leaks in my system

[warriorpoet]

ok, I got my beer into the keg nicely and hooked up to the CO2 easily. Drained all of it eventually over a two hour period so I have a leak somewhere. If I have gas already in the keg, my beer should be alright, correct? Then it's a matter of finding the leak?
My hose from the tank is split eventually to fit two kegs...only one was hooked up. Would that be the problem? It's not a true splitter in that I cannot separate the two lines with a valve.
I hope someone can decifer what I am trying to convey...

thanks.

 

[TipsyDragon]

sounds like there should be a good layer of CO2 on the top of your beer so it should be ok. i would suggest getting a mix of either soap or startsan and water and start painting all the fittings and seals. just look for the bubbles.

 

[Scimmia]

I don't get it, you have it split without a way to shut off the second line, and it's not hooked up to anything? If so, yeah, that could certainly be your problem

 

[warriorpoet]

The split is one hose from the CO2 tank and then a 't' of two hoses, each with the appropriate connector for the keg.
Tipsy Dragon, I will do what you you suggested. I don't think it is the keg as I already did that upon setting it up after the transfer of beer.

 

[GNBrews]

Warrior,

Double-check the pressure relief valve on the lid. I've had a few go bad over the years. They'll initially hold pressure but then leak a minute or two later once you've left the room, which makes it a PITA to figure out what's going on. Pressurize the keg, then stick around for a while, and use a spray bottle with a 50:50 mix of dishsoap and water in a spray bottle to find the leak.

 

[warriorpoet]

I also read on another thread that the ball/disconnects are supposed to have a washer in them? I have one of those basic grey ones without a rubber washer. Is that maybe a problem?
I am buying new gas this morning and will do all of the suggestions above.

 

[WheeledGoat]

there's no washers on my light-grey-colored ball quick connectors.

do you mean your CO2 tank drained in 2 hrs? that's gotta be a pretty huge leak - you're bound to hear it!

or do you mean you pressurized your keg, disconnected the gas, and there was no pressure after 2 hrs? if so, then the beer may have absorbed the CO2... the process of carbonation and all...

if i misunderstood, please forgive. i'm at the end of my shift and i've been up 24hrs.

+1 on the pop valves being finicky. on a few of my kegs, I've gotta doink with them a bit every time i freshly seal a keg before they stop leaking, but then they're fine.

 

[warriorpoet]

The first time I connected everything seemed fine. I decided to boost my CO2 for a quicker carbonation and it was after that that I got the leak. I don't think it all went into the keg. This might sound stupid, but after filling the keg and setting it up for dispensing, I keep the gas 'on' at the desired pressure or do I disconnect? Your comment above made me think crazily again.

 

[JesseRC]

It sounds like you are applying pressure to the keg , then either taking the disc off or turning the gas off. THat is not the way you carbonate.

If you are carbonating in the keezer, hook everything up , set the co2 reg to 10-12 psi and leave it alone for atleast 5days. You have to apply the pressure the whole time its carbonating. Other wise the co2 gets absorbed into the beer and the pressure in the keg drops. Please post you process, cuz as you can see every post has had questions. Can you also explain what you mean by drained. WHat is drained the Co2 tank or the keg pressure?THere are also some good stickies in the forum for carbonating:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sticky-kegging-faqs-43347/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

 

[warriorpoet]

Jesse, I was just making sure I was setting it up. I left it connected correcly with the right pressure. So, except for the leak, everything is good. Thanks for the additional information.

 

[JesseRC]

I guess I'm still confused. How do you know you have a leak? Do you hear a leak . Have you tested with soapy water or starsan. Just trying to help you out here so you dont waste a tank of co2

 

[Scimmia]

I guess I'm still confused. How do you know you have a leak?

Draining a tank of CO2 in two hours is a pretty good clue.

 

[JesseRC]

He actually hasn't said that yet. He said it drained. what drained the pressure in the keg or all of the co2 in the tank?

 

[Scimmia]

He actually hasn't said that yet. He said it drained. what drained the pressure in the keg or all of the co2 in the tank?

He said it drained, then he said he had to go get his CO2 tank refilled. He also said he left the gas connected. Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[JesseRC]

He said it drained, then he said he had to go get his CO2 tank refilled. He also said he left the gas connected. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Damned if I didnt own myself. Just saw that in one of the post. Well it sure seems as you'd hear something if it drained in 2 hours.

 

[WheeledGoat]

good luck w/ your leak. i suspect i've got a minute leak in my system because no matter how many batches i carb or how much i dispense, i gotta refill my 20lb tank every 3 months, almost like clockwork. i definitely need to dig in and get to work with a bottle of soap water... but the crappy part is i've got a custom-built diffuser with 8 lines, 4 of which have their own regulator... lots of real estate to check. so far, refilling every 3 months hasn't bothered me... hehehe.

 

[warriorpoet]

Not sure what I did except check like everyone said, but I now have two kegs on tap with no issues! Thank you everyone!

 

[mordantly]

i got a leak. year old liquid teflon dope dries out. i put 12" of teflon tape on each 1/4npt fitting. holds pressure overnight without bleeding off. take it apart and put new/more tape on everything!