Leaky keg, sometimes

[DiscDuffer]

I bought a used pin-lock keg and it was mailed under pressure. I replaced the o-rings and checked that it was holding pressure. I filled it Friday and it held pressure hooked to the tank 'till Saturday. Then I shook it up to carbonate and served it Saturday night. At the end of the night I forgot to turn the gas off. Sunday morning the gas was gone and I have not been able to get it to hold pressure. I bought a new tank and keg lube, a first for me, and nothing I do can make it hold pressure. All of the other kegs I have have made a hiss, click and pop sound when I put pressure to them but this one never did the click pop.

 

[JohnSand]

Check your connections too. Do you spray the lid to check for leaks?

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I switched to the white (silicone?) lid o-rings and that fixed a lot of my leak issues. They seem a little bigger and seal a bit better. You can also try turning the lid around. I have a couple of kegs with very loose lids, to the point where you can rotate the lid about 5 degrees when it is sealed and not under pressure. It takes a good 30-40psi blast to get it to seal. Also, if you turn off the supply and leave the keg connected, it will leak to empty in my experience.

 

[jpakstis]

Two things I always do is (in addition to everything you've already done), if you can, spray all the areas where the gas may leak with a Starsan solution or anything that will bubble up. That will show if there is a leak. The other thing I do is to seat the lid but don't latch it shut. Then turn the gas on and let it seal itself up then latch it. I had gotten a couple of Torpedo kegs from MoreBeer and one of them always leaked out the lid. I called their customer service and they recommended letting the lid seal with gas. I haven't had an issue since.

 

[camonick]

I use pin lock kegs and something else you should check is the PRV. I’ve had them fail before. I also have to use over-sized lid o-rings on a couple of mine.

The PRV inserts for pin locks are getting hard to find and/or expensive.

Good luck. I hope you find the problem... losing gas sucks.

 

[DiscDuffer]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I forgot to mention that it is the lid that is leaking. I also tried to put dimes under the "legs," it made the leak worse. Where does one find these oversize o-rings?

 

[camonick]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I forgot to mention that it is the lid that is leaking. I also tried to put dimes under the "legs," it made the leak worse. Where does one find these oversize o-rings?

Williams Brewing sells the oversize o-rings. https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Oversize-Keg-Lid-Sealing-O-Ring-P58.aspx

 

[Dland]

Not sure, but maybe no one has mentioned replacing the poppet valves. They both have a small O ring too. They do fail and will cause leakage, gas loss.

And a potential fester if something nasty is lurking in it, infection wise. Hopefully everyone is dissembling and cleaning their keg posts when the acquire used (& maybe new) kegs.

The ''universal'' poppets have worked best for me.