CO2 leak in keezer?

[Pintabone]

I put together a keezer with a 10.2 Cu Ft chest freezer and kegged my first brew. Bought a new ball lock and 20 lb CO2 tank. I've noticed the CO2 burn ever time I open the keezer and have checked the connections several times with star san in a spray bottle. I haven't noticed any bubbling at any point in checking.

I read that the poppits should be checked with the QD's off. I'm assuming that's the only place it could be coming from. Is there somewhere a leak could be coming from that I'm missing?

 

[mongoose33]

Have you checked the lid seal? Did you use keg lube to put the O-ring on the lid?

You could have a poor seal at the post; crank up the gas a bit, then remove the disconnects. Spray Star-san around the posts and see if there's anything there.

 

[Pintabone]

Have you checked the lid seal? Did you use keg lube to put the O-ring on the lid?

You could have a poor seal at the post; crank up the gas a bit, then remove the disconnects. Spray Star-san around the posts and see if there's anything there.

I have a beer in the keg currently. I didn't use keg lube (first beer kegged). I did check the lid seal but I'm not sure I had the PSI up that high. Would you recommend doing this still with a filled keg? I guess I'd blast up the CO2, pull the connections, test with the star san, then purge the CO2 and set back at serving pressure?

 

[mongoose33]

I have a beer in the keg currently. I didn't use keg lube (first beer kegged). I did check the lid seal but I'm not sure I had the PSI up that high. Would you recommend doing this still with a filled keg? I guess I'd blast up the CO2, pull the connections, test with the star san, then purge the CO2 and set back at serving pressure?

That's exactly how I'd do it.

 

[Pintabone]

That's exactly how I'd do it.

So I just checked everything again and I don't see any signs of leaks. Is it possible that some CO2 just collected in the keezer from purging the keg a few times inside of it? It isn't harsh but it is noticeable or I'm just nuts. I have a 20 lb tank in there so I'm concerned about losing 20 lbs of CO2 into my basement.

 

[MaryB]

Watch your gauge to see if it is going down. It will go down some as you dispense beer but a fast drop indicates a leak.

 

[mongoose33]

So I just checked everything again and I don't see any signs of leaks. Is it possible that some CO2 just collected in the keezer from purging the keg a few times inside of it? It isn't harsh but it is noticeable or I'm just nuts. I have a 20 lb tank in there so I'm concerned about losing 20 lbs of CO2 into my basement.

Maybe. It doesn't seem to me as if that's the best explanation--when you purge there's a fairly violent stream of gas coming from the PRV, and it doesn't just settle in the keezer. Further, when you open the lid of the keezer you're introducing air from the outside as the lid rises.

I suppose if you're interested in how much CO2 is in there you could take a lit butane lighter and lower it into the keezer, see if the flame diminishes or goes out.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Watch your gauge to see if it is going down. It will go down some as you dispense beer but a fast drop indicates a leak.

Sorry MaryB, but I have to disagree. The gauge measures tank pressure and will be constant, and will not decrease as the CO2 is consumed. The tank pressure will fall drastically when the tank is almost empty and there is no liquid CO2 left, but only gas. When the tank pressure falls, the tank is almost empty.

Tank pressure will be constant (at constant temp) until the tank is almost empty, at least that is my understanding and experience.

 

[Pintabone]

Maybe. It doesn't seem to me as if that's the best explanation--when you purge there's a fairly violent stream of gas coming from the PRV, and it doesn't just settle in the keezer. Further, when you open the lid of the keezer you're introducing air from the outside as the lid rises.

I suppose if you're interested in how much CO2 is in there you could take a lit butane lighter and lower it into the keezer, see if the flame diminishes or goes out.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll keep an eye on it. My concern really stems from when I was cleaning the keg when I first got it. After running some cleaner through the lines and releasing the pressure I opened the hatch to take a whiff if the keg smelled at all and was introduced to the feeling of inhaling the CO2. Inside the keezer it isn't even remotely to that level so I may just be a bit paranoid.

Just searching for an explanation as I've checked for leaks many times and haven't been able to identify one yet. Maybe I should just accept the fact that it isn't leaking.

 

[Brewsader1]

If your regulator has a valve control, close it and wait 10 seconds. When you open it again, if the needle on your small pressure gauge drops down a bunch and pops back up, you have a leak.

 

[Pintabone]

Resurrecting this thread to see if anyone else has any insight. I've checked all the connections many times and can't find anything but there is a distinct smell within the keezer. Did anyone else have a similar experience with their keezer build? I can't figure out what it is. It's been together about a month now and the 20 lb tank doesn't feel like it's lost that much CO2 that would indicate a leak. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I think you're paranoid. Ime even a small leak will empty a tank relatively quickly.

 

[day_trippr]

Or not. I chased a slow leak in my keezer (that hadn't had a gas leak in years) that turned out to be the replacement gas post O-rings I had used on a couple of kegs literally dissolving under the keg lube. At least one of those kegs had been in the keezer on gas for weeks.

I only noticed there was a potential issue because I use the keezer gas system for CO2-pushes when kegging and when I closed the shut-offs before unplugging it from my keezer I noticed the low pressure gauge rose just a bit. Further investigation (basically, weighing the 5 pound cylinder) revealed I had been dumping gas.

