Leaky gas post with fresh kegged beer

[jappler]

Hey guys,

Looking for some advice. Just kegged a batch yesterday on a used ball lock that I thought was leak free. Woke up this morning to an empty CO2 and a hissing coming from the gas post.

What's the best plan of attack? Hoping to salvage the beer. Should I bleed the pressure, take off the post, replace the o-rings and poppets and put it back together?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. First thing this morning I'm going to get the CO2 refilled.

 

[Jacinthebox]

maybe just tighten the post first...pressurize the keg and spray with sanitizer to see if its still leaking...

If it still leaks, take it apart and reseat the tube and tighten again...pressurize and spray to see if that fixed it.

post O-rings have been the biggest reason for losing beer and gas for me

 

[sheephrdr]

I had a post o ring that I couldn't figure out why It leeked.. finally I took the o ring off and if you looked closely.. there was a half moon dent in the rubber( probably from forcing the quick connect on one time when it wouldn't go) replaced o ring and works great now

 

[jappler]

I can hear the gas coming from the post. I've tightened it. I wonder if its the poppet?

Do I bleed the pressure before taking it apart?

 

[zachattack]

Please give us some more info! Is it leaking around that gas QD? Is it leaking from the base of the post? Is it only leaking when the QD is in place? This could be the dip tube o-ring, the post o-ring, the poppet, or the QD.

 

[jappler]

Sounds as though its leaking from the top of the post. I sprayed some Starsan around the base and no bubbles, a little on the top. When the disconnect is place on I can still here it hissing, take it off and it still hisses.

 

[Jacinthebox]

could be the popet ...best bet take the post, popet, and tube out...inspect and put back together to see if that helps.

spray everything with sanitizer before and during the tear down

 

[zachattack]

You may have two separate leaks!

The poppet should be taken out of the equation when the QD is on. Try replacing the post o-ring, lubing it, and putting the QD back on. Does it still hiss?

With the QD off, a poppet leak should be very easy to diagnose with some star san. You may have a bad poppet and a bad post o-ring.

A bad dip-tube o-ring would cause leaking around the base of the post, so it sounds like that's not the problem.

 

[jappler]

So I went and refilled my CO2 tank, dont want these draining too often lol

I took the gas post off, replaced the dip tube o-ring and lubed up that and the o-ring on the poppet. Hopefully this does it, otherwise I'll have to find a replacement poppet locally.

 

[zachattack]

Again, if the QD is attached a poppet leak should not matter. I have one keg with a bad gas poppet that I need to replace, but it's not a big priority since the QD will be on the entire time the keg is under pressure.

What about the gas post o-ring? From what you described, that sounds like the most likely culprit.

 

[jappler]

What about the gas post o-ring? From what you described, that sounds like the most likely culprit.

Wouldnt that only be an issue when the QD is attached?

Monitoring it closely now to see if I'm losing any gas. Can't hear hissing and no bubbles with a Starsan spray.

 

[brewcat]

I'm assuming the gas QD was on snug. Hopefully it is working now.

 

[jappler]

I think I might have found the culprit. I have a feeling the pressure relief valve is a little wonky. Its almost like it was stuck open, that was what the hissing was I believe. I'm thinking I might replace the lid entirely.

Next time I think I'll stick to new kegs lol

 

[zachattack]

Try some keg lube on the PRV seal itself, on the bottom of the lid. That's fixed a few wonky PRVs for me. Sounds like you're getting close!

 

[hopbrad]

starsan and bubble is a great way to identify leaks.
Once you think you have identified it and solved it, turn the PSI up high to like 30PSI, then turn the main gas valve OFF.
Whichever keg had an issue, leave that manifold valve ON but turn the rest off. the PSI will read the same if there is no leak. i check on it every hour to see the reading.

 

[sheephrdr]

i thought all my connections were good.. i put my keg and c02 in freezer and cranked it up, i could hear hissing (which i thought was just the gas going into the beer, the freezer kicked in so i couldn't tell if hissing stopped or not... checked in the morning and i could smell something i disconnected gas post from keg and could hear hissing uh oh.. put my head in the freezer and took a wif, wow so that's what c02 smells like.. got pretty light headed for a few seconds.. everything is fixed now tightened up the connection leaving the regulator