CO2 leak - please help diagnose

[user 30639]

OK, so I have been burning through CO2 and cannot figure it out. I think the leak is somewhere between the CO2 tank and the regulator. I have sprayed a ton of starsan on the kegs and haven't seen any bubbles. I'm seriously one more wasted CO2 tank away from putting everything on Craig's List.

I have a 5 pound aluminum tank that's brand new. I have an older taprite regulator, the o-ring was beat up so I removed it. And I have a leak stopper that screws into the CO2 tank and a nylon washer. Is one better than the other for the tank stopper or the washer? Should I use both? Should I just get a new o-ring that fits the regulator?

 

[S-Met]

I see what looks like at least a 3 port manifold in the background. Leak could be from anywhere co2 goes. QDs, poppets, keg lids or any of the threaded or line fittings could also be the source.

 

[RocketBrewer]

I had a regulator that had a leaking diaphragm. The co2 was leaking out the hole in the front of the regulator body. Another problem can be worn or damaged (or even just old) o-rings on your keg.

 

[user 30639]

I see what looks like at least a 3 port manifold in the background. Leak could be from anywhere co2 goes. QDs, poppets, keg lids or any of the threaded or line fittings could also be the source.

That is correct, there's a 3 port back there. I had a leak from a threaded disconnect but found that.

I had a regulator that had a leaking diaphragm. The co2 was leaking out the hole in the front of the regulator body. Another problem can be worn or damaged (or even just old) o-rings on your keg.

I have wondered if I need a new regulator. That's another 50 bucks I don't really want to spend, but also am sick of losing CO2.

I think my next project is just going to be take everything apart, replace any small parts and redo it all.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

Try use washing up liquid instead of starsan, it's thicker and will show slow leaks up where starsan will drain too fast.

 

[mongoose33]

IMO, you should take the system and submerge it in a tub of water. If that means disconnecting the manifold and including that, do so. You'll see the leak if it's in that part of the system. Could still also be in a keg, so you need to pay attention to that too. I had a leak once that was from the QD, so everything is suspect.

But do the tub thing.

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi. Here's my way to troubleshoot leaks (I don't like submerging a regulator, I think you're asking for trouble.)

1. First pressurize your whole system, then turn off the valve at the tank. If you have a valve on the discharge side of your regulator, shut it. Leave it for several hours (i.e. 6-8 hours.) If you come back and there's no pressure on the gauge, you know it's a leak somewhere in the regulator or tank connection.
2. If still pressurized, open the regulator valve and pressurize the system to the manifold. Shut all the valves at the manifold and wait again (don't forget the tank is still turned off.) If the pressure holds after several hours, you know the regulator and manifold connections are good.
3. Now, do each keg, one at a time (and wait) until you find the culprit. If it's a keg, you'll need to check all the rubber. Lid seal is #1, then the dip tube o-rings, then poppets. Hopefully, you are using keg lube.

Hope it helps...I've found this is the easiest way to chase down as leak. BTW, even if you find a leak at step one or two, finish out the process to ensure the rest of the system is tight. Ed

 

[SEndorf]

I troubleshoot somewhat similar to RedlegEd.
Pressurize everything to 20 psi. Turn off all manifolds. Wait about an hour, and turn on one keg at a time. If you hear the pshhhh on one keg as it pressurizes, there's your answer. If you don't, the problem is at your regulator.

 

[Bobby_M]

The first obvious thing to do is replace the gasket on the reg. The center insert is removed with an allen wrench, drop the gasket in and replace the center insert.

Next, perform a leak down test to find out if the leak is isolated to the regulator or somewhere down stream. Open the tank valve, keep reg output valve closed, pressurize to 30 psi and then close the tank valve. Does it hold 30 psi for an hour?

Oops.. it looks like I was just repeating what was already said.

 

[user 30639]

Thanks to everybody who posted, and especially RedlegEd, I think (knock on wood) everything has been fixed. I replaced every o-ring I could, slathered a bunch of keg lube on everything, and built a makeshift shrine to Saint Arnold (the saint, not the brewery) in my garage. My regulator is holding steady at 12 psi for the last 2 days and it's showing a consistent amount of co2 in the tank.

Which is good. I really was ready to sell all my gear. I had a Craig's List post typed and everything. My wife threatened me with divorce if she ever heard me say the words "leak in my co2 line" again...

 

[Sadu]

For anyone else in this situation, refillable sodastream bottles are really great. After losing a brand new tank of gas I bought a refill station and a bunch of sodastream bottles. I run everything off the sodastream bottles and the big tank now only gets used for refilling.

It's definitely more work having to refill the sodastreams and replace them more often. But when you spring a leak and that sodastream bottle you connected yesterday is empty already - you know straight away that you have a leak and the maximum CO2 you lose is 1/2 a pound instead of 15 pounds. The other advantage is that sodastream bottles are portable, which I find handy taking mini kegs to parties etc.

My sodastream gear has paid for itself several times over. Saved me losing at least 3 big tanks of gas. A tiny nick in an o-ring on a keg post is all it takes to drain an entire CO2 tank.

 

[user 30639]

So now I'm stumped. I poured myself a beer a little while ago. Went out to the garage to get another one and lifted the lid on the kegerator. The regulator is showing the CO2 tank is empty, but still showing the pressure holding steady at 12 PSI. Any ideas?

 

[day_trippr]

SWAG: The tank is so close to empty the pressure isn't registering on the high pressure gauge.
If you don't have check valves on your low pressure side you're probably reading the keg head space pressure...

Cheers!

 

[user 30639]

SWAG: The tank is so close to empty the pressure isn't registering on the high pressure gauge.
If you don't have check valves on your low pressure side you're probably reading the keg head space pressure...

Cheers!

That's exactly what it was. To see what would happen, I bled off the kegs and the PSI dropped to zero.

 

[day_trippr]

Saint Arnold is clearly a slacker...

 

[Dland]

Recently, I stopped using a 6 keg CO2 manifold system and went back to hitting each keg I'm drinking out of with CO2 once a day when I get beer. No need to do more, initial carbonation is now achieved by spunding.

Since I have a lot of pin style C-Kegs, that is what I use. The pin lock gas fittings available for sale these days often leak a little over time. The simple system is not as automatic, but use less CO2 and less contamination potential as well.

 

[user 30639]

Recently, I stopped using a 6 keg CO2 manifold system and went back to hitting each keg I'm drinking out of with CO2 once a day when I get beer. No need to do more, initial carbonation is now achieved by spunding.

Since I have a lot of pin style C-Kegs, that is what I use. The pin lock gas fittings available for sale these days often leak a little over time. The simple system is not as automatic, but use less CO2 and less contamination potential as well.

That's not a bad idea. Dammit, off to the fire supply store today.