Another tricky CO2 leak

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

LowNotes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
284
Reaction score
25
Location
Alexandria
If I pressurize my regulator, with the valves out to the keg closed, and then turn off the gas, and my large CO2 gauge (in the fridge reading 600ish) drops to zero over the course of 8 hours, could that be caused by anything other than a leaky regulator?

Is it possible to cause a leak by twisting the entire regulator, for instance if you want to turn the gauges so they face up instead of forward for some reason? It definitely rotates independently from the large nut and the taped regulator joints, but is it possible one or the other could loosen? The main nut has been tightened pretty hard, and I put bubbles over every connection and can't locate any leaks.

Am I crazy?
 
He is correct, some CO2 tanks can leak around the valve unless it's fully opened. However, that doesn't mean you don't have a leak, so you should continue to check everything very thoroughly.

Do you have a washer or integrated o-ring at the main CGA connection? You can definitely cause a leak by twisting the whole thing. The CGA connection shouldn't really move once tightened, so that could be your source of a leak. Or it could be your NPT fittings on the regulator itself, as you torque the regulator you could be loosening those connections. Water down some dish soap a little and paint it on every connection with a q-tip, then look for bubbles with a flashlight. I found a leak between the CGA nipple and main regulator body that randomly appeared after over a year of use.
 
He is correct, some CO2 tanks can leak around the valve unless it's fully opened. However, that doesn't mean you don't have a leak, so you should continue to check everything very thoroughly.

Do you have a washer or integrated o-ring at the main CGA connection? You can definitely cause a leak by twisting the whole thing. The CGA connection shouldn't really move once tightened, so that could be your source of a leak. Or it could be your NPT fittings on the regulator itself, as you torque the regulator you could be loosening those connections. Water down some dish soap a little and paint it on every connection with a q-tip, then look for bubbles with a flashlight. I found a leak between the CGA nipple and main regulator body that randomly appeared after over a year of use.

I went and tightened the main CGA connection (which does have the plastic washer), and tried to tighten the NPT fitting, but I just used my hands, basically trying to reverse any pressure I may have exerted the opposite direction. I sponged on a soap bubble solution and observed it for 5-10 minutes, and there was no noticeable activity. I didn't shine a flashlight on it, but it was in the fridge and the compartment light was pretty bright. I guess the q-tip might be better as maybe things were already too bubbly from the sponge, but I would have expected to see some sort of change.

Last night I gave up and decided to just open it up fully and try to finish carbing my beer before a buddy comes over tonight. It was mostly carbed anyways, and I am not 100% sure I have a leak... My first tank I had a leaky connection on the keg line, the second tank I successfully carbed and served 5g, then used the CO2 to push some starsan through the cleaned keg I kicked, as well as one of my other kegs I was checking for future use, and then when finished I left the CO2 line detached from the keg, but still had the tank-valve open, and all other out-lines from the regulator closed, and I lost my tank overnight. So, this is my third tank and I was super worried I had another leak...but maybe I just didn't have the tank valve 100% open and lost my second tank that way. So, now on my third tank, (and only getting 5g of beer...grumble grumble...$60 in CO2...grumble grumble...'keg they said', 'bottling sucks they said' grumble grumble') I was trying to single out if the regulator was the issue, but apparently that is not an easy thing to do...I figure if I come home from work and my tank is empty, I will know I have a problem...I am hoping for the best though.

Thanks for the response.
 
Well, I had the gas fully open all the way to the keg for 20 hours, and when I checked it I was able to proudly exclaim to SWMBO "I've got gas!".

So I guess I was all worked up over nothing, and I must have not had the valve fully open when I lost my last tank. Now to enjoy a (fully carbed) honey porter.

:tank:
 
Back
Top