New to kegging and having CO2 problems

you can assume that your beer is not at proper CO2 concentration. it doesn't really matter though. fix the leak, then hook up your CO2 at the desired pressure and wait until the beer has balanced. the regulator will provide constant pressure in the keg and the liquid will eventually absorb gas until balanced. if the beer is 75% carbed, the it won't take very long. if it was only 25% complete then it will take longer.

if you use the set it and forget it method to carb your beer, then just set it and forget it.
Cheers.

 

You need to start from the beginning. If there was a leak, then very little of the CO2 entered the beer.

This is pretty common for somebody new to kegging. Leaks can be hard to find. I recommend pressurizing you keg to 30psi and removing it from the tank. Check the keg day or two later. If the keg doesn't hold pressure then at least you know that the problem (or one of the problems) is with the keg.

 

Go to a quiet area, crank up the PSI on the regulator, hook it up to the keg, and listen.

 

Gas disconnects (and the posts they connect to) don't have washers. Can you describe the parts in different words?

 

I would assume that the CO2 that was forced into the keg while the tank was under pressure all escaped from the keg after the pressure in the tank stopped. The leak let your gas from the tank escape, then the gas that had been in the keg probably escaped from the same place. This is different if you have no leaks and simply use up all the gas in the tank as it is still a closed system.

Use a spray bottle with soap and water to get suds and go at 30psi. I simply couldn't find the leak anywhere until I sprayed the 3 way splitter I had purchased and found that the weld was bad on one of the valves and let gas escape. I had to bypass that valve and deal with only 2.

 

You mean like the nut on the right side of this pic?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...ab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_1941.jpg

If so, yes, that needs to be tight so that the dish-shaped face on the bottom of the barb (left side of pic) is tight against the gas quick-disconnect's plastic tip.

 

Make sure you put keg lube on all of the O-rings on every keg. This goes a long way at preventing leaks and maintaining the seals.

 

If the leak was upstream of the check valve, the beer may be fine.

+1 on billandsuz's recommendation for the set it and forget it method. It doesn't matter how far along the beer is, this will make it right. It will just take some patience.

To find leaks, crank the pressure up to 50 psi. Most leaks of any consequence will be audible at that pressure. Spray every connection with soapy water or StarSan and watch for bubbles. Some small leaks will close back up at normal pressure, but don't rely on that - fix them all.

 

Or, as mentioned, set the PSI at the "set and forget" equilibrium setting (depending on your beer temperature and desired CO2 volumes), wait a couple weeks, and enjoy. You can't overcarbonate this way.