New kegerator smells like CO2..do I have a leak?

[beertastic]

I finished my new kegerator yesterday, and hooked everything up. Today I open it up to check on it and there is a strong CO2 burn/smell in the kegerator. I was thinking there should be no CO2 in the airspace in the fridge itself.

Does this mean I have a leak somewhere? And how do I troubleshoot?

 

[mkw87]

Get a spray bottle with soapy water and spray ALL connections and with for bubbles. If you find a leak make sure to keep going to make sure there's not multiple.

 

[mcaple1]

How new is new....are you sure you don't just smell offgassing of the plastic pieces.

 

[beertastic]

How new is new....are you sure you don't just smell offgassing of the plastic pieces.

Brand new. What is offgassing of plastic pieces mean?

 

[mcaple1]

Plastic consumer products are notorious for outgassing/offgassing. I deal with this with satellite communications a bit. Basically, it's "new car smell", and a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Open your kegerator and let it air out for a few days, then close it back up and try it again. Smell should be gone.

 

[beertastic]

Plastic consumer products are notorious for outgassing/offgassing. I deal with this with satellite communications a bit. Basically, it's "new car smell", and a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Open your kegerator and let it air out for a few days, then close it back up and try it again. Smell should be gone.

This is more of a chocking "I can't breath in this it burns" than a smell. It is almost exactly like when I open up my ferm chamber and take a big wiff.

Get a spray bottle with soapy water and spray ALL connections and with for bubbles. If you find a leak make sure to keep going to make sure there's not multiple.

OK, I think I found one. Thanks. Looks like I already lost half my CO2 in the tank

 

[mcaple1]

ahhhh...ok. yeah, I get the burning thing from c02 when I take a big whiff our of my ferm chamber as well. sorry for the confusion, and good luck on fixing the leak.

 

[mkw87]

Sorry to hear it was a leak. Remember in the future any time you break a connection it's a good idea to check for leaks again.

 

[neut2004]

Get replacement parts for nearly everything, that way a leak will never ruin your day. All rubber o-rings, poppets, posts, disconnects, release valves. I bought some old kegs and all the release valves were leaking, it seems like those may be the first to go. Also, get some keg lube.

 

[mrgreen4242]

How would I test for leaks on the posts of the kegs themselves? Just disconnect the hoses and spray with soapy water? Or would that not test the o-rings seal?

I just washed the inside of my kegerator (lots of condensation, need to get it out of the garage and put in a better moisture absorber) and both kegs before I refilled one of them with my latest batch and discovered I was out of CO2 after just two kegs! I carbed them on the bottle (and obviously dispensed them) but I was expecting more like 5-10 kegs per 5# CO2. Is that fairly reasonable? I know I lost some gas setting up the system and washing/testing kegs and lines, but doesn't seem like it should have been that much.

I'll replace the o-rings on both kegs as soon as I get more CO2 (so I can test it under pressure), but where else could there be leaks - only the gas line connections or the keg itself, right?

 

[day_trippr]

It's always a good idea to make sure a keg will hold pressure without the QDs attached, so yes, pressurize the keg (20psi ought to be enough), disconnect the QDs, and spray the posts (and lid) with some soapy water or properly mixed Star-San.

Tougher is to test the keg with the QDs attached. Indeed, I don't know a good way to do that short of submerging the keg in water with the QDs attached (a pain, for sure). I basically rely on fresh O-rings on the posts (I always replace all five O-rings when I buy a keg) with a film of keg lube to hold pressure when the QDs are connected. So far, so good...

Cheers!