Keg leak question

[Grad]

Hi guys,

I've just purchased by first corny keg. I switched it out for a new(used) one because liquid leaked put when I turned it upside down with the lid secured while cleaning. The owner of the home brew store tested the replacement for leaks and said it was ok but after racking my cider into it and securing the lid, its hissing a little and clearly isn't completely airtight. I'm wondering if it's only airtight when it's under pressure or if all there kegs are not good and my ciders gonna go to waste. It's in the fridge cooling down because he said it needs to be cold before adding the c02. I literally know nothing about kegging so I'm lost. It just doesn't make sense that its leaking but it didn't at the LHBS. I'm hoping that once I apply the c02 tomorrow it'll be ok.

Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks

 

[govner1]

Most kegs can/will leak a bit until you pressurize them, if it still leaks try some keg lube on your lid gasket (always a good idea) before pressurizing again.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Check the lid fit. I have a couple where the lids will twist a little bit, side to side. Those require pressure to seal. I should bite the bullet and buy over-sized lid o-rings for them. I have a couple of others where the lids fit nice and tight and can't be wiggled - those seal really well.

 

[day_trippr]

If you're sure you have the lid centered but the O-ring is still leaking, stick a coin under each latch foot. That'll provide a bit more squish.
Also, at least wet the lid O-ring first if you don't have any food grade silicone grease handy...

Cheers!

 

[Grad]

Ok thanks for the info guys. I was told to set the co2 to 25 psi and leave for two days to force carb it. Does this sound like a good psi/amount of time(I'm carbing cider)? Also should I be releasing the headspace pressure once its carbed by pushing the valve on the part you hook the pressure up to? I recall the guy at my LHBS saying to release the pressure but it seems counterintuitive.
Cheers!

 

[muledogus]

Ok thanks for the info guys. I was told to set the co2 to 25 psi and leave for two days to force carb it. Does this sound like a good psi/amount of time(I'm carbing cider)? Also should I be releasing the headspace pressure once its carbed by pushing the valve on the part you hook the pressure up to? I recall the guy at my LHBS saying to release the pressure but it seems counterintuitive.
Cheers!

I just carbed a cider at 30 PSI for two days and then backed it down to serving pressure which for my system is like 8-10psi and it was good to go. You can release the pressure and then dial to your serving pressure but you can also just wait until it equalizes on it's own or pour a pint or two that may be pretty foamy at first. With a cider I don't think it'll matter much but when I'm doing a hoppy beer I don't like to release pressure because I feel like I'm losing aroma. Though I've been told, I'm likely not. I still don't like doing it.

 

[TennBrewer]

In the OP, the keg is leaking when turned upside down. Are you sure it is leaking through the lid? I had a keg with a gas leak and found that the o-ring on the gas-in dip tube was pretty torn up. I replaced all the gaskets and now there are no more leaks. You might want to replace the o-rings on the dip tubes (lube the o-rings first) if you're sure the lid is secure.

 

[Grad]

I just carbed a cider at 30 PSI for two days and then backed it down to serving pressure which for my system is like 8-10psi and it was good to go. You can release the pressure and then dial to your serving pressure but you can also just wait until it equalizes on it's own or pour a pint or two that may be pretty foamy at first. With a cider I don't think it'll matter much but when I'm doing a hoppy beer I don't like to release pressure because I feel like I'm losing aroma. Though I've been told, I'm likely not. I still don't like doing it.

So when you say back the pressure down and set it to 10 or so psi does that mean I have to leave the co2 tank hooked up the whole time I'm serving from the keg? I planned on having two going at a time so I'm hoping I can disconnect it once its carbed and carb another keg. Also should I be hearing anything from the keg as its carbing? I just connected it and turned the pressure up to 25psi but I dont hear anything so I'm not sure I did it right. Sorry about the million question but I really can't find specific answers for what I'm confused about.

 

[muledogus]

So when you say back the pressure down and set it to 10 or so psi does that mean I have to leave the co2 tank hooked up the whole time I'm serving from the keg? I planned on having two going at a time so I'm hoping I can disconnect it once its carbed and carb another keg. Also should I be hearing anything from the keg as its carbing? I just connected it and turned the pressure up to 25psi but I dont hear anything so I'm not sure I did it right. Sorry about the million question but I really can't find specific answers for what I'm confused about.

You should definitely hear gas going into the keg at first unless you somehow already had 25 psi in there. Did you purge the headspace with co2 after kegging? Pull the relief valve on the keg lid and see if gas comes out. If it does then you have co2 in there and you can set your regulator and leave it or purge a little more of the gas and then set your regulator and let it fill back up to 25. If no gas comes out and you can't hear gas going in then there is something wrong with your tank/regulator setup.

