CO2 Question???

eabearce · Feb 18, 2014

Hi there, I have a question about CO2. I recently upgraded my CO2 tank from a 5lb tank up to a 20lb tank and I am having what appears to be a pressure issue. I filled a Corny Keg up with water, hooked my new bottle up to it, and turned on the gas. I could barely hear the gas transferring into the keg, and it seemed like it took forever for the tank pressure gauge and the keg gauge to move at all. Thinking that I had an issue with the regulator, I hooked up my smaller 5lb tank and noticed that I had much greater pressure and no issues with the gauges. So, in a nutshell, my question to you my friends would be... Is there greater pressure coming off of a smaller tank vs. a larger one??? Any and all input would be greatly appreciated :mug:

b-boy · Feb 18, 2014

Maybe a bad valve on your tank? Possibly your o-ring was blocking the path to your gauge? any chance you lost your CO2 at some point?

I'd weigh the tank to make sure it's full and there isn't a leak somewhere. Then I'd get a new o-ring and hook it up again to see if it makes a difference. If not, I'd get the tank valve checked out.

eabearce · Feb 18, 2014

Thanks for the advice, I just checked everything all over once again and could not find any issues with the tank at all. I opened the valve for a split second on it and it shot out with lots of pressure. I will get another o-ring and try that, but when I used the same ring and setup on my 5lb tank all worked fine. I then re-hooked the regulator to the 20lb tank and received the same low pressure result. I even tried to open the tank valve extremely slow to see if that would help and that did not work either. I am at a loss

b-boy · Feb 18, 2014

Try it without an o-ring. You will probably get a leak, but it may rule out the o-ring as a problem. Don't leave it hooked up that way though or you'll lose your CO2 for sure.

eabearce · Feb 18, 2014

Thanks for your help! After another trip to the garage to diagnose the issue by removing the gasket from the regulator, I discovered that this was indeed the problem. It must have been deformed from reusing it after I switched between the two tanks. I immediately jumped on ebay and ordered a bunch of nylon ones. Problem solved thanks to you! Cheers my friend :mug: