how long should co2 reg hold pressure?

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
G

grathan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
2,249
Reaction score
148
Location
Albany
If I hit the regulator with a quick blast of co2 and the close the tank, how long should the gauge show pressure?

Let's say there is no keg attached, 500 psi in the tank, low port set to 10psi, and in 5 minutes the gauge shows no residual pressure.

Does that mean in (500/10*5) minutes the tank would be empty? That doesn't seem right, but is there a way to tell how long an open tank would last in this scenario?
 
I'm not sure if Ifollow your question.

Unless there's a leak, the regulator should hold the 10 psi forever. I always leave my tank on and the regulator set to 10 psi.
 
In addition, an open tank where there is no CO2 leaving the regulator should retain all the CO2, again unless there is a leak.
 
You are saying that if you disconnect your kegs and then turn off the tank that your gauge would remain pressurized overnight?
 
There's no set answer you your question. If you have everything capped off tight and close the tank, you'll see residual pressure in there for quite a while. If you have an open hose on the regulator, it'll read zero immediately after you shut off the main.

Either way, if your CO2 tank is at 500 psi, you need some more gas.
 
trying to avoid it as I am due for a hydro test. I am curious if I can slow down losses and if my loses are typical.
 
D'oh. You're right, chumpsteak. Mine's usually around 750-800, but it's sitting outside.

grathan, what kind of losses are you seeing? If you don't have any leaks, you shouldn't really see anything. The CO2 in the tank will stay at the same pressure until all the liquid is boiled off into gas, and then the pressure will drop considerably as it's being used. On the low side, I would expect everything to hold within 1 psi for at least a couple of days, but I've never really tried it. The first thing I would do is spray everything down with StarSan (foams up nicely and won't hurt anything if it gets in the beer) and check for leaks.
 
Confused what hes asking honestly.

If you set your regulator to 10PSI it should stay there if everything is closed off. For example i can leave a ball lock gas line hooked up to my regulator and it wont leak gas out even if its not hooked up to a keg and is under pressure in the line.
 
There has to be some kinda leak. I don't physically see the gauge move while I'm standing there watching, but if I come back in 5 minutes and the :gauge is empty. I just assumed this was a normal thing. It sounds like you guys have never actually tested though.

I do have quite a spaghetti mess of lines, tees, and valves coming off from the tank.
 
grathan said:
There has to be some kinda leak. I don't physically see the gauge move while I'm standing there watching, but if I come back in 5 minutes and the :gauge is empty. I just assumed this was a normal thing. It sounds like you guys have never actually tested though.

I do have quite a spaghetti mess of lines, tees, and valves coming off from the tank.
Click to expand...

I have had an issue in the past with the quick disconnects not sealling 100% if they are not connected. All hooked up to the kegs it was fine but if one was not on a keg it would leak. (hope that was clear enough - this thread needs some isinglass :D)
 
grathan said:
There has to be some kinda leak. I don't physically see the gauge move while I'm standing there watching, but if I come back in 5 minutes and the :gauge is empty. I just assumed this was a normal thing. It sounds like you guys have never actually tested though.

I do have quite a spaghetti mess of lines, tees, and valves coming off from the tank.
Click to expand...

As you have identified the source of the leak
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/cheap-co2-regulator-leaking-360088/#post4487378
don't you think it would be a good idea to post it on this thread so other people don't waste their time trying to look for causes of a problem that you have already identified.

-a.
 
I was wondering about typical losses, not trying to find a leak in this thread. The other thread was about tank pressure's effect on the regulator's diaphragm sealing. I suppose I would have done better to not have posted in the beginner's forum. I am sorry if I am unable to communicate effectively and do not to wish to waste other people's time.
 
You should have absolutely zero losses/leaks. Anything above that is not typical. If a keg is hooked up and it's not fully carbonated, it may absorb some of the CO2, but other than that any leak should be tracked down.
 
zachattack said:
You should have absolutely zero losses/leaks. Anything above that is not typical. If a keg is hooked up and it's not fully carbonated, it may absorb some of the CO2, but other than that any leak should be tracked down.
Click to expand...


Ok thanks, I was curious because I am not sure how regulators work and thought maybe by design there may be some losses there.
 
How about unplugged post caps and closed co2 line valves, are they usually pretty solid?
 
Gas ball valves should be solid. By "post cap" you mean a Corney quick disconnect? Those shouldn't leak at all either. If yours do, make sure the internal rubber washer is in place and the top is tightened. Nothing should be leaking on your system at all, if it does it's not right. End of story. You may read enough about leaks on here to think that they're normal, but just because a lot of people ask for help fixing their leaks doesn't mean that they're acceptable.
 
grathan said:
How about unplugged post caps and closed co2 line valves, are they usually pretty solid?
Click to expand...

Usually, unless they're not.

I keep my regulator attached to a length of hose and a post disconnect. If I close the valve on my airtank, I do see some decay but only very, very slowly. I might go from 30 psi to 15 psi in about 72 hours, and then from 15 psi it drops so slowly that I've never really been able to measure it. Some gas is escaping, but only on the order of a few cc's per hour. In other words, I suspect that all systems leak to some degree, but even a bootleg system like mine should only leak trivially.

If you're dropping in 5 minutes, you do have a significant leak and you need to find it. A clean and properly assembled post cap and valve should not leak at all, but certainly they can if there is something wrong with them.
 
How is your regulator attached to the CO2 tank? If it's one of those cheap, white hard plastic washers, throw it away and replace it with a CO2 leak stopper (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/co2-leak-stopper.html). That's the most likely source of your leak. Others could be the regulator body and the way the ports that exit the regulator body have been taped/caulked into place.
 
MalFet said:
Usually, unless they're not.

I keep my regulator attached to a length of hose and a post disconnect. If I close the valve on my airtank, I do see some decay but only very, very slowly. I might go from 30 psi to 15 psi in about 72 hours, and then from 15 psi it drops so slowly that I've never really been able to measure it. Some gas is escaping, but only on the order of a few cc's per hour. In other words, I suspect that all systems leak to some degree, but even a bootleg system like mine should only leak trivially.

If you're dropping in 5 minutes, you do have a significant leak and you need to find it. A clean and properly assembled post cap and valve should not leak at all, but certainly they can if there is something wrong with them.
Click to expand...

Thanks, "30 psi to 15 psi in about 72 hours" sounds like a reasonable target for me to try to achieve.
 

Similar threads

Draft Master Flash
15 lb Co2 tank overfilled?
Replies
17
Views
520
Draft Master Flash
Draft Master Flash
F
Need help with regulators/ co2 tank
Replies
9
Views
496
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
Nagorg
Normal "Leak-Down" During Carbonation... Or leak?
Replies
32
Views
749
Nagorg
Nagorg
iandanielursino
Anyone ever thought of trying to use CO2 from the same batch to bottle that batch?
Replies
13
Views
546
iandanielursino
iandanielursino
H
Houston CO2
Replies
4
Views
198
Houston_CO2
H

Latest posts

Back
Top