Empty CO2 Bottle?

I finished building my kegerator last week, everything is working great! The first and only problem came in last night when I noticed that I was out of gas! I'm still on my first keg, so something must be wrong.

I checked all the connections with a water and dish soap mixture and found no leaks, so I'm at a loss as to what happened. The only thing I can think of is that I purged the keg of gas 2 - 3 times. It got too much pressure a few times with my initial tinkering to get everything working (Also, New Belgium told me the recommended pressure for Mothership Wit was 16 - 18 psi, wtf).

Is purging the keg what used up all the gas? Any other ideas?

 

Either you did not start with a full tank of CO2 or you have a leak and did not find it. Could be a slow leak that you missed, could be coming out of the Regulator which sometimes people skip in the bubble test. I have an older reg. that leaks very slowly out of the little hole in the body of the reg. I've had leaks at the lid gasket, pressure relief valve and mostly older poppet valves.

Get your tank filled and check very carefully this time. You can put just about everything but the regulator in a container of water to help find leaks.

 

A 5 pound cylinder of CO2 has a little bit more than 300 gallons of gas in it. So, you probably didn't over purge, unless you started purging then walked away for a half hour.

Also, the "recommended pressure" means nothing unless there is a temperature associated with it. If you carb your keg to 16 psi at 35°F it will have twice as much carbonation as if you did it at 68°F.

 

To check for leaks, leave the keg(s) off of the system. Turn on your gas, wait for the pressure to stabilize. Turn off your gas. Watch the High Pressure gauge, if it starts to drop, then you know you have a leak in your CO2 system, otherwise it is on the keg.

Also make sure that you check the valve on the CO2 tank. I had one recently that was leaking under the valve handle.

How are your gaskets on your keg(s)?

 

The keg I'm using is a commercial sanke keg. I figured I'd try getting the kegerator up and running correctly before trying any homebrew, which seems like it was a good idea now.

I think I'll get it refilled and then stick the tank underwater to check that, and then try atomrat's idea to check the regulator.

 

Well, no leaks on the tank itself. Off to try the regulator...

 

I believe I've narrowed the leak down to the joint between the regulator and the bottle. I put some teflon tape on the threads, but it's still leaking. What else can I do?

 

1st, you do not use teflon on those threads. The threads hold the sealing surfaces together, they don't so the sealing. Take that tape off, as it can prevent you from tightening it down like it needs to, and make sure you have a nylon washer between the tank and regulator.

 

I think I see your point about the washer. I wondered about that before, but the reg didn't come with a washer so I tossed that idea aside. As I examined the joint, I noticed that there really isn't anything keeping gas from coming out of the backside of the joint (the side closest to the body of the reg). Is this where the washer comes in?

For reference I have this regulator: http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642.html

Would this washer that they also sell be what I need? http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/fittings-pid-759.html

 

I have the same regulator, and it came with a white plastic washer - so you should have gotten one too, guess that one got missed when they sent it from the factory. I don't know if that black neoprene one will work or not...

 

Aha! Well that makes me feel a lot better. If they forgot to send me a piece, then I didn't screw anything up

 

Use the washer like a garden hose washer. It goes between the flange on the reg and the flange on the tank. They will have the gasket at the place you fill your tank.