Time to beat a dead horse-CO2 leak

V-Fib · Aug 30, 2016

So I've burned up a 5# tank and now a 20# tank of CO2. After the 5# tank I hooked up the 20# and found I had a loosish nut on one of the quick lock gas connections. I tightened it and found no other problems. So I rehooked up my three kegs and all was fine for 3 weeks. Then I found the 20# was empty. So my troubleshooting process has been:

Prime everything to 30 PSI, sprayed everything with dish soap solution - nothing found so I loosened a hose clamp to see what a leak should look like (It looked pretty obvious)

Next I disconnected all kegs, kept the gas lines, manifold and regulator all under 30 psi. Then I submerged everything, one at a time in water, again no bubbles seen.

Next step I left all the lines primed under the 30 psi with the gas off for 24 hours, pressure held right at 30

So now I'm dropping the pressure to 10 PSI and testing one keg at a time even though I didn't see bubbles when they were sprayed.

Only other thing I can think of is filling a garbage can with water and submerging the kegs... anyone else have ideas or things that worked for them?

HomeDrewBrew · Aug 31, 2016

Did u check the co2 tank itself for leaks?
They will sometimes leak around the regulator and barbs and the nuts too.

IslandLizard · Aug 31, 2016

Unless it has a built-in washer, you'll need one of those fiber washers where the regulator connects to the tank. Some people use the fiber washer regardless, not trusting the rubber washer inside, as it could be flattened or deformed, and not seal properly.

The valve on the tank should be all the way open or all the way closed, never anywhere in between. In the open position, the valve packing needs to be compressed to make a good seal.

Slow leaks can be very hard to troubleshoot. Be systematic, start with the tank, than with the regulator connected, then with manifold/hoses/QDs connected, etc.

A bad or undersized (skinny) o-ring on the gas post or a burr or crack in the wrong place on the post can slowly empty a tank too.

Double check all connectors, hoses, clamps, etc. The QDs have a screw top (a slotted lid). make sure they're tight. There's also a flat washer underneath that little plastic screw top, making a tight seal. If it is missing or deformed it will leak too. Reportedly, round o-rings also work fine in those screw tops, easier to obtain than the flat ones.

Sometimes a regulator is leaky, or the brass connection tubes between the various sections. They can be very skimpy with teflon tape. The dial can be leaking too.

If the leak is significant, the top of your tank will feel cold to the touch, in worse cases it will be iced over.

Read up on various leak detection methods, there are quite a few threads on those. You're not the only one.

Jim311 · Sep 1, 2016

I might even crank up the pressure further to make those leaks more apparent. A leak at 50 PSI is a lot more detectable. Sometimes once it's dropped to 10 PSI it doesn't even leak at all, but at 50 it pours out. It sounds like you could be leaking at the gas post or keg lid if you've verified everything else, or the regulator.

SGTSparty · Sep 1, 2016

When I've had leaks that were hard to find they typically involve a QD. as IslandLizard said turn the screw on them, check the swivel nuts, reapply keg lube. And when you're checking them w/ the dishsoap mixture, try and jostle them some. I had a couple QD's that were really temperamental so they'd be find when I was checking them on the floor but as soon as I lifted them back into the kegerator they'd get bumped and start leaking or I had a DQ that only leaked on 1 keg for whatever reason. They can be tricky so my 2 cents is to start there, especially since you were holding pressure when the system wasn't hooked up to the kegs.

HomeDrewBrew · Sep 1, 2016

I can agree with SGT ive had the same problem but mine was due to a faulty gas Post.
So everytime the gad qd got moved or turned it would leak.
The post had scratch dent on it so when connected it leaked.
What a pain!.

V-Fib · Sep 10, 2016

Finally found it after what seemed like checking and rechecking everything 100 times. It ended up being a leak between the splitter and the on/off hose barb coming off the regulator. Odd thing was I wasn't getting any bubbles with dish soap and water or star San. I had the pressure up to 30 psi and decided to put my ear and cheek to every fitting. Ended up hearing it. Thank the hops and grains it's (hopefully) over.