New to Kegging - Lost Pressure Overnight

[Ringo311]

Hello All,

I am new to kegging and kegged two brews last night. I set them to 10 psi overnight and when I went to bed everything seemed to be holding fine but when I woke up the pressure gauge was at zero.

As far as troubleshooting: CO2 was definitely getting in the keg because I purged all the air out of the keg and I could hear CO2 moving in. Its possible I have a leak but I wouldnt lose pressure in that case right?

 

[plazola86]

If you have a leak then its possible all your CO2 tank leaked out putting the gauge at 0. Is there still CO2 in the tank? Try adjusting the to 10 psi again.

 

[Konadog]

Depending on where your leak is, yes, you would lose all your CO2 and have no pressure.

 

[Ringo311]

If you have a leak then its possible all your CO2 tank leaked out putting the gauge at 0. Is there still CO2 in the tank? Try adjusting the to 10 psi again.

Yea this morning I set it at 10 again. I did it quickly but i watched the gauge for 10-15 seconds and it appeared to be holding. My tank is low so I'll check that to be sure.

Follow up question: when I had my kegs connected for awhile, I could hear a very low hiss. Is this CO2 entering the beer or is this a leak? I detached the coupler from the keg and it stopped. So if there is a leak, its not on the CO2 tank/equipment end.

 

[Maylar]

Normally the regulator will hiss or "buzz" when you first connect it to a purged keg or if you shake the keg to help CO2 absorption. That only takes a few seconds. But there should be no continuous hiss - that's a leak.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Squirt every connection with soapy water and look for leaks after you get a refill

 

[CU_tony]

Once you fill your CO2 tank up (leaks can be expensive) youll want to hook everything up, pressurize and spray with a star san mixture.
Spray everything starting with the connection to the CO2 tank, and work your want all the way to the gas in post. If you havent seen any bubbles yet, spray the PRV in the keg lid and the large oval lid seal.

As already stated, a functioning CO2 system should only make noise when you are force carbing (briefly) or if you pull the PRV, or when pulling a pint you may hear a slight hiss as the CO2 fills that space.

Did you use lube on your first try?

Also, did you fill your keg and just set to 10psi? If you had a new keg and didnt use lube, I would have pressurized to 40psi to ensure that the lid was seated properly before using the PRV to dial back down to carbonating pressure.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Fault gauge (they are easy to break), a leak (spray starsan around it), or temp change are the three main reasons I can come up with.

 

[Ringo311]

Thanks. I'll do all those things. Cheers!

 

[TheMadKing]

Thanks. I'll do all those things. Cheers!

Question, you are leaving the valve on the tank turned on correct?

If you set your regulator to 10PSI, then shut the tank valve off, that CO2 will absorb into the beer and you will lose all your pressure. Your tank valve should always be fully open.

 

[Roland_deschain]

Did you purge the kegs of o2? That should have seated the lids properly. If not you're risking oxidation of the beer.

 

[Ringo311]

I purged, but still worried about oxidation with the leak. Hopefully it will hold at a lower pressure if there's a leak.


I pressurized the kegs outside the fridge (they were cold) and then put the kegs and tank and everything inside the fridge.

I left all the valves open but i've not used a co2 regulator before. Mine has a threaded dial and a threaded washer to lock it in place, which I used.

 

[cegan09]

The set pressure will drop when you put things in the fridge, but not to zero.

If you are hearing a hissing sound that goes on longer than a few seconds after attaching CO2 to the keg, you have a leak. If the gauge dropped to zero, you are not holding at a lower pressure.

Ways to find the leak.
First. Get your tank refilled. Attach the regulator and lines, but do not connect them to the keg. Open the valve on the bottle all the way (some valves leak if you only open them part of the way, make sure it's always 100% open or closed). Set the regulator to 10psi (the ball lock connector should seal when not connected to the keg, so you shouldn't lose gas here). Now spray every single connection with starsan. That means the regulator to tank, regulator to hose, and hose to ball lock connector. If you see bubbles forming on any of these, fix that leak.

Second, attach the gas to the keg. Spray everything with starsan. Look for bubbles forming at the poppet in the top of the liquid out post. Look at the base of the two posts where they screw on. Look at the large o-ring seal for the lid. Look at the pressure relief valve. Look for bubbles coming out the bottom of the gas in connector. If you see bubbles, there's a leak. Fix it.

 

[TheMadKing]

The set pressure will drop when you put things in the fridge, but not to zero.

If you are hearing a hissing sound that goes on longer than a few seconds after attaching CO2 to the keg, you have a leak. If the gauge dropped to zero, you are not holding at a lower pressure.

Ways to find the leak.
First. Get your tank refilled. Attach the regulator and lines, but do not connect them to the keg. Open the valve on the bottle all the way (some valves leak if you only open them part of the way, make sure it's always 100% open or closed). Set the regulator to 10psi (the ball lock connector should seal when not connected to the keg, so you shouldn't lose gas here). Now spray every single connection with starsan. That means the regulator to tank, regulator to hose, and hose to ball lock connector. If you see bubbles forming on any of these, fix that leak.

Second, attach the gas to the keg. Spray everything with starsan. Look for bubbles forming at the poppet in the top of the liquid out post. Look at the base of the two posts where they screw on. Look at the large o-ring seal for the lid. Look at the pressure relief valve. Look for bubbles coming out the bottom of the gas in connector. If you see bubbles, there's a leak. Fix it.

^ perfect advice. The only thing I might change, is set your regulator to 30 PSI, it makes leaks easier to find.

And when you're looking for bubbles, they can be subtle. Look for consistent, repeatable bubbles forming, even very slowly or very small.

If all else fails, submerge everything in the bathtub while it's pressurized.