so frustrated with keg leaks!

[drummer4gc]

I have been kegging my beer for close to a year, and have had to refill a 10lb co2 tank like 4 times, because it keeps leaking out!

i have pin lock kegs, and i have replaced all of the orings with the silicon ones in the size recommended on this site. I use a thin layer of keg lube on the orings. I do notice that often times when I hook up a tank, i can wiggle the disconnect around and get it to leak a little gas, but often i can get it to a place where it seems to stop. I've switched orings, disconnects, even valves. I have even checked with soapy water when it seems to be sealed and stable...no bubbles.

the only thing i can think of is that my regulators are attached to the back of the collar of my keezer, meaning each time the lid is lifted, the regulators move the hoses around, which may be moving the disconnects around on the keg valves. i plan on moving the regulators so that they dont move when the lid is lifted. but still, it doesnt make sense to me that slight movement might affect the seal and cause a leak unless something else is wrong.


any ideas? any better sealing orings out there? anything else to check?


thanks so much.

 

[drummer4gc]

more thoughts as i am thinking about it...

i have all pin lock kegs. is it possible that my old kegs have old valves, that have oring grooves that have worn down? i wonder if replacing the gas valves and putting on new orings might help. do people have better luck typically with ball valves, or does it matter?

 

[passedpawn]

Maybe you should bottle

j/k. I've been kegging for about a year and it's been a true joy compared to the drudgery of bottling. I have 10 ball locks, and I still have the original tank of gas, a 20#, that never seems to go down. Knock on wood.

 

[day_trippr]

If you can hear gas leak from wiggling a QD, imo there's something wrong.

I have only ball lock kegs, so I can't speak from direct experience, but from what I've read, pin lock posts use a different size O-ring from ball lock posts. So is it possible you used O-rings sized for ball lock posts?

It seems really unlikely that the O-ring grooves could wear, they're totally protected by the O-rings, after all...

Cheers!

 

[Veedo]

Wrong sized post o rings.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/ga...-pushed-normal-217095/index2.html#post4146513

 

[BrewThruYou]

Take this for what it's worth, but I've sourced 3 leaky kegs to the top of the posts and 1 to the lid seal. They are refurbished kegs and the posts look like they've gone through hell. I know these are ball locks and it's a bad picture (should be shot from straight down). You can see the post on the left actually is bent on the left-hand side. On both posts, the poppet openings are not circles anymore...they've been heavily gouged through use and the poppets just aren't seating that well. Being as they are liquid posts, I was hooking up just the gas side and draining my co2 tank. After replacing these posts, I'm doing real well. I also had a similar issue on one gas post...when hooked up, it was fine but as soon as I removed the QD, it leaked...relatively slowly that I didn't notice it, but then I'd find the keg had no pressure later.

 

[drummer4gc]

Ok, got it fixed...99% anyways.

I replaced my gas orings with size 112 from mcmaster carr (i was previously using 111, as the keg oring thread suggests). now i get no gas leaks when i wiggle the disconnects. maybe someone should update the oring thread to let pin lock owners know they might need 112 for gas (still have 111s on my beer out posts, but those never had any leaking problems.)

I then shot soapy water over all the fittings and found a decent leak at (what i think is called) the MFL connection - where the barb screws onto one of the disconnects. I bought a new disconnect and MFL fitting/barb at the homebrew shop, along with a new foot of gas hose just to be safe. i turned on the gas and put the disconnect underwater, and i got some bubbles, but maybe only one every 10 or 20 seconds. it is a REALLY slow leak.

how tight is this fitting supposed to go on? i've heard not to use teflon tape because the connection is made by the plastic section on the disconnect (right after the threads). is this correct? i don't want to crank it on there too hard and ruin the connection.

 

[day_trippr]

When you hook something up with an FFL swivel nut & barb assembly to an MFL connection, there has to be some kind of sealing o-ring or gasket in between.

Usually, MFL-type QDs have that integrated to the end of the threaded post (you should see a plastic piece right at the end). But I suppose some QDs might not have that feature, which means you need to provide the equivalent, which takes the form of a very small plastic tapered ring that you stuff into the swivel nut before making the connection.

It does not take much torque to make a proper flare connection gas and liquid tight. But if you're missing the sealing device, you can reef that swivel nut down 'til your hand breaks and it still won't be gas tight.

Never use tape on a flare connection. Not only won't it provide any solution at all, it will most likely make things worse...

Cheers!

 

[drummer4gc]

there is definitely the plastic sealing piece built into the end of the threaded post. its on there pretty snugly, i'll check again in the morning and see if it has held pressure overnight.