Pinhole leak where top and rubber skirt meet

[AnthonyC]

I *FINALLY* found a pinhole leak that cost me 2 5lb tanks of CO2. The keg in question has a leak on the top at the edge of where the stainless and rubber meet. This is a new-to-me keg and it is the first time I used it. What baffles me is that when I purchased it, it was under pressure. And it held pressure for a few weeks before I got around to cleaning it up. I had to purge the gas out of it before I could clean it. So I guess it developed this leak while under my ownership. But I can't figure out how it could have developed.

My cleaning/sanitizing regiment is cleaning with OxyClean Free, rinse with tap water, and sanitize with StarSan no rinse. No bleach or anything. What else could it be?

My leak test showed that it is right at the rubber between the gas in connector and one of the lid "feet". Is it just stress from opening/closing the keg over the years and it's just my dumb luck that the last 2 or 3 closes of the lid finally caused it to stress the metal enough to open a hole? Or maybe the leak is closer to the gas connector but it's just finding it's way out from under the rubber at this location?

I'm trying to figure out the "why" of it so I don't do it to any of my existing and/or future kegs.

 

[malkore]

Rubber between the lid foot and gas connector....huh?

Can you post a pic? The black tops/bottoms on kegs are just there to act as a foot and handle. The keg is a 100% metal unit, with no rubber/non-metal parts acting to seal anything except for the o-rings and poppet seals.

 

[AnthonyC]

I would get an F in corny anatomy. I can't take a picture of my keg now, but if you look at the attached photo I put a red dot (not to scale )where the pinhole is.

Since it held pressure when I bought it, I can't figure out how it got there.

 

[fuhmon]

Are you sure its not coming out of the bottom of the Gas In body?

 

[LordUlrich]

I suspect it is your connect leaking. I would take the posts appart and put in new o-rings.

 

[AnthonyC]

Are you sure its not coming out of the bottom of the Gas In body?

That is what I originally thought. But careful examination using 50/50 dish soap & water brushed over the entire are clearly shows it leaking at the union of the rubber top thingy and the... well where the red dot is in the image.

I suspect it is your connect leaking. I would take the posts appart and put in new o-rings.

I replaced the o-rings before I put it into service. But I plan on taking it apart for a thorough inspection, cleaning, pressurizing and bathtub dunk. Hopefully I missed something but the soap bubbles were only coming from the place I highlighted and not from the lid, or any fittings.

 

[davel57]

There's no joint there. The leak is somewhere under the rubber, and just finding a path under the rubber to that point. First thing I'd look for, is that the rubber didn't get in the way of tightening down the post properly. If there is an actual leak in the tank, which seems pretty unlikely seeing that it doesn't look too beat up, it is probably near the post.

 

[AnthonyC]

First thing I'd look for, is that the rubber didn't get in the way of tightening down the post properly. If there is an actual leak in the tank, which seems pretty unlikely seeing that it doesn't look too beat up, it is probably near the post.

I'll definitely have to check that there is no interference between the rubber top and the post. BTW, that picture is not my keg, just a picture I found online of one to demonstrate where the leak is. But mine doesn't look any worse for wear than that.

 

[JRems]

You might have to grind the rubber off to find the hole. You can also put your hand inside and feel if there is a split or hole to narrow down the search. If you find the hole it can probably be fixed with jb weld.

 

[malkore]

I wonder if there's just air trapped under there, between the top 'cap' and the keg body...not an actual hole in the keg body.