Leaking keg

[mjb1973]

Just getting started with kegging and I think I have a leak that I cant locate. I have a reonditioned pin lock keg new CO2 tank and regulator. The first time I hooked up the gas to the keg I lost about 300 psi in less than 24 hours. So far I have tried the following.

Sprayed down all the fittings on regulator and lid on keg with soapy water and there was no indication of any leaks.

Shut the valve off to the keg and disconected gas line to keg for about 8 hours, no loss in pressure so I dont think the regulator is to blame.

Reattached gas line to keg and used a large amount of keg lube and there was no pressure loss for 24 hours or more.

I checked the system today, gauge going to tank dropped down to zero psi. Adjusted regulator so pressure going to keg was back at 10 psi and tank psi drop another 50 psi.

Any help would be appreciated. Thinking about going back to bottles!!!

 

[Kaz]

Is this tank/regulator keg in the fridge or at room temp? Did you move it from room temp to the fridge at some point? I rarely pay attention to the high pressure gauge that is meant to show you how much pressure is in the tank. It will change wildly with temp fluctuations. However, it shouldn't be zero unless the tank is empty. Pay attention to the gauge going to the keg and as long as you're pushing out carbonated beer and that gauge holds steady, everything is ok.

 

[jpietraski]

Also check the regulator and it's stem that attaches to your tank.

 

[samc]

I checked the system today, gauge going to tank dropped down to zero psi. Adjusted regulator so pressure going to keg was back at 10 psi and tank psi drop another 50 psi.

If it was at zero how can it drop another 50 psi below zero?

Try submerging everything but the regulator in water (bathtub). I had a persistent leak over a years time that would not show up with leak detector solutions, StarSan, soap water. When I put everything under water I'd see one small bubble escape every 30 seconds or so. Your leak wouldn't be that hard to find since you are losing pressure much faster.

 

[neut2004]

If the regulator on the tank went down 300+ psi, it's nearly empty, so it'll be hard to find a leak with no CO2 going through your system. The psi on the primary regulator should not change unless the temperature changes or the tank is nearly (or entirely) empty. Usually a full tank has about 800psi, but that number is meaningless. It may be more or less to start off, but when it drops, it drops fast, and that means the tank is nearly empty.