newbie kegging rant

[shamrockdoc]

ARRRGH I just got another bottle of CO2 and thats already in the red ! GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGH! .......ok ..ok .....ok I survived Fallujah and Najaf I can handle this right yes ok then .....tighten all leads and post ....ok check .....we shall see in the morning .......grrrrrrrrr

 

[JOHN51277]

Spray it down with some soapy water and find the leak.

 

[shamrockdoc]

thanks I am

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Starsan works great for this. It is a big pain in the ass when you have a leak. I painstakingly went over my entire system before I declared it leak free. This was after I emptied an entire bottle of CO2 in a night.

 

[azscoob]

I chased a CO2 leak over the course of 3 fills, I sprayed down everything I could and never found the leak until I was removing the now empty tank and noticed a small crack in the CO2 inlet stem between the rubber seal and the outer hex, it was slow enough to not detect it at ambient temps, but must have leaked once cooled to the temps in the kegerator, drove me nuts! I now have a spare one in the parts box along with every seal and coupler in my system.

 

[maxamuus]

Off topic but thank you for your service.

 

[bendavanza]

Off topic but thank you for your service.

and don't forget the teflon tape on your threaded fittings, and a new co2 washer (regulator to tank) helps, too.

 

[Yooper]

Also, keep in mind that there might not be a leak.

If you put the co2 tank into the fridge, it seems like even a full 5# tank is "in the red". That has to do with the amount of pressure in the tank, not the volume. CO2 is liquid and dispensed as gas, so those gauges are pretty useless. It'll show 400 psi even when it's nearly full, and also when it's nearly empty, then it'll go to 0 out of nowhere.

So, if you have a leak and actually have an empty tank, fix the leak! But if you don't have a leak, don't worry.

 

[david_42]

Leaks are a pain! Both of my regulators leak, one in a gauge and the other somewhere in the stem. I've given up trying to track them down (the latter probably would require replacement anyway) and just open the tank valve when I draw a pint and shut it after.

 

[IrregularPulse]

+1 to what Yoop said. This was my first thought. Only way to tell how full your tank is is to weigh it.

 

[shamrockdoc]

OK so i woke up early to check it and it was still in the red so after work i took it out of the fridge and the pressure went back up so .....i still re tightened and tefloned it as well and it seems to be holding we shall see

 

[bendavanza]

right on, happy kegging to you soldier

 

[timmystank]

When were you in Fallujah?

 

[Bubba_Mustafa]

Also use genuine Swagelock fittings. Not the Watts you get from Lowes and Deep Homo. Swagelock also has a spec on tightening compression fittings; finger tight and 3/4 a turn for first seating. Finger tight, and 1/8 turn for others. Can also mark with a sharpie where to stop for disconnects. (though I tend to tighten to my 'feel')

Also if using plastic tubing, over tightening can very easily crack the line in the fitting causing leaks.

I've used Swagelocks on helium (thats a tiny molecule compared to the fat CO2 molecule) and can get zero leak (and it needs to be zero leak). Way I'll do for a leak test is pressurize the system then turn off the bottle and go home. Next morning, see if the needle jumps when opening the bottle. Of course you can't do this hooked up to a keg, you would have to plug the end that hooks to the keg.

Also NEVER use teflon tape on the compression fitting threads. (or flare fittings for that matter)