CO2 Leak in Regulator?

[daveafrank]

After blowing through a full tank of co2, I'm trying to avoid it happening again. Problem is I have no idea where the leak is. Maybe someone else can give me some insight.

Just got my tank refilled and sprayed the tank itself all around to check for any leaks on it...none.

Installed a new gasket between the regulator and the tank. Then I hooked up the regulator(with the co2 line disconnected), filled the regulator with 25psi and then shut off all the main valve. After a half an hour, the pressure on the gauge dropped to 24...and continued to go downward.

I sprayed the whole thing with sanitizer to check for leaks, but didn't see any(although I could have missed it). Any ideas? Is it just time to bite the bullet and replace it?

Thanks

 

[zachattack]

Is the regulator new?

Many parts on the regulator can leak. Look at all the threaded parts: where the CGA nipple screws into the regulator body, gauges, barbs/shutoffs/check valves/etc. Try diluting some dish soap, it will be a little more viscous than star san which can be better. Finally, do this in a very quiet place and listen for any hissing. Sometimes it's easier to hear a small leak than see it.

With all that being said, it's possible that the tank is just leaking out the top of the valve stem when it's not fully open, which some do. But from what I've seen that's relatively uncommon, and since your last bottle drained my guess is you have a leak. Are you fully opening the tank valve?

See this this thread for a nice drawing:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/co2-dual-primary-regulator-leak-163754/

 

[daveafrank]

Is the regulator new?

Many parts on the regulator can leak. Look at all the threaded parts: where the CGA nipple screws into the regulator body, gauges, barbs/shutoffs/check valves/etc. Try diluting some dish soap, it will be a little more viscous than star san which can be better. Finally, do this in a very quiet place and listen for any hissing. Sometimes it's easier to hear a small leak than see it.

With all that being said, it's possible that the tank is just leaking out the top of the valve stem when it's not fully open, which some do. But from what I've seen that's relatively uncommon, and since your last bottle drained my guess is you have a leak. Are you fully opening the tank valve?

See this this thread for a nice drawing:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/co2-dual-primary-regulator-leak-163754/

Wow that is a great thread to reference, thanks!

I was shutting off the main tank valve when I tested the regulator so that makes sense. Obviously there could still be a leak in the regulator, but I'll have to try the test again with the valve open. The regulator is not super old, but it was dropped a couple times. I'll check again and report back!

 

[zachattack]

Wow that is a great thread to reference, thanks!

I was shutting off the main tank valve when I tested the regulator so that makes sense. Obviously there could still be a leak in the regulator, but I'll have to try the test again with the valve open. The regulator is not super old, but it was dropped a couple times. I'll check again and report back!

My regulator was slowly losing pressure in the same way, thought I could blame it on the tank valve. In the end I had a slow leak that developed where the CGA nipple screwed into the regulator body. So don't let your guard down :cross: Even though some tanks can leak there doesn't mean that yours is.