Leaky Regulator

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ZenBrew

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One of my Chudnow secondary regulators developed a leak. I bought a new CO2 tank 3 weeks ago and then suddenly it was empty! :confused:

After troubleshooting it a bit, I realized it was one of the regulators. When I had the shut offs to the kegs and the CO2 tank shut off, I still lost pressure. This means the leak was after the primary and before shut offs out of the secondary regulators.

I turned on the two secondary regulators that I was using to find when I pressurized one of them and then turned it off, it then slowly lost pressure. It should stay pressurized even if I turn it off, right? Also, I did hear it leaking at first, but I no longer hear it leaking... :confused:

I did a quick leak test using soapy water, but did not see the leak. Does anyone have experience with what leaks on these Chudnow regulators so that I can reduce my troubleshooting time when I take the regulator stick off my kegerator wall for a more extensive soapy water test?

Thanks!
 
Take it apart and see if there is a torn o ring or diaphram in the regulator.
 
So I took it apart and the diaphragm looks fine. It was a little dirty, so I cleaned it up. I turned it on and heard the leak again. I sprayed soapy water all over it but didn't see a leak, even though I could clearly hear it.

Then I turned it off and released the pressure. I turned the pressure back up and now I didn't hear the leak. WTF? :confused:
 
Are you sure it's not leaking from the valve on the top of the co2 bottle? They can sometimes leak. Some tanks need the valve turned all the way open so they don't leak. I had a warning sticker on one of my tanks , so now I make sure they are all open fully
 
I have three other regulators on this regulator bank that are all working fine (no leaks). This means the tank is fine and the high pressure ports of the leaking Chudnow regulator are also fine.

I might take a second look at the regulator diaphragm tonight...
 
Took another look at it. Didn't see anything wrong with the diaphragm again. What else could leak on the low side of these things? I don't think there is much else there...
 
In case anyone else runs into this problem, here was my fix:

It turned out some junk probably got between the sealing surface of the diaphragm and the body. Cleaning it all off was good, but I probably didn't have it seated right after I put it back together the first time. The last time I put it back together I paid careful attention to get it on properly, and I used vacuum seal grease to grease where the diaphragm seals against the body.

It didn't seem like it was leaking anymore, but I wanted to be sure. Since I have a 4 bank of secondary regulators, I pressurized the one that was leaking and another that never leaked. I then turned them both off to see what the leak rates were over time by watching the pressure gauges on both. It turns out the one I vacuum greased is now leaking slower than the one that never leaked.

I think I'll be taking all my regulators apart to clean and grease them...
 
In case anyone else runs into this problem, here was my fix:

It turned out some junk probably got between the sealing surface of the diaphragm and the body. Cleaning it all off was good, but I probably didn't have it seated right after I put it back together the first time. The last time I put it back together I paid careful attention to get it on properly, and I used vacuum seal grease to grease where the diaphragm seals against the body.

It didn't seem like it was leaking anymore, but I wanted to be sure. Since I have a 4 bank of secondary regulators, I pressurized the one that was leaking and another that never leaked. I then turned them both off to see what the leak rates were over time by watching the pressure gauges on both. It turns out the one I vacuum greased is now leaking slower than the one that never leaked.

I think I'll be taking all my regulators apart to clean and grease them...

Good to know. Glad you got it fixed. :mug:
 
I'm glad you for it fixed. I don't know why people are afraid to take them apart. They are very simple inside
 
I'm glad you for it fixed. I don't know why people are afraid to take them apart. They are very simple inside

They are super simple! And the best part is I got to learn about how my regulators work by taking it apart!
 
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