Regulator Pressure Creep, And What To Do About It?

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Bought a four-tap KOMOS last year, and until now it's been running and pouring perfectly. But all of a sudden I'm having an issue with the regulator pressure, and I'm not sure what's going on.

I have one line going from the regulator into the kegerator, at which point it splits four ways using basic Duotite T splitters. (This is an all-Duotite setup, gas and liquid. Standard gas QDs, and the flow-control liquid QDs.) No manifold yet, was holding off on that as I'd like to eventually have four sub-regulators as well.

I only have one keg on at the moment, the other three gas lines are disconnected from the empty kegs.

I'm carbing up the keg; I set the regulator to 12 PSI... and then the next day, or even just a few hours later, the pressure has increased significantly. Yesterday it jumped up to around 35 over the course of the day; today it's creeping up into the mid-upper 20s in a matter of a couple of hours.

I even turned the knob all the way down so it's spinning freely (i.e. as low as it's possible to go, almost unscrewed from the regulator!) -- at first the gauge didn't change at all (which I found odd that the pressure didn't go down), and then just two or so hours later it's crept up to 20.

No idea why or how this is happening (the pressure shouldn't be able to go up when the knob is as low as it can possibly go, right!?!)

Would appreciate any ideas or suggestions... I have not contacted MoreBeer yet, as I'm not sure if the regular has gone bad on me or if it's something else with my particular setup. (Which seems pretty basic!)

Thanks in advance!

 

[day_trippr]

Is your cylinder nearly empty?
When I have something wonky going on with a well-established regulator it's usually a tank going empty...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

That^

Or maybe the needle valve is stuck?

 

[Rich1234]

x3. Happens to me too.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Is your cylinder nearly empty?
When I have something wonky going on with a well-established regulator it's usually a tank going empty...

Cheers!

No, the opposite: just had it filled on Friday.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

That^

Or maybe the needle valve is stuck?

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but how do I check / correct that?

 

[Climb]

Do you have a manual valve or better a check valve in your duotight manifold? I am wondering if the beer in your keg is still fermenting and generating CO2. If it is and you don’t have an inline check valve, what you describe can happen.

 

[mac_1103]

I am wondering if the beer in your keg is still fermenting and generating CO2. If it is and you don’t have an inline check valve, what you describe can happen.

Close the tank valve. Pull the PRV until the gauge reads zero. Wait. Does it start creeping up again?

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

I do not... on my old keezer I had a manifold with individual shutoff valves, but on this one it's one line going from the regulator into the kegerator, at which point it's split with simple T-connectors.

(Which I will admit I wasn't keen on, and do plan on adding a manifold at some point, thinking about the Morebeer Duotite manifold/regulator board.)

The beer is definitely not still fermenting, it spent almost four weeks in the tank (the last 1.5 at 40F) and transferred carefully into the keg to avoid yeast pickup.

Turned on the gas about 30 minutes ago, with the knob as loose/free-spinning as it goes, and it's already crept up a couple PSI in just that time.

I'm certainly considering the possibility that it simply went bad (which would be really disappointing, my previous regulator -- some no-name brand I picked up from Northern Brewer as part of a "get started kegging" package -- lasted almost 20 years).

 

[Broken Crow]

I was trying to look up the KOMOS regulator (which is the same as the Kegland Mark IV) and I found this older post where another user eventually found a split o-ring:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/regulator-problem-creeps-up-to-60-psi.186009/
Hope this helps.

 

[505-Brewer]

Return it and get a new one. Regulator is likely faulty.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

I was trying to look up the KOMOS regulator (which is the same as the Kegland Mark IV) and I found this older post where another user eventually found a split o-ring:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/regulator-problem-creeps-up-to-60-psi.186009/
Hope this helps.

Very helpful, thank you!

I've never taken a regulator apart before (I like to say I'm as handy as two left feet), hopefully not difficult.

Wish that post's pictures were still available, not entirely sure which part of the regulator they are referring to.

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Return it and get a new one. Regulator is likely faulty.

Definitely going to be reaching out to MoreBeer to see if they have any recommendations, or if they just want to send a new one. (Not sure how long the warranty is, I bought it last July).

 

[mac_1103]

Standard warranty should be 1 year from date of purchase. I'm sure all sorts of exclusions apply. But you bought a $1,000 kegerator and you're asking them to replace the $60 regulator that came with it, so I would think they'd want to make it right.

 

[Bobby_M]

Set the regulator to 20 psi exactly. Remove the QD from the keg so that just the hose is pressurized. That takes the beer out of the equation. If it stops drifting, it's the beer not the regulator.

 

[IslandLizard]

Set the regulator to 20 psi exactly. Remove the QD from the keg so that just the hose is pressurized. That takes the beer out of the equation. If it stops drifting, it's the beer not the regulator.

That's a good test!

Did that exempt your regulator from creeping?

I have one line going from the regulator into the kegerator

Are you using the regulator that comes with the kegerator package:

KOMOS Regulator
The included high-quality KOMOS CO2 regulator [...]