Is it normal for Corny Kegs to leak?

[Soma]

The outlet of my Corny Keg seems to have a slow leak of beer, there's always a small puddle of beer at the bottom of my fridge. Is this normal? I've had a beer in there @ 25psi 47F for 7 days and it doesn't have a lick of carbonation. Bad leak?

 

[FromZwolle]

any leak is a bad leak. they should hold pressure and not leak for years. try to track down where it's leaking from. the most obvious area would be the out post. it could be a bad o ring on the quick disconnect or the post itself.

 

[Golddiggie]

+1 to FromZwolle...

A keg shouldn't leak once it's sealed up and pressurized. Did you check to make sure the lid o-ring was seated fully? How about the posts where the beer and gas disconnects go? Is your beer line sealing right?

I'd say it's time to trace down that leak and fix it up ASAP. Otherwise, you're just pissing out CO2, and beer, from the keg.

BTW, the ONLY brew you should have in the fridge, that's not in kegs, comes from the picnic facuets/taps when you put them back in, and you've not gotten every lick of brew from the end. So maybe a couple of drops per time you pull a pint/glass from the keg...

 

[david_42]

The two main sources will be the o-ring around the tube inside the post and the poppet valve in the top of the plug. I would remove the plug, pull out the tube, tap out the poppet and clean everything. Inspect the poppet valve and the seat for damage. If you see any cracks or burrs, you'll have to replace the poppet and/or the plug. Then reassemble with a new o-ring on the tube.

 

[berkeleyjack]

+1 to everything said so far.

Your kegs shouldn't leak, even if they're used. I have some really beat up kegs, and none of them leak.

Definitely buy an O-ring replacement kit and switch out all the O-rings. It's easy to do, and cheap.

 

[adam01]

Don't ignore the regulator. I used to have problems keeping pressure in kegs. I had the LHBS check the kegs - they were fine. It turned out the regulator had a leak.
Actually several - diaphram seal, gauge threads, gauge itself, etc.

I threw out the regulator and got a new one...

I found out I had all those leaks after I pressurized a keg and dunked the keg and the regulator into the pool. Bubbles everywhere...

 

[neut2004]

Use keg lube on the big o-ring around the lid, and you'll never have a leak there.