new leak problem

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Illinibrew

Illinibrew

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I had a leak last week and realized that the keg I was using had a slow leak around the base of the "in" valve. I racked to a new keg that I didn't find any leaks on.

It held while I carbonated it (30psi shook up and then let it sit for 24 hours. Then, pulled release valve and added 20 psi shook up and let sit for 24 hours. Then, pulled release valve turned down to serving pressure).


This worked great. I had about 3 pints that night (tuesday).

The next day I had a buddy over and we poured probably 12 pints out of the keg.

Then the next morning I woke up to check on it and found the CO2 tank EMPTY!!!

Any troubleshooting tips/suggestions???
 
Illinibrew said:
I had a leak last week and realized that the keg I was using had a slow leak around the base of the "in" valve. I racked to a new keg that I didn't find any leaks on.

It held while I carbonated it (30psi shook up and then let it sit for 24 hours. Then, pulled release valve and added 20 psi shook up and let sit for 24 hours. Then, pulled release valve turned down to serving pressure).


This worked great. I had about 3 pints that night (tuesday).

The next day I had a buddy over and we poured probably 12 pints out of the keg.

Then the next morning I woke up to check on it and found the CO2 tank EMPTY!!!

Any troubleshooting tips/suggestions???
Click to expand...

I would guess the "slow leak" was not quite as slow as you thought it was, especially if you had left the CO2 on the entire time you were using that keg. This, coupled with the CO2 required to fully carb the keg you relocated the beer to, could have easily depleted your tank, especially if, as you say, there were no leaks in the second keg.

It sucks, but it happens to all of us. I pressure test each of my kegs right before I pour beer in by putting the lid on, pressurizing to 20 psi, then brushing each post and lid with a dishsoap and water solution. If you have even a slight leak, that stuff will bubble up something fierce.
 
do you have all new o-rings and did you tape all of the threads? After that, check the poppits ...then the release valves.

I'm guessing that it's the threads since it happened over two kegs
 
Well, when i realized that the first keg had a leak I found out because the CO2 had drained. So I siphoned (no co2 used) to the new keg. Then refilled my Co2 tank.

So I only used it to carb the keg and dispense some of it.

It's a 5# tank. Maybe I should ask how many kegs they last you guys? How much Co2 does it take to carb a keg?

The biggest confusion I had was that it looked like not much CO2 was used while carbonating and using the first night. Start of the second night it still showed on the regulator that it was full. Then the next morning... empty.

I had tested this keg with soap and water prior to using it. After using it the first night and all looked good, i had written my previous problems off as the obvious leak I found on the first keg... now i'm just confused.
 
Another common leak point is the regulator's connection to the tank. Always use a new washer, unless your regulator has a built-in o-ring.

Your regulator does not tell you how much CO2 you have, except at the very end. Around room temperature the tank has both liquid and gaseous CO2 in it and the pressure has more to do with temperature than how much CO2 is left. Once the tank gage hits the red zone, all of the CO2 has evaporated & you have very little left.

I get 5-20 kegs from 5 pounds, depending on how much fizzy water I'm drinking.
 
Illinibrew said:
Well, when i realized that the first keg had a leak I found out because the CO2 had drained. So I siphoned (no co2 used) to the new keg. Then refilled my Co2 tank.

So I only used it to carb the keg and dispense some of it.

It's a 5# tank. Maybe I should ask how many kegs they last you guys? How much Co2 does it take to carb a keg?

The biggest confusion I had was that it looked like not much CO2 was used while carbonating and using the first night. Start of the second night it still showed on the regulator that it was full. Then the next morning... empty.

I had tested this keg with soap and water prior to using it. After using it the first night and all looked good, i had written my previous problems off as the obvious leak I found on the first keg... now i'm just confused.
Click to expand...

By any chance are you keeping your CO2 tank in the fridge? The reason I'm asking is my regulator reads close to empty right now and has since I got a full one and cooled it down in the fridge. If I take it out of the fridge, the regulator will show it as full again. Cooled CO2 tanks will read lower than room temp. CO2 tanks.
 
Illinibrew said:
Then the next morning I woke up to check on it and found the CO2 tank EMPTY!!!

Any troubleshooting tips/suggestions???
Click to expand...
Close the valve when you're done dispensing for the day.
 
I'm having trouble with the In connection too. The grey ball-lock doesn't seem to seal really well. Besides having new o-rings and slathering them up in keg lube prior to connecting the quick-release, does anyone have any neat tricks?

Thanks,
Doug
 
UTDoug said:
I'm having trouble with the In connection too. The grey ball-lock doesn't seem to seal really well. Besides having new o-rings and slathering them up in keg lube prior to connecting the quick-release, does anyone have any neat tricks?

Thanks,
Doug
Click to expand...
Are you sure you're using the "in" post? Perhaps you've inadvertently switched things around.
 
Yeah, thats a good thought, but I checked and they're definately on the right posts - otherwise I probably couldn't get beer to flow. I'm thinking about finding some really thin rubber and cutting donut-shaped gaskets to stick inside the quick disconnects. I don't like the idea of the o-ring being the only thing keeping me from losing 5 lbs of CO2.
 

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