that still be a potential o-ring problem? Also, would I be able to take that apart and check it with beer still inside?

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Sure. Just depressurize the keg and take it off of the gas. I'd try tightening that post first, though.

ZeeSniper said:

It's leaking from where the post meets the rubber top of the keg. Would that still be a potential o-ring problem? Also, would I be able to take that apart and check it with beer still inside?

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What Yooper suggested should be your first plan to solve the problem.

Did you replace the o-ring when you bought the keg? If not, my guess (since I'm not there to see it), is that the seal is old and brittle. If you did replace it, did you use any keg lube on the o-ring?

I did not replace the o-rings, since under my first pressure test everything seemed to be in order.

I will see what I can do tomorrow and update you guys.

To quote Doctor Cox: “That's a rookie mistake and you hate to see it happen”.

Always replace the o-rings, unless the keg was specifically sold with brand new o-rings. The cost of a 5 ring set is well worth the aggravation avoidance...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Always replace the o-rings, unless the keg was specifically sold with brand new o-rings. The cost of a 5 ring set is well worth the aggravation avoidance...

Cheers!

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Yep.... I just opened up a keg I bought from kegconnection last month and was surprised to find the o-rings on the diptube and poppets literally disintegrated to the point that part of the o-rings from the diptub was what I can only describe as melted into the inside grooves of the posts. I was not able to get the stuck on rubber out. Not even soaking in PBW and scrubbing with a copper wire brush. I had to order a new set of posts.

I was really surprised because the other 3 kegs I bought from them had what appeared to be brand new o-rings. You just never know when you're buying reconditioned kegs

Thought I'd update as promised.

At first I noticed the base of the post was loose, so i tightened that up, but then it leaked from the very top.

So I did what you guys suggested and replaced the O-rings. Oh boy, was that dip tube O-ring ****ed up. It was cracked and hard as a rock. Replaced all the O-rings, and now getting no leaks under pressure. Thank you guys!

Glad to hear it was an easy fix, without any great loss of precious beer!

usually happens when going from warm (room temp) to cooler fridge temps. metal will contract. good idea to check all posts after they get cold. happened to me a few times until i figured out there would be a temp shift.