Tank empty this morning?

Well my CO2 tank was empty this morning. I noticed on one of my kegs that the picnic tap as not all the way secured. I could draw beer from it, but it was not all the way latched down. This was the first time I used this particular keg and I checked all the seals before I racked...Im thinking maybe the gas got out through the picnic tap connect?

Seems like through the picnic tap, beer would have been lost in the process. Use some star san and spray it on all the connections and fittings, if you see it bubble, that's where your leak is.

Yeah I did that prior to racking it and now I have no gas to pressurize it until I get a re-fill.

Is it possible I ran out of gas only carbing two five gallon kegs of beer? I forced carbed one and kept the other on gas for four weeks at 12 psi. Its a five gallon CO2 tank.

FlySpargeVorlauf said:

Is it possible I ran out of gas only carbing two five gallon kegs of beer? I forced carbed one and kept the other on gas for four weeks at 12 psi. Its a five gallon CO2 tank.

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doubt it. I have forcecarbed 4 kegs and served 2 completley empty and still have plenty of gas left (5# tank)

Sounds like a leak.

A 5# tank?

Should be good for about 8 kegs, not two. My guess is small leak somewhere. I had it happen on the beer side once. That sucked.

No, you've got a leak somewhere. I've carbed many, many batches on a single tank.

I burned through three refills before I finally found the leak (defective, brand new "wye" adapter!) in my kegerator...since then, I've been using the same serving tank for well over a year. Find that leak!

Im really not good at this stuff...what a bummer

FlySpargeVorlauf said:

Im really not good at this stuff...what a bummer

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It comes with time. One of the best suggestiojn I've ever heard was to wrap the chime with duct tape and fill the bowl with water and look for bubbles. Works great, covers every possible leak source, and eliminates the awkwardness of missing a small leak due to a foamy starsan applique.

does this not leave a sticky duct tape residue on the keg handles?

I work with pressure and vacuum equip professionally and one of the best ways to find a pressure leak is just soapy water (star san works, but does not bubble that well) Dish soap works really well and as long as you have pressure in your corny no soapy water will get in. Look for the bubbles and reseal, make sure to check all connections, not just the ones with the O rings, check your connections to your reg, CO2 tanks, hoses... everything. Who knows if something got loose.
Second recommendation, get another CO2 tank so you always have a spare full talk. You can find them on Craiglist for like $40, and its worth not ruining your beer incase you cant get a tank filled for a while. I have two 20# tanks, which causes for a rare fill but when one runs out its just really nice that have that second.

Well I may be PMing you through this process if you dont mind...

FlySpargeVorlauf said:

does this not leave a sticky duct tape residue on the keg handles?

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No. You tape it, fill it, locate the leak, empty it, adjust, fill again, and check again.

At most, the tape will be there for an hour. Worst case, the tape will remove a layer of pesky grime from the rubber chime.

So the gauge on the right is the one Im having an issue with. The picture is of the regulator with both knobs turned off. I bleed the extra air on the one on the left and psi stays at zero. I try to bleed the line pressure from the right one and it just jumps right back up to keg pressure. The same thing happens after I turn the gas completely off too. Once the gas is off I can slowly bleed the line pressure.

I tightened everything in the area, but I didnt have time to use soap cause I was on my lunch hour. Is there some areas I can eliminate knowing this info?

I can see the problem...the gasket that is still zip tied to the regulator is made for that particular regulator per Midwest. So if I use that one instead of the one that comes with the tank than that should tighten everything up...we shall see tonight

That might help out however about the problem with the gauges. When you shut off both valves it shuts off the pressure POST gauge (after the gauge). The first valve (one on the right) reads the tank pressure, even with the valve turned off it will still read the tank pressure. The only way to bleed the pressure down is to turn the tank off, then it will release pressure. It looks like you put the system together, you put all the hoses/gauges into the valve housing? If so it looks like you have to much Teflon tape on there, there should only one full wrap around the threads of the connection. And yes, having a gasket on there will definitely help, esp if its the correct one. When you have time, possibly this weekend and if you are still having problems use the soapy water test, it will show you the exact point of your leak/leaks. Feel free to PM me if you need more help.

thanks a lot. I used the new gasket and the tank held pressure over night. So, I at least stopped the big leak. Im hoping that was the only one. Thanks everyone!