CO2 Leak Somewhere in Kegerator!

[Chris7687]

Hey guys,
I have a CO2 leak somewhere in my kegerator. I have gone through and tightened down all of my hose clamps, dropped all the hoses with the connection liquid/gas hook ups into water to try and find the leak, and tried everything I can think of! I was coming here for some advice on what to do or how to track it down. The only thing I can think of is the 2 2-way spliters or the regulator itself is leaking. Can I submerged these into water without any negative consequences? That or the kegs that I am hooking up have improper seals around the lid or the posts.

Please help, I am loosing my mind over this. The leak is a slow leak and keep draining my 20lb CO2 tank over the span of 10 days.

 

[day_trippr]

20 pounds in 10 days is actually a pretty healthy leak.

Did the system ever hold gas reliably or is this a new build?
If the former, suspect the kegs. If the latter, everything is in play.

You can submerge everything but the regulator, and that's only because of the gauges. You could submerge it up to just below the gauges...

Cheers!

 

[Chris7687]

I would say it's more of a new build, as I added a new dual gauge regulator and a new 2 way splitter. I will have to un-attach everything and start dunking stuff!

I will check all of my kegs too. If there is a leak, it is most likely due to a faulty o-ring, correct? Just replace the o-ring?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I had a leaking tank velve, and discovered that proper technique is to open the valve fully to the stop, this is advised as it doesn't rely on the valve stem seal, but rather the valve itself.
Just an idea....

 

[Chris7687]

The "tank valve" being the bleed/purge valve?

 

[CentralNJBrew]

Chris, I just recently solved a frustrating CO2 system leak on my kegorator that I couldn't figure out, even after a bunch of soap & water tests and re-tightening.

What it ended up being was either the 'clockwork' of one of my gauges, or somewhere within the gauge casing of my secondary regulator.

I dunked it underwater, and bubbles started coming out from inside the gauge. Luckily it was the first gauge I dunked of my 4way secondary, cuz I'm not sure if those things are supposed to be submerged.

It was unfortunate, because I couldn't find a website where I could just order another gauge, so I had to order a whole new secondary regulator. (It's a Taprite regulator, and on their website you could order just the gauge itself, but you had to sign up or some nonsense like that)

When the new one came, I just unscrewed the gauge, and put it on my 4 way secondary. C02 leak gone. And I have a nice spare part waiting in the wings to boot.

Hopefully this helps the way I was helped by these forums.

 

[mtnhunt]

Are any kegs hooked up? My last tank drained due to a leaking post.

 

[Chris7687]

I am going to check the posts. Do you just recommend just tightening them? Doing a soap test?

 

[IslandLizard]

As said before by @wilserbrewer, check the valve on top of the CO2 tank. It should be all the way open or all the way closed. Don't operate anywhere in between, as in slightly cracked open. The stem seal only seals on its 2 limits.

The PRV disk below that valve should be tested with thick soapy water too.

Check all gas QDs, the little screw cap in the top can be removed to get to the inside. There should be a thin square-profile rubber washer around that QD lid. That lid should be tightened. You can dunk those in water or Starsan too to check.

Can you dunk the kegs in a bathtub or so? There are 5 o-rings, each can leak. The diptube o-rings are the hardest to troubleshoot. Definitely tighten the posts, as they seal the diptubes on their o-rings, as well as sealing the posts to the stubs.

BTW, how do you know your tank is being drained slowly? Are you weighing it every day? How much is the loss?

 

[IslandLizard]

Forgot to say, be systematic on your quest. Go from the tank valve down to each and every connection.

 

[RoadKing]

You can just disconnect your kegs, turn the CO2 on, then off and watch the gauges. If it drops, its not your kegs or fittings.
(It may take over night but a big leak will show up fast)
Your Gauges could leak internally too. To check those, go to Home Depot, buy a 1/4" plug, remove 1 gauge at a time and plug the hole and watch the other gauge. If it loses pressure, ya got it. Like Islandlizard said, be systematic.
**I'm guessing those are 1/4'' threads**

 

[mtnhunt]

I guess I would work from the tank out as others mentioned before checking the keg posts. Shut off different areas and see if pressure drops so you can rule them out. If you get through all that and need to check posts I would visually inspect each o ring and retighten the posts. My problem was the outer o ring on the gas side, which with a slow leak you will probably never get any bubbles with the line hooked up unless it is slathered with soap. I simply noticed it was worn, replaced it, and no longer had a leak.