Came home to empty CO2 tank after holding pressure for 9 days...

New to kegging. Searched forum and couldn't find anything similar:

I've kegged my first two batches and have been struggling big time with my kegging setup. For the third time now (once on keg #1, twice on keg #2), I've come home to an empty CO2 tank and no pressure in my keg after multiple days (between 4 and 9) of holding pressure and serving beer with no problem.

The kegs are both refurbished with new seals/gaskets. I've sprayed everything down and didn't see any visible leaks. I used keg lube on the main seat when I filled them.

I have learned that I shouldn't have the tank cutoff partially open, which I believe I did - I won't be making that mistake in the future.

There was also an instance where my regulator was stuck open. As soon as I opened the tank cutoff, the downstream pressure went off-scale and lifted the relief. I managed to get that under control by blowing CO2 out of the relief, I guess dislodging a piece of debris that was interfering with the diaphragm. I think the regulator is fine now, but that is still in the back of my mind, wondering if I should risk opening it up and taking a look.

What do you think - did I have a slow leak that just took multiple days to empty my tank?

I appreciate any advice.

Troubleshooting 101: disconnect everything from source, use starsan or other bubbling sprayer. Connect and spray, connect and spray. Eventually you will find your leak.

twgardner2 said:

[...]What do you think - did I have a slow leak that just took multiple days to empty my tank?[...]

Click to expand...

Clearly.

As suggested above, simplify, bubble-check for leaks, reconnect one item at a time, checking all the way.

Start with the regulator coupler to the tank valve. There must be a gasket at that connection - a fiber or nylon washer, or a captive o-ring on the coupler stem. If that's missing it's a tank drainer right there.

When you work your way out to the keg QDs, dunk them in water before hooking them up.
For the keg tops, standard Star San mix in a sprayer works well...

Cheers!

Do NOT leave the tank valve open at this point. You must check all your connections one by one to check for leaks. You can use a solution, but what I do is to check the regulator first, cutting off all other parts, observe high pressure gauge overnight, and then move on if it holds pressure.

Honestly though, I don't keep the tank valve if I am not there, and this is what I recommend to everyone, and you are an example of why. If you always turn your tank valve off, you will never lose a tank of CO2 prematurely. You can still force carb, it will just take more time if you do it slowly (I set it to the room temp pressure for the volumes I want, and I rock for a while until it is very close to equilibrium before putting it in the walk-in).

In the future, if you lose a tank of CO2 prematurely, stop what you are doing, and find the leak. Don't just keep swapping CO2 tanks thinking things will be different with no change to your system. To be safe, always turn off the tank valve.

Respectfully, I disagree with that philosophy.
At best it's a crutch that removes any motivation to actually fix problems.

Then again, none of my gas systems leak, so...

Cheers!

i had the same issue recently. in my instance i had opened up the lid and wasn't successful in making sure that it was sealed when i closed it. but i agree that you should check all connections.

day_trippr said:

Respectfully, I disagree with that philosophy.

At best it's a crutch that removes any motivation to actually fix problems.



Then again, none of my gas systems leak, so...



Cheers!

Click to expand...

I agree with day trippr. My CO2 tank stays on 24/7. Find the leak and you'll be good to go.

I think we will have to agree to disagree. Though, I think a lot of it is due to differences in systems.

There have been too many times for myself in the past, and what I observe here in the forum of systems that at one point were leak free, then developed a leak a year or two later. The only way they discovered the leak was an empty CO2 tank. To me, that is unacceptable.

I assume there will be a leak developed at some point, and I prepare for that unpredictable time. My systems have very minor leaks that have developed over time - some of my setups were leak free for years, and then developed a leak, and some have a leak some times. The only way that I know is by consistently turning off the tank valve, and observing the high pressure gauge.

Again, this is what works for me, and since I use 50# CO2 tanks, losing a whole tank is irresponsible for me - not only is it an additional cost I shouldn't have had to pay for, but it is also heavy to move around (mine are steel)!

I don't find large leaks acceptable, large leaks are easy to find and fix, and should be fixed. The really slow leaks are the ones I don't worry about any more though, the ones that take a week to drop the high pressure gauge noticeably, or that don't drop for two+ weeks, but then later notice it has dropped.

I will say that if you always turn off the tank valve, you will never lose a tank prematurely, and it is the only way to guarantee that forever. All gas systems develop leaks over time. I have had my 50# tank on the walk-in for about 9 years now, and it is still going (yes, I will need to get it hydro tested for when I eventually need it filled).