Dam, couldn't even have 1 beer when I got home from a freshly tapped keg. CO2 cylinder is empty after two 1/2 kegs. Everything is still basically new. I have this regulator; http://www.beveragefactory.com/draf...mercial_double_gauge_beer_co2_regulator.shtml It says that the regulator's pressed in o-ring/gasket never needs replacing. I thought that I did have to tighten the regulator fairly tight to the tank to keep from leaking co2. Hope that is normal and didn't damage o-ring/gasket. I wouldn't think co2 would leak still hooked up to empty keg for a day or so. System should be airtight even without beer in keg, correct? One of the reviews of the regulator, from 2008, said that he leaked out 2 full tanks due to leaking: Just watch out for a leak out the front of the regulator. It's an easy thing to correct by taking the front of the regulator off and adjusting the diaphragm, but I wasn't paying attention and lost two tanks of Co2 before I realized what was going on. What is the best way to search for leaks besides listening for one? Soapy water? anything else to look for?
I would not leave an empty tank with a known leak hooked up to a keg of beer. The beer will off-gas into the headspace and that gas will find the leak and escape until the beer goes flat. So recommend you disconnect your keg until you sort things out. The gasket that never needs replacing is great . . . until you have to replace it. Unlikely this is the problem for a new reg, but over time it will flatten and not seal. Soapy water and/or starsan and high pressure (40+) are my tools for finding a leak. Usually they are on the back-side/dark-corner/upside-down portion of your connections. If this is a new set up don't assume there is only one leak. Once you correct the leaks, the final test is to pressurize the system and shut off the CO2 tank master valve. I let this sit for at least 48 hours and there should be no drop in pressure. If pressure is dropping you can isolate the area by using your disconnects/shut-off valves . . . it will be obvious. You really don't want to make another trip to the CO2 store, they will start to talk. Good luck.
I actually left a filled co2 tank [should have been at least 1/2 full] to the empty keg overnight. I wanted to make sure that wasn't causing co2 drain somehow. I usually turn tank off and unhook empty keg as soon as keg is empty. 1st night on new keg was fine. Got 2 or 3 beers down and went to bed. 2nd night [last night] co2 was empty- maybe up to max 24 hrs hooked up to full keg. I turned off tank valve and immediately unhooked coupler from keg. I still have new a new fiber washer that came with filled tank in case "permanent" regulator o-ring gasket won't seal. I assume I could use that after removing the permanent one, correct? I was going to check for non-obvious leaks by hooking up system, but shutting off co2 valve handle [post-regulator; before keg coupler]. Then turn up co2 pressure with regulator. Regulator was/is set at 10.5 psi. Thanks for the final test stuff.
Do you mean that you detected a leak, so you tightened it down further to stop it? Or that somebody told you to tighten the hell out of that connection, so you did? FYI, this is horrible piece of advice that is given often in these forums. You'll almost certainly damage the gasket that way and, quite possibly, the brass coupler, itself. Use a wrench, but there's no need to put any significant muscle into it. Obviously, you'll want to check for leaks just to be sure.
I highly recommend always using a washer when attaching the regulator to a CO² tank...even the ones that have an inlet seal. There is also no need to remove the permanent seal.
Mike is correct.. If you over tighten you deform the washer and the brass mating surfaces.easiest fix like iceace said just back up with a second fiber or nylon washer. Fiber washers are usually one shot deals.
Just got home from work/bar and getting the co2 tank re-filled. When I was tightening the tank connection, it was at the time I was adding a re-filled tank. I thought it was tightened enough, put the tank and keg back in the kegerator, then opened the tank valve up. Heard leak, puled everything back out, then tightened connection until leak was no longer heard [plus a little further for good measure]. I don't think it was tight enough to cause any damage. I am a fairly decent Harley/Camaro mechanic, so not totally clueless. I just thought it was tight enough at first. I was hoping someone would say that it needs to be good and tight to prevent leaks vs. being extremely careful. I'll probably hook up tank and check stuff out tomorrow; had quite a few Blue Moons at the bar already. I think I'll add the fiber washer on top of the one still on the regulator just to be safe while checking for leaks with soapy water. I'm guessing that maybe it just went empty sooner due to the other issues I've had [bad single gauge regulator over-pressurizing previous keg, among other balancing attempts with understanding temps]. Again, very helpful advice. Great message board members who really help out newcomers to the kegerator process.
CO2 leak ended up being where the hose connects to the coupler. Couldn't tell it was leaking until I slightly wiggled the hose. Tricky. Ended up cutting 1" of co2 hose off and am good to go!!! As I cross my fingers. Now back to drinking some Sam Adams and watching some NFL playoff football!!
