I've lost 2 tanks of CO2 in the last 2 weeks

[SC_Ryan]

Well, last night I racked a couple of beers into kegs. When I went to pressureize the kegs and purge the oxygen my co2 tank was drained... again. The last tank I lost I assumed it was a finiky pressure release valve in one of the kegs it was connected to. I fixed the valve, refilled the co2 tank, reconnected, listened for leaks and found none. I moved on.

I checked the guage for the next few days in a row and everything was holding up fine. A week later, it's empty. The two kegs it was connected to in the kegerator are still under pressure, so I'm assuming the leak is somewhere in the regulator. Any ideas? What would make it leak out of the blue? Thanks in advance.

Ryan

 

[Petey]

probably won't help at all but i had one part fail on me 3 times before i got the hint. Replaced the weak link and guess what the same part breaks on me again. Just a weak link in the design i guess. Just go through your whole system with some soapy water. I'm kinda paranoid maybe but i check every keg everytime i hook one up and haven't emptied a tank (inadvertently) since.

 

[BeerCanuck]

Hi SC_Ryan
I had the same issue with my C02 when I started kegging; C02 refill survey
My leak was in the regulator section.
You want to isolate the components and pressure test...luckily for me I pressure tested the regulator section first.

Cheers
BeerCanuck

 

[RichBrewer]

Until you can figure out where the leak is. keep the valve closed on your tank when not dispensing beer.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Same here. I went through 2 tanks in a week. Thankfully one of the regulator guages was damaged in shipping, so when I got the replacement in it took care of the leak.

That first week I was ready to toss all of the kegging equipment out into the damn yard. Now I don't know what I'd do without it.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Just listening for leaks is not nearly enough, nor is guessing at what part is leaking. A slow leak probably won't be audible, but can still drain your tank in a handful of days. A soapy water solution (or my preference, starsan) is a great way to check for leaks, as even an extremely slow leak will produce obvious bubbles. In 10 minutes you can check every single possible leak point. I thought my system was pretty well sealed up, and my CO2 had always lasted quite a while... But I wound up finding one leak, fixing it, and then finding another even slower leak.

Probably the best improvement I made was getting rid of all the stupid teflon tape in my system, and using blue loctite instead. Teflon tape may do pretty well in some cases, but it seems to lose its seal quite easily, as even during normal use you may inadvertently twist a fitting a bit and cause a leak. Loctite (being a liquid) fills the gaps even better, and helps hold the fitting in place to prevent breaking the seal during normal use.

 

[67coupe390]

I had the same problem, it turned out to be a co2 nome. I think I picked him up when i filled up my tank last. These suckers are pretty sneaky and should be approched with caution! Anyway I kept running out of co2 then one day I found him passed out in the keggerator. I did some research on the internet quick and found out how to get rid of the little bugger. This is what you do: First take it out to the end of your driveway when its passed out, Then hit it in the head with a garden shovel 4 or 5 times, Last pitch it in your neighbors yard. (I read this also works for bunnies too!!!) So to make a long story short I don't have a co2 problem anymore!!!

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I had the same problem, it turned out to be a co2 nome. I think I picked him up when i filled up my tank last. These suckers are pretty sneaky and should be approched with caution! Anyway I kept running out of co2 then one day I found him passed out in the keggerator. I did some research on the internet quick and found out how to get rid of the little bugger. This is what you do: First take it out to the end of your driveway when its passed out, Then hit it in the head with a garden shovel 4 or 5 times, Last pitch it in your neighbors yard. (I read this also works for bunnies too!!!) So to make a long story short I don't have a co2 problem anymore!!!

Remember folks, don't drink and post.

 

[Ryan_PA]

Do you have a gasket between your tank and the regulator? It is a small rubber/plastic washer looking thing.

 

[SC_Ryan]

I'm not sure. I'll have to take a look at it when I get home.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Do you have a gasket between your tank and the regulator? It is a small rubber/plastic washer looking thing.

Many regs use an o-ring that sits in a groove on the face of the stem, and thus do not need a washer. So don't freak out if there's an o-ring but no washer!

 

[SC_Ryan]

Well, I spray tested the regulator and didn't find any leaks. It doesn't appear I have a gasket or an o-ring on my stem so I'm guessing that's the problem. Here's a picture of the stem. It looks like I have the groove for the o-ring but no o-ring.

 

[Limited Visibility]

Remember folks, don't drink and post.

hehe......

 

[Ryan_PA]

Yeah man, I think that is your problem. I had the same issue when I first set up a few years back (thats how I knew what to ask). Go to a welding supply or gas refill shop, or better yet your LHBS, the parts are like a dime, buy a bunch. I put them on a paper clip that I then attach to the regulator.

 

[SC_Ryan]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to pick up some o-rings to seal this sucker up. I also bought some liquid thread seal so I figured I may as well re-seal all of the threads on the regulator. Is it as straight forward as it looks. or is there anything I need to know?

 

[Jonnio]

The liquid thread seal is how my regulator was put together. Basically coat all the threads real well, screw them in, then let it sit for 24 hours to dry.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Yep, definitely supposed to be an o-ring there. I'm no longer so surprised that you lost all your CO2 that quickly, but I am rather surprised it didn't leak bad enough that you could hear it!

And yep, loctite (or similar) is just that simple. You don't need to use quite as much as you might think, but of course it's better to over-estimate and wipe up the excess after, until you get a feel for how much to use.