No gas - AGAIN!

[Jester369]

Ok, is it going to f*ck anything up if I dunk the regs? As you can see, I can't really submerge my rig without dunking them.

 

[user 4295]

I dunked mine to eliminate them as a possible source of a leak I was chasing when I first put my system together. Water will get into the weep holes on the bonnets, in front of the diaphragms, and it will get into the gauges. After I determined that my leak was not related to the regulators, I opened them up, the gauges as well, and blew them out gently with compressed air. They've been in service for several years now with no issues.

 

[Jester369]

Thanks for the info, John. I might just have to give that a shot.

 

[Qdog]

could you just mix up a mix of soap and water and spray on the fittings and see if any bubbles pop up. That should tell you where a leak could be.

 

[skydelta34]

I lost a 5lb tank my first time kegging because I didnt have the nylon washer between the tank outlet and the regulator. Check that. Since putting one in, no problems.

 

[Jester369]

could you just mix up a mix of soap and water and spray on the fittings and see if any bubbles pop up. That should tell you where a leak could be.

Trust me - done that, done that and done that It's either slow enough that the bubbles are not forming, or it's not in those connections.

 

[Jester369]

I lost a 5lb tank my first time kegging because I didnt have the nylon washer between the tank outlet and the regulator. Check that. Since putting one in, no problems.

Oh it's there alright

 

[user 4295]

Jester, in my HVAC training I've learned that homemade soap bubble solution is next to useless in finding very small leaks. Go to a plumbing supply store and get some gas leak detection solution. It has a very high viscosity to hold itself in place and will bubble like snake spit in seconds in the presence of even the most minute leak.

 

[Jester369]

Ok, so I got some gas leak detection solution and there was the tiniest of leaks from the pc fitting from the primary reg to the supply line - looks like the tubing wasn't cut perfectly square so it wasn't fully seating in the fitting.

HOWEVER, after pressurizing it and shutting off the gas overnight, two of the gauges are reading 0 while the others are still showing the proper level. Am I right that this means dead regs?

 

[ChrisS]

Do you have a brand name or product name for when I am looking for the same stuff? Where did you find it?

Thanks.

 

[Philip1993]

Jester, in my HVAC training I've learned that homemade soap bubble solution is next to useless in finding very small leaks. Go to a plumbing supply store and get some gas leak detection solution. It has a very high viscosity to hold itself in place and will bubble like snake spit in seconds in the presence of even the most minute leak.

I would tend to agree. Soapy water was useless for me and I even had to have my rig completely under soapy water for 10+ minutes before a noticeable cluster of bubbles developed.

 

[user 4295]

Do you have a brand name or product name for when I am looking for the same stuff? Where did you find it?

Thanks.

I've tried them all in the course of my HVAC duties over the years and the best, by far, is called Big Blu. It's made by a company called Refrigeration Technologies. I buy it from United Refrigeration here locally. They have locations all over the country and sell to the general public. Look in your yellow pages for refrigeration supply houses. You may also find it at a local plumbing supply house. If they don't have Big Blu they will more than likely have another brand that will do the job.

 

[jonp9576]

hello all. i just recently got into brewing, actually my first batch is in the fermenter right now.

as far as leaks go, i am very experiences. my family owns a compressed gas and welding supply shop here in Blue Bell, PA.

i've heard every story of possible leaks.

everywhere there is a connection, you could be leaking. the o rings in the kegs could be cracked, thats where i would go first. no matter how tight the keg closes, a cracked o ring will leak. even the ones inside the connections on the kegs. get new connectors if you dont know how to rebuild the connections, they are cheap.

the connection on the valve on your co2 tank should never have tape or pipe dope on it. the seal is made on the face of the valve by the washer or o-ring. every time you take off your regulator throw out your washer and get a new one. we give them out when people get their tanks filled.

if there is an o ring in your regulator, do not use a washer. it will leak. if the o ring is chipped, get a new one, if you cant find one, pick it out and put a washer in it.

as far as regulators go, do not submerge them in water. if water gets inside the inlet, and then the cold co2 hits it, it will crack the diaphram. the bleed hole will start leaking. if its leaking, you need a new reg. they are too cheap to be rebuilt. its about $40-45 to get them rebuilt, and a new one is $45-50.

as far as leak checks go. use one for compressed gas. if you are worried about keeping it clean, they have ones that are clean for medical oxygen use.
they also make one that will make bubbles for gasses as thin as helium. thats what i use.



any questions pertaining to the gas side of things, fire away.

 

[Jester369]

hello all. i just recently got into brewing, actually my first batch is in the fermenter right now.

as far as leaks go, i am very experiences. my family owns a compressed gas and welding supply shop here in Blue Bell, PA.

i've heard every story of possible leaks.

everywhere there is a connection, you could be leaking. the o rings in the kegs could be cracked, thats where i would go first. no matter how tight the keg closes, a cracked o ring will leak. even the ones inside the connections on the kegs. get new connectors if you dont know how to rebuild the connections, they are cheap.

the connection on the valve on your co2 tank should never have tape or pipe dope on it. the seal is made on the face of the valve by the washer or o-ring. every time you take off your regulator throw out your washer and get a new one. we give them out when people get their tanks filled.

if there is an o ring in your regulator, do not use a washer. it will leak. if the o ring is chipped, get a new one, if you cant find one, pick it out and put a washer in it.

as far as regulators go, do not submerge them in water. if water gets inside the inlet, and then the cold co2 hits it, it will crack the diaphram. the bleed hole will start leaking. if its leaking, you need a new reg. they are too cheap to be rebuilt. its about $40-45 to get them rebuilt, and a new one is $45-50.

as far as leak checks go. use one for compressed gas. if you are worried about keeping it clean, they have ones that are clean for medical oxygen use.
they also make one that will make bubbles for gasses as thin as helium. thats what i use.



any questions pertaining to the gas side of things, fire away.

Hi jonp - thanks for all the info.

I have isolated the leak to my manifold by shutting off the outputs and pressurizing it, turning off the gas, and monitoring the gauges - they aren't even hooked up to the kegs at this time.

The co2 tank/regulator connection washer has been checked and looks perfect. No tape used there. Also, no bubbles from that joint.

The leak solution I used was indeed for compressed gas.

The leak is somewhere after the second stage, because two of the seven gauges went to zero pressure overnight, but the other 5 stayed properly pressurized. So it is either a leak in the plumbing after the reg, or the reg itself. Since there was no bubbling evident on any of the joints, I'm afraid that it must be the regs. Fortunately they are crazy inexpensive, so I just ordered replacements and a spare.

 

[jonp9576]

where are you getting the regs from. and what do you mean by crazy expensive?

 

[HarvInSTL]

where are you getting the regs from. and what do you mean by crazy expensive?

He said crazy inexpensive.

To the tune of $5.575 plus shipping each

 

[Jester369]

He said crazy inexpensive.

To the tune of $5.575 plus shipping each

Bingo!

 

[jonp9576]

oh, i read expensive, my mistake. 5.75 is a great price

 

[Philip1993]

Where'd you get all those pretty gauges? Are the crazy inexpensive too?

 

[Jester369]

Just a quick update - I think the problem was actually the safety release on the primary reg. I had the whole manifold sitting on the counter under pressure, attached to the primary but with the bottle turned off. While doing other things in the kitchen, there was a sudden 'pop! hisssssssss' and the manifold gauges read 0. It was obviously from the safety valve, so I fiddled around with it to make sure it was properly seated, and gassed it up again. A couple of hours later, same pop-hiss. Swapped my other primary onto the bottle, and so far it is holding like a champ.

Anybody know if those safety valves are replaceable?