I think the hose must have been cut/damaged; maybe by the metal clamp being tight. I almost didn't find it. I was feeling around the coupler, wondering if it was leaking there since I didn't see nothing with soapy water elsewhere. I lifted the hose just a little and heard the hissing. Clamp seemed like it was tight enough. I've removed that hose end from the coupler end a few times since I've gone back n forth between the D & S couplers. I wouldn't think it would leak even without a clamp beings how snug the hose fits on the nipple. So I assumed the hose itself was punctured.
I'll check later and see if they are the same. I may stay on the Sam Adams brand for now. I just really like the taste of their beer; for me- winter lager, boston lager, summer ale. They have quite a few other seasonals I want to try, if available in 1/2 keg size. Their Irish Red looks nice.
Well I'm not 100% sure the co2 leak issue is solved. When it was leaking out at the coupler, it was with a freshly filled tank and I had to actually move the hose to hear it hiss. Couldn't have lost too much. Cut hose end, re-tightened, double-checking by moving hose, no leak at the coupler. Next night, tonight, the one gauge is reading outside of the full green band, but above the red warning/empty band, about right in the middle of both. I know the gauge readings aren't that reliable based on how they work, but I would have thought that the gauge would at least stay in the green zone. To tell you the truth, I'm not 100% sure where it read on the gauge after I hooked the full tank up. My bad for not paying attention; but I thought it was in the green-as I guess on that. So what I was going to do next; 1) Shut off the tank valve before going to bed and see if it holds the keg psi at 11 psi. If it goes down any, then I still have a leak somewhere that I'm not picking up on. If I do still have a leak, then I expect keg gauge to read 0 psi. 2) If looks like I still have a leak, I was going to shut off the valve post-regulator (Last valve on regulator- but before the keg coupler). If keg pressure holds, then leak is at the keg coupler or the co2 hose connection on the regulator. If keg pressure fails, leak is between regulator/tank connection and the last valve on regulator spot (basically the regulator itself). I'll see what happens with that plan 1st. Using a soapy rag, wetting the connections didn't show anything.
Did some more googling/research. I think I'm fine for now. Unless I wake up tomorrow and am out of co2 again!!
The high pressure gauge is not unreliable for this purpose. It's meaningless. It doesn't tell you how much CO2 is in the tank, because that's not what it measures. You need to get that out of your head (it's a pretty common misunderstanding, so don't feel bad ). Think of it like the red oil light in your car. It doesn't tell you how much oil is in the crankcase; it only tells you that it's time to turn off the engine and call a tow truck (that's why they call it an 'idiot' light). The high pressure gauge on the CO2 tank tells you when you're out of liquid CO2 (like you wouldn't have figured that out for yourself after a few more pours). When that gauge drops, it's already too late - you don't have enough CO2 for tonight's party. That said, the pressure will vary with the temperature, but it will remain constant, once things settle down. The red and green bands are kind of arbitrary and actually pretty meaningless in this application. You can tell exactly how much CO2 is in the tank by weighing it on a bathroom scale and subtracting the tare weight (clearly marked 'TW' on the tank). Of course, the accuracy of this method is dependent on the accuracy of your bathroom scale. But it should be useful enough for this purpose. Good plan. Though, if you have a leak, the CO2 will escape the beer in an attempt to maintain equilibrium, keeping some pressure in the headspace. When the gauge reads zero, the beer will likely be flat. I'd disconnect the kegs for the first step. I'll repeat what I've suggested before. When checking for leaks, turn the pressure up to 50 psi or so. You may not even need soapy water (I spray StarSan solution on the connectors). Many leaks will announce themselves audibly at high pressure.
Mike- thats why I didn't go thru with my test plan- because the extra research/googling highlighted the uselessness of that gauge for telling you when you are low. I also seen where the gauge reading is less when refrigerated. That was really probably my 2nd issue; I probably seen where it was in the green when first hooked up, but it was hooked up outside of the kegerator since I was troubleshooting for leaks. After I found & fixed leak, put co2 bottle in kegerator; Ichecked that gauge the next day and seen where it dropped a few hundred PSI. I thought it was because I still had a slow leak; but it was just due to the drop in co2 temperature as it was being cooled down. In the future, if/when checking for leaks, i'll turn the pressure up to 50 psi for the test. I'm sure it won't hurt nothing since it is only for a little while- and not long enough to significantly over-carb the beer in the keg.
