Help Co2 tank leak!

[gamba]

Hi folks I had 3 tanks filled yesterday and it seems one has a leak at the fill cap. The place I had it filled is now closed and won't be open until Monday. My question is does anyone know if the fill cap is a standard righty tighty or is it a reverse thread?

Please help!

 

[JuanMoore]

What do you mean by "fill cap"? To turn the tank valve on top of the tank on and off it's a standard righty tighty. If you're talking about removing the tank valve to fix the leak, don't do it! That's something that needs to be done by professionals as part of the tanks hydro certification.

 

[Dan]

I'm with Juan on this one.. He always provides great advice, has for me and read many of his post. Always spot on.

Could you give a little more detail?

 

[gamba]

Thanks for the replies - It's the cap on the right - I couldn't wait and gave it like an extremely small right turn probably a 1/64" and it stopped there's 600 psi left in there now. I've read somewhere that they're filled to 800 - 1000 so I guess it's not a total loss

 

[brewingmeister]

Looks like a pressure relief on a shiney new tank.
High pressure gauges are not very accurate maybe you didn't lose much at all.

 

[JuanMoore]

Thanks for the replies - It's the cap on the right - I couldn't wait and gave it like an extremely small right turn probably a 1/64" and it stopped there's 600 psi left in there now. I've read somewhere that they're filled to 800 - 1000 so I guess it's not a total loss

As mentioned, that's a pressure relief valve. I'd spray it with some star-san solution or soapy water and look for bubbles to make sure you've stopped the leak.

The high pressure gauge doesn't really give you any indication of how full the tank is. The CO2 is in liquid and vapor form inside the tank, and the high pressure gauge reads the vapor pressure. The vapor pressure will remain constant at a constant temperature as long as there's any liquid CO2 left in the tank. If you increase the temperature, the vapor pressure will increase, and if you lower the temp it will decrease. At constant temperature, the gauge will read the same until all of the liquid is gone, at which point it will drop rapidly just before you run out of gas completely. The best (only?) way to tell how much gas you have left is to weigh the tank. Subtracting the tare weight (should be stamped on the tank) will show how much CO2 you have left.

FWIW the vapor pressure of CO2 at fridge temps is usually 500-600 psi, so if your tank is being stored cold with your beer, then you likely still have at least some liquid CO2 left.

 

[gamba]

That's great info! thanks pressure relief valve the soapy water test went ok, I'll weigh it tomorrow Juan thanks for the tips. These tanks are being stored outside where I'm guessing the temp when I tested them was about 60F

brewingmeister, haha! yeah it's a brand spanking new 2.5 lb from the Igloo kegerator from Walmart. Couldn't wait to fill my tanks, so I'm using a friend's old 5lb'er for my very first home brew ever, a partial mash batch of pale ale and it's tasting great! Sadly it's sitting at my parents' house cause I have no room for it in my apt. I've got to get at it before my dad polishes it off