leaving town - leave the beers on CO2?

[PVH]

Looking for advice. All my kegs are in a dedicated fridge with the CO2 tank. They are all carbonated where I want them, and at various levels of fullness. If I'm leaving town for a week, should I just leave everything as-is? I'm paranoid about a leak developing while I am gone (I check for leaks often), but I don't want to lose carbonation.

Will this happen if I shut off the gas? It seems like, if the kegs don't leak, then the pressure should stay constant if the volumes of CO2 in the beers correspond to the pressure in the headspace. Am I right?

 

[MeatyPortion]

I think they would be alright and maintain pressure if you shut off the gas and there are no leaks, however I'm still learning about keg systems too so I'd wait until someone like Revvy sees this thread before I'd make a decision if I were you.

 

[KUbrew]

If your system isn't leaking now, it shouldn't leak while you're gone. If you're extra paranoid about it, just disconnect the hoses and let the kegs sit for a week. The carbonation won't change and you can hook it back up and be ready to serve when you get back.

 

[Airborneguy]

I travel often and I always leave them on. I am leaving on a cruise on monday, just tapped a new keg, and I'll be leaving everything as is.

I don't think there would be a negative to taking it off though. As long as your system doesn't have leaks, there's no reason to shut it off. But as KUbrew said, unless it was messed with while you are gone, there's no reason why it should develop a leak.

 

[brewmonk]

i don't leave the co2 on even when i''m home, so do what you normally do, i guess.....

 

[Sea]

If there's no leak now, don't sweat it. I never turn my gas off. Then again, i'm confident that I don't have a leak. As for a leak developing, this is highly unlikely unless the lines are jarred pretty badly, and even then.....

 

[rustynuts]

Like most here, I keep mine on gas when traveling and don't even think about it. Haven't had a problem yet.