I tested everything from QDs through manifolds through internal keezer gas plumbing to the external disconnects to the regulator and found zip. Then I started unplugging kegs and eventually found two of them that were leaking at the disconnects. Removed one of the O-rings and it was gooey and had left a ridge of blue goo inside the disconnect!

I got them at my LHBS and had noticed they weren't black but a really deep blue. Now I'm guessing they were silicone and the lube was dissolving them. I bought a bag of 100 ball lock post O-rings and used them on all 16 kegs just out of GPs. No problems since.

Aaaanyway....the point is leaks come in all sizes. I actually made an in-line bubble gauge just to verify there was a leak and the amount of gas passing by was painfully small...

Cheers!

 

[Brewsader1]

Did you do the regulator check I suggested previously on this thread? You can also stick all of the gas out posts underwater to see if they are leaking at all (you will see bubbles). If none of that, I agree with what day_trippr said. Also, is your CO2 tank in the kegerator or external with a line running in? If it's in the kegerator, did you make sure the nut connecting the regulator to the co2 tank is tight and has a washer on it?

I work in a brewery and we realized we has a slow leak somewhere. I used the regulator check to figure out which regulator had a leak and went down the lines from there. A faulty manifold on/off lever was the culprit, now it is fixed. Let us know if you find anything!

 

[Brewsader1]

I think you're paranoid. Ime even a small leak will empty a tank relatively quickly.

A 20 lb tank can handle a small leak for a while.

 

[Pintabone]

Did you do the regulator check I suggested previously on this thread? You can also stick all of the gas out posts underwater to see if they are leaking at all (you will see bubbles). If none of that, I agree with what day_trippr said. Also, is your CO2 tank in the kegerator or external with a line running in? If it's in the kegerator, did you make sure the nut connecting the regulator to the co2 tank is tight and has a washer on it?

I work in a brewery and we realized we has a slow leak somewhere. I used the regulator check to figure out which regulator had a leak and went down the lines from there. A faulty manifold on/off lever was the culprit, now it is fixed. Let us know if you find anything!

I did do the regulator check and didn't notice anything unusual. When you say the gas out posts just put the gas QDs in water? The CO2 tank is in the kegerator. I checked the nut and made sure it is tight. It's a Taprite dual primary regulator.

 

[bfish]

weigh the tank every few days…the tare weight is stamped on to it.

 

[Brewsader1]

I did do the regulator check and didn't notice anything unusual. When you say the gas out posts just put the gas QDs in water? The CO2 tank is in the kegerator. I checked the nut and made sure it is tight. It's a Taprite dual primary regulator.

Yeah, you would submerge any possible leak spot (of course not the regulator) under water with pressure on and if there is a leak, you will see bubbles coming up from the spot of the leak. If that doesn't show anything, then if you do have a leak, it's coming from either a seal somewhere on a keg or from the regulator itself. I don't have a great way to check on if the regulator is leaking unfortunately.

Do you have just one of the two regulator valves in use? If so, does the other one have gas line and a gas QD on it? Again, the issue I found with our setup was that the shutoff valve wasn't actually shutting off all the way even though it was in the closed position. The regulator you have seems to be a good on, though, so I wouldn't necessarily expect that. And if you can't find anything, I'd say stop worrying about it and keep track of how many kegs you carb and push before it runs out. If it's below 20, you very likely have a leak.

 

[IslandLizard]

A few more places to check...

If you have a manifold, check that (you can dunk it). But I had a tiny leak on one of the shut offs (those with the little red handle). I could hear it leak when I touched it.

Those shut off also need to be either fully open or fully closed (90° positions). They may leak when in between.

Check the (gas) QDs. Open them up (screw cap on top) and verify the flat o-ring on the cap is there, and not distorted. The caps should be screwed down tight.

 

[Pintabone]

A few more places to check...

If you have a manifold, check that (you can dunk it). But I had a tiny leak on one of the shut offs (those with the little red handle). I could hear it leak when I touched it.

Those shut off also need to be either fully open or fully closed (90° positions). They may leak when in between.

Check the (gas) QDs. Open them up (screw cap on top) and verify the flat o-ring on the cap is there, and not distorted. The caps should be screwed down tight.

I'm thinking I found the culprit being the gas QDs. I have 3 kegs right now. I took each QD off and put it into a pitcher of StarSan. Two of the three would spit out some small bubbles from what appears to be inside the QD where it goes over the post on the keg. The hoses all appear tight and aren't leaking. I opened up the screw cap and all the parts appear to be there.

Is it possible to just have bad QDs? The one QD when you apply a slight pressure to it while on the post I can actually hear the gas escaping.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm thinking I found the culprit being the gas QDs. I have 3 kegs right now. I took each QD off and put it into a pitcher of StarSan. Two of the three would spit out some small bubbles from what appears to be inside the QD where it goes over the post on the keg. The hoses all appear tight and aren't leaking. I opened up the screw cap and all the parts appear to be there.

Is it possible to just have bad QDs? The one QD when you apply a slight pressure to it while on the post I can actually hear the gas escaping.

That doesn't sound good, they should not leak when disengaged. There's a plastic poppet inside, which has a small rubber o-ring on one end. Make sure the o-ring end is pointing down, to make a seal with the QD body. You could rub a little keg lube on it to help with that.

Do those QDs have "CMB" embossed on the top side?

On a side note, if the QDs leak a little when disengaged, it won't explain leaks when connected to the kegs, since the poppet will be pushed up anyway, letting gas through. The seal is then made on the post's o-ring.