I wouldn't disconnect the gas if you plan on serving from it. If you just disconnect for a few days to carb something else and don't pour from the cider then it should stay carbed and ok but if you serve from it it'll lose some of it's carbonation. I you plan on serving two kegs at once you'll want to have a co2 distributor that can serve gas to both kegs at once.

 

[Grad]

I just looked and there isn't a relief valve. Theres just a knob with three holes in it but nothing I can pull. So I'm a little concerned as to how I'll test it. Is there another way of testing the pressure? Maybe I can just open the lid?

 

[muledogus]

Can you post a pic of your setup? Another way to degass would be to press down on one of the poppet valves which are the little circular centers of your keg posts.

 

[Grad]

Here's a pic of the top of the keg. Also will post a pic of the gauge. It's hard to read but it has the gas level in green and the psi says 25.

 

[Grad]

 

[Grad]

 

[muledogus]

Everything looks like it should be working. Take the gas line off the keg and press the poppet like I stated before. Id expect gas to come out. If you let enough out, when you hook the line back up to the keg it should start filling with gas again and you should hear it.

 

[Grad]

Ok I took the line off and pushed it and its definitely carbing up. I got a forceful shot of delicious cider smell in the face! Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[ae4853t]

I would also recommend you add a tee and another hose and gas fitting into the line to allow you to keep it on the gas on the keg and give you a second gas source.

 

[Grad]

Ok thanks for the recommendation. I'm planning on carbing a second keg next weekend. Where would I get the tee from? Is that something they will have at the home brew store? So once the keg has been being gassed for 2 days at 25 psi then I should keep the gas on but just turn the psi down to 10 for the whole time I'm serving from it?

 

[GPP33]

I wouldn’t do a “T”, you can do a “Y” splitter or manifold but ideally each line would have its own shutoff with a built in check valve. Absolutely necessary? No. The proper way to do it? Yea.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIWYAKS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

With one of these (you already have one).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RJBEH5M/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Or

https://www.homebrewing.org/search.asp?keyword=Manifold

One piece of advice you received from your LHBS that I think was flawed was to wait for it to get cold before giving it gas. Do not wait, put it on gas right away, the lid should seal by the time you reach 25psi and it’ll stay at 25psi as the cider cools and it begins absorbing the CO2, nothing good can come from waiting.

 

[GPP33]

Yes, you need to leave the gas on at serving pressure until you empty the keg. Once it’s carbed up you can temporarily take it off the gas and can usually pour a couple pints with the residual pressure without hurting anything but it’s best not to as the increased head space will result in lower pressure and reduced carbonation. Best practice is to have the gas hooked up when you are serving.

 

[Grad]

Ok thanks. I have another issue now which is really perplexing(and frustrating) me. I want sure if the tank had any co2 left because the gauge hasn't moved all day but moved a lot yesterday so I disconnected it. It still has a lot left(I can tell by turning it on) but now I can't get it to seal to the regulator for the life of me. I've literally tried every random thing I could do in turns of turning the pressure and such but it won't seal. It just escapes from the tank out. I tried with and without the o ring and it doesn't make a difference. The only thing that is different from when I first connected it to the regulator is that it was room temp when I first connected it and now its fridge temp. Which to me doesn't seem like a valid reason for it to not connect. Is this a common issue with a fix or is something broken?

 

[GPP33]

Nope, you have an issue. With the o ring in there, assuming it’s in good shape, it should easily seal up.

You also shouldn’t see gages moving, the high pressure gage will go up when you turn it on and just stay there and the low pressure gage will vary as you adjust the regulator, but over the course of carbing a keg neither should move.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I actually had a similar issue last night filling a keg. I filled it with Starsan and closed the lid and flipped it over to soak for a little bit. Came back like 5 minutes later and there was a good amount of water on the floor leaking from the lid. I'm not sure if it didn't seat quite right, or it was the lack of pressure but after I re-seated it and added pressure it seems fine.

 

[Grad]

Nope, you have an issue. With the o ring in there, assuming it’s in good shape, it should easily seal up.

You also shouldn’t see gages moving, the high pressure gage will go up when you turn it on and just stay there and the low pressure gage will vary as you adjust the regulator, but over the course of carbing a keg neither should move.

Ok that's good to know. I'm about to call the store I bought it at and hopefully get a replacement. It was a pretty big bummer since the keg was barely carbed when this happened.

 

[Grad]

I actually had a similar issue last night filling a keg. I filled it with Starsan and closed the lid and flipped it over to soak for a little bit. Came back like 5 minutes later and there was a good amount of water on the floor leaking from the lid. I'm not sure if it didn't seat quite right, or it was the lack of pressure but after I re-seated it and added pressure it seems fine.

Ya since I hooked it up and applied pressure it definitely sealed perfectly. I am just brand new to kegging so I didn't know what to expect. Thanks for the reply