Keezer done, but CO2 leaks not a happy camper.

The Good...the keezer has been done since early July. It looks awesome and I hope to provide pics asap. I purchased one of kegconnection's premium kits with the tapright setup and perlick faucets.

The Bad...I've gone through 2 5lb tanks since early July. This can't be normal from what I've read from others saying I should be able to go through 5-6+ kegs.

I know when the CO2 tank is within the freezer, the gauge that measures how full it is will drop because of the cooler temps. I have mine set to around 42deg F. I use set and forget and have my stout at about 9 psi and the draught at 12, using the popular chart many of us use.

The first go around things seemed to be holding good for the first few days, then I noticed the level gauge dropped to the lower green section of the full range. I was enjoying my beer for about a month, then one day after being on vacation we came home and all the guages were reading ZILCH (0).

One of my kegs still had pressure, but the other one had none.

So, I talked to Keg Connection. According to their website the kegs are pressure tested, so I cleaned everything and used keg lube the first time withought changing and o'rings, they all looked good. I quickly changed the main lid seal and lubbed it up good, checked tightness of everything else, went and got the tank filled again and pressurized the system again.

I used soapy water and could not find a leak anywhere in the entire system, so I assumed I had fixed the issue with reseating the lid with a new seal.

Jump ahead to a few days ago, and the same dang thing happened. Since it was my Stout keg last time that had no pressure left, I turned that line off. over the next few days it seemed the levels did not drop.

The guages "before" the out lines to the kegs held steady so I think the problem is after the gauges somewhere. I noticed the fitting going into that particular gauge from the stout keg had more threads showing than the other keg so I tightened it up a bit more, but after turning that line back on, tonight the main level gauge was almost 0.

The CO2 tank is about empty as I can easily lift it again.

Sorry for all of this, but I finally had time to post.

I love this hobby, but this is really frustrating me as I have beer I want to drink I can't afford to fill my tank every few months.

Randy

The soapy water thing has been hit or miss for me. The easiest way for me to test a keg is to sit up upside down in a bucket of water. The bubbles don't lie.

It could also be an air line leaking. What kind of clamps are you using to tighten down the air hose. Can you tighten those a bit. Make sure the regulator is tight on that bottle as well.

Get some leak solution you trust. I use starsan in a spray bottle, but it isn't that great, you'd probably be better off going to your hardware and buying some Gas Leak detector Fluid. Slowly and carefully cover every part of every connection in your system, give the bubbles some time (30-60 seconds) to form. don't forget the less obvious possibilities like the pressure relief valves on your kegs, or the weep hole on your regulator. You'll find the issue with some time and patience.

Also, start by isolating aspects of your system. Use soapy water in a spray bottle or gas leak detector from HW store. Put the tank on the floor, spray the valve. Connect reg, spray. Connect manifold, spray, Connect one hose, spray. Etc etc. Let it sit for 5 minutes each time. I have a manifold with ball valves and these were leaky SOBs. Then when I put it in the freezer it started leaking all over again.

Did you remember the gasket between the CO2 tank and the regulator? I forgot this the first time I hooked up my kegerator many moons ago and had to run out for a refill within a week.

I have determined that the leak has to be "after" the 2 gauge regulator assembly, as if I turn off the independent lines feeding each keg the pressure holds. Also, since one of the kegs seems to hold pressure, it has to be just the stout keg. Everything is pre-assembled by Keg Connection in the premium kit, to answer your question Thomas.

The last time I mixe up a very dish soap solution and coated every single possible location on the kegs, fittings, and lines, and inspected very closely. Since I was unable to locate any bubbles, I assumed adding a new lid seal resolved the issues, I was wrong..

Their Tapright assemblies have a built in rubber seal that goes into the CO2 tank, your not suppose to use other seals in combination with this type.

thanks guys, I will have to keep looking and try to find this leak solution you speak up from the local stores....

Did you change all the o-rings on the kegs?

I think I mentioned above in my novel, , all the o-rings looked to be in very good condition, and Keg Connection pressure tests everything before shipping. I did use keg lube on all of them. After the first leak, I did replace the main lid o'ring on the keg I think is causing the problem.

"Set it and forget it" is dangerous when you have a leak. I suggest doing the upside-down-keg leak check, as well as submerging the gas line to gas quick disconnect connection to make sure that you don't (I had a leak there once because the connection loosened from switching between kegs a lot).

So with beer in the kegs and preasurized, turn them so the top end is submerged? One question is how long with my beer last before I can go run and get the tank refilled. My draught is ok as that keg is holding the CO2, but the stout has no preasure. Thanks for all the help. I suppose I could go ahead and swap out all the orings, just hate to expose my good beer to the air outside. I might wait until that keg is empty.

My guess is its the gas disconnect leaking. I've seen this several times.