Last week, I tried to counter pressure fill a couple of bottles with some parts I found at work. It was no good and just made a mess. I hooked the keg back up, added another keg that finished its secondary time and by morning my CO2 tank was empty. Both kegs are fed from a single regulator through a stainless steel T. The original keg had been hooked up for several weeks w/ no problems so I assumed I hadn't tightened my connections. I checked them and most were far from tight (late night). I refilled the CO2 tank yesterday and was annoyed to find my tank empty again this morning. 
I know I should have checked for leaks before hand, but I thought I had gotten them by just tightening.
Searched through previous post, and found some ideas to check, but I have a couple of questions:
-Are the flared nylon washers required when you are using the ball lock disconnect that has 1/4" MFL disconnect? The MFL disconnect is partly plastic so I thought that would perform the same function as a washer.
-I hadn't used the keg before when I had the problems, but I replaced all of the O rings (i.e. 2 ball lock, 2 on dip tubes and 1 lid). When I put the ball lock disconnect on the new keg, they slid on easily. On the first keg, I nearly got out a hammer to get the disconnect on. Typically how easy are they to go on the first time?
-How often does the washer in the regulator need to be replaced?
-What is the preferred method/product to check for leaks?
-After I use the soap solution to look for leaks in all of the spots I can think of, I plan to unhook the ball lock to determine if it maintains its pressure over night. If that works I will pressurize the system, including the kegs then turn off the CO2. If I lose pressure, I will assume any potential leak is related to the disconnects when engaged to the ball lock or in the keg. Any other pointer/methods to check for leaks?
I know I should have checked for leaks before hand, but I thought I had gotten them by just tightening.Searched through previous post, and found some ideas to check, but I have a couple of questions:
-Are the flared nylon washers required when you are using the ball lock disconnect that has 1/4" MFL disconnect? The MFL disconnect is partly plastic so I thought that would perform the same function as a washer.
-I hadn't used the keg before when I had the problems, but I replaced all of the O rings (i.e. 2 ball lock, 2 on dip tubes and 1 lid). When I put the ball lock disconnect on the new keg, they slid on easily. On the first keg, I nearly got out a hammer to get the disconnect on. Typically how easy are they to go on the first time?
-How often does the washer in the regulator need to be replaced?
-What is the preferred method/product to check for leaks?
-After I use the soap solution to look for leaks in all of the spots I can think of, I plan to unhook the ball lock to determine if it maintains its pressure over night. If that works I will pressurize the system, including the kegs then turn off the CO2. If I lose pressure, I will assume any potential leak is related to the disconnects when engaged to the ball lock or in the keg. Any other pointer/methods to check for leaks?
