Kegged first batches in new system yesterday, regulator and/or CO2 freaking out

[mcpastore]

So I kegged my first two batches yesterday and popped em into my sanyo 4912 with my 5gl CO2 setup. I set it to 30PSI last night around 5PM, shook for a minute or so and let alone. This morning when I wake up I checked on it and the regulator is sitting at 0PSI on both gauges. I pulled some beer from each and one seems to be carbonated beautifully, and the other has none at all, and would barely pour. My CO2 tank seems to be EXTREMELY cold, as it's closest to the cooling backplane unit. Are my readings foobared because of the cold? Or do I have a leak somewhere with the keg that didn't carbonate?. Is it normal for one of my beers to carbonate in 18hours?

Someone please help out a noob here!

 

[Wade E]

Take the tank out and see if the pressure goes up.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

If your gauges both dropped to zero, either you shut off the tank valve, or your tank is empty. When CO2 tanks drain, they get cold - if they drain fast enough, they can get sheeted in ice even. If your tank is unexpectedly frosty, it could be that you had a pretty bad leak and the tank dumped.

Make sure the tank valve is open, and if you still get nothing on the gauges, shut the valve, take off the regulator, and then try SLIGHTLY opening the valve until you hear some gas come out. If you get nothing, then it stands to reason that your tank is empty.

 

[EdWort]

You can also weigh your tank on a bathroom scale and see if it is close to the TARE weight stamped on the bottle. You always want to check for leaks when you hook up your system the first time or any time you change things.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

You always want to check for leaks when you hook up your system the first time or any time you change things.

+1 on that advice! I didn't check for leaks until I'd had my system for many months. My 5lb tank was lasting through enough kegs each fill that I didn't suspect anything, but not QUITE as long as I would have liked - I finally got around to checking the whole system for leaks and found at least two separate very slow leaks. All it takes is a spray bottle of starsan (or soapy water) and a few minutes, so it's well worth the time investment.

 

[Hustler]

It's definitely a leak, make sure you go through EVERY fitting, i thought i had everything worked out till i realized that even the main nut that screws into the bottle's valve was leaking using those crappy o-rings they give you with trade-ins. It took me 3 refills later at a hefty cost to fix it, I would check on your tank every few hours after you get it filled again and have gone through the leak(s) before setting and forgetting. spray all connection points with some soapy water to find the bubbles and tighten them up.

 

[mcpastore]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I got my tank filled on lunch today, took it home hooked it up and did the soapy water spray bottle trick. Sure enough about 5 seconds later were steady bubbles coming out of the nut on my IN quick disconnect. Gave her a good tighten, sprayed the rest of the joints and everything seemed to be good.

Another question I have. I keep reading people are getting 800-900 PSI on a filled tank, while the first 2 times I've gotten mine filled, it's only been around 500 PSI when first hooked up. Is my CO2 guy not filling it completely? Could he be doing this on purpose to skimp or could there be a problem with his filling equipment or my regulator? Also, this is at room temp.

 

[RegionalChaos]

PSI drops when the tank is cold. Are you looking at the PSI gauge on a room temp of fridge temp tank?

 

[mcpastore]

Room temp.

 

[mcpastore]

Well it's been a couple months since I last visited this issue, and I'm still frustrated.

After I found the first leak I thought everything was good, but turns out the CO2 is only lasting through about 1 keg. I'm assuming I still have a leak somewhere but I've done the soapy water test 3 times now and can't find anything.

Any ideas?

 

[Bopper]

Well it's been a couple months since I last visited this issue, and I'm still frustrated.

After I found the first leak I thought everything was good, but turns out the CO2 is only lasting through about 1 keg. I'm assuming I still have a leak somewhere but I've done the soapy water test 3 times now and can't find anything.

Any ideas?

Do you have metal hose clamps on ALL connections? And are you sure they are nice and tight? If you don't have it screwed on tight enough, it can cause a leak.

Are you using a washer on the regulator/tank connection? If your regulator already has a washer built into it, the extra washer could be the source of the leak.

Also, you'll need to check your kegs. Hit them with 30#'s of CO@ and unhook them from the gas completely and wait a few days. Then, pull the pressure relief valves. If one of the kegs has no or little pressure, you've isolated the leak. If you can isolate the leak to a single keg, then you need to search the keg by using a spray bottle with soapy water. If you can't find anything with the spray bottle then submerge it in the bathtub. You should be able to see where the leak is by a trail of bubbles. It could be as simple as the keg needing some o ring lube. Alternatively, you can just replace all o rings on the keg (which btw isn't a bad idea when you get a new keg).

If the kegs check out OK, then turn it's either in your lines or its the regulator connections.

Good luck with this. I know how frustrating this can be!