Greetings all, new to the forum and to kegerators in general, hoping to find some help out of a very frustrating experience; any input and advice would be appreciated! I purchased this kegerator: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insign...kegerator-matte-black/5733204.p?skuId=5733204 The first time we used it, we used the left line, put a 1/4 slim keg and after three days emptied the keg. no problems. Next week we bought a 1/6 keg, plugged it into the RIGHT line and connected everything up the same as before. The night we hooked it up, it was working fine, had a few drinks and left it connected overnight for a party the next day. The next day comes and we pour a beer and the tank is completely empty and we couldn't drink our keg. bummer. So the next week I go and get a new tank of air, and figuring I maybe didn't tighten something, connected it back up, and used a spray bottle with soapy water to see if there were any leaks. I sprayed every connector I could find, with the exception of the spout itself at the top where the beer comes out (I didn't think to check this). I could identify no leaks. This was on Tuesday. We had a few drinks then. Wednesday I checked it again; no leaks, had a few more beers. Same again Thursday and Friday. Saturday comes and we're have a party again to make up for the previous week, pour the first beer and ZERO pressure; the tank is empty!!! here are my questions that have me lost: 1. Am I not supposed to be able to leave it connected, with the tank on for several days like that? 2. If I am supposed to be able to do this, how could the tank be empty, if I checked it for leaks? 3. Could the tap itself be bad? How would I know? 4. I waited a day after the FIRST keg (which had no issues) to turn off the tank. could that have contributed to the loss of co2? the second keg used the same c02 tank, and the first day it worked fine. 5. Is there a better, sure fire way to check for leaks? 6. Is there anything besides a leak that would contribute to the co2 loss? I wish I had connected it to the LEFT line this time around, but like I said, for FOUR days it worked just fine; no drop in pressure. Of course, if there was a slow leak that does make sense, but I checked everything except the tap, because I didn't know how. I'm hoping that perhaps the right tap is broken somehow. I mean one time, user error, my bad, totally my fault. but the second time I checked everything for leaks, so either I'm an idiot (still very likely) or the thing is broken, in which case maybe I can get a repair or replacement, as I should still be under warranty... if there is more information I can provide, please let me know, as I really don't want to go through this again and keep throwing money away! many thanks!
You can leave the CO2 connected and on at all times, you have a leak. Run the pressure up to around 40psi and repeat the test if you don’t hear the leak at that point.
Check and see if u got rubber seal btwn gas nipple and your connection piece ...it might have fallen out or be damaged but should be able to see something inside line connector .. like an o ring
Until you find your leak, don't leave the tank master valve on overnight. High pressure and coating each fitting with soapy water is the way to troubleshoot. It's possible to troubleshoot in stages for very tricky leaks. Pressurize system, then turn off master valve and regulator shut off valve . . . see if pressure (40 - 50) holds overnight. Then with coupler disconnected from keg, open the shut off valve and try again overnight (with master valve off). You are trying to locate which fitting is the culprit (don't forget about pressure gauge and tank master valve fittings). Also, it's possible you have more than one leak, so don't stop once you find one. Don't be afraid to dunk your coupler in a bucket of water. The only fitting you shouldn't test under high pressure is your coupler/keg connection (could test for short time, then vent excess from keg). CO2 tanks are made to be left hooked up with pressure. The keg being empty or full should have no bearing on leaks. It's rare for the body of a reg to leak, but don't overrule this. FWIW, every home keg operation goes through this process at least once.
You have a cut rate kegerator. We will be glad to help out here. You have an appliance that does one job and only one job and it is failing. Be prepared to fix everything else. And I do mean everything. Return it and get your money back. Spend a few hundred more and enjoy quality draft beer. Or spend a few hundred replacing the shit you already have. Sad but true. The couplers in particular are of absolute ridiculous quality lately. They just don't fit correctly, the machining is awful, the chrome plating is a joke. Bad all around. You'll need two. That's about $90. In the mean time, check out the archives. Cheers.
I recently bought the same kegerator. I also had a gas leak the first week. I believe mine was due to not tightening down the tank to regulator tight enough as it has now held for a month. I don't believe this is a cut rate kegerator. It has great reviews and is the same kegerator sold by amazon for kegco. I guess the cheap part could be the regulator, but i have had not other problems.
wow thanks so much for all this great info!! what a great community. I'm going to take some time to parse through this and try a few of the suggestions, but I did also reach out to the manufacturer who said I'm welcome to bring it to BestBuy to redeem warranty service. i'm not sure what that means yet, but I'll surely find out and report back. thanks again everyone!
i finally got a chance to take this thing in (had to wait for a friend with a truck!) but when I did they had trouble figuring out what to do. First they tried to do a return to MFR for warranty, but the system wouldn't let them ship it. Eventually the manager came and said to just swap it out, and apparently that's what they do, since it's their brand and it's easier that way. Unfortunately the item is no longer available for sale. They said they could give me the current model (seems identical to me) but it was priced about 200 more, and I would have to pay the difference (I got it on sale). That didn't work for me, so they gave me store credit for the full amount, and when the new unit goes on sale, I will buy it (despite this experience). I know these do come down all the time, and I know it's not the best item in the world, but I think I got a bad unit and I'll try again. If the worst that happens is I have to truck it back over there and do it again, I'm not out anything but time. Heck next time i'd probably get the 4 year warranty too like Swiveln mentioned above. They told me that with that one, they would have come to my house to either fix it, or I could have swapped out to the upgraded model even though the price was different. Any of that works for me, so yea I'm satisfied, and will report back when and if I get a replacement. thanks for the help everyone!
When you go and purchase the new version on sale what makes you think you aren't going to have the same experience? Even if something was faulty you never determined what was faulty. The next system is going to leak CO2, I can almost guarantee it. It doesn't matter whether you buy the Insignia or if you go out and buy an expensive commercial unit. You are going to have to learn how to diagnose the leaks. Unless you did what PortLargo suggested then you didn't do enough to find the leak. When I first had my kegerator years ago I had a leak even after doing the soap water trick. So just be prepared to be patient and we can help you figure it out. Now the truth is what billandsuz said is accurate, its a cut rate kegerator. I have a cut rate kegerator as well so its just a matter of knowing what you are getting into. The first question for a unit like this is whether it can get to or below 38 degrees F. Not all can, if this unit can without modification then first issue out of the way. Next is lifespan, you never know with these units, they are basically college fridges. Finally its all the components such as couplers, tower, faucets, etc.. At the price point those components are junk, plain and simple. The fridge part might be fine but without a doubt the components are junk. The plating on the faucets will wear off and whatever base metal is underneath will be exposed to your beer. Fairly easy to replace those and not super expensive. The regulator is also junk, I just replaced the one that came with my kegerator. The old one got whacky at lower pressures. The tower is probably non standard and not a simple replace. Your's might be fine since its a dual faucet tower but mine was single and when I went to 2 I had to make some modifications to make the new tower fit. This isn't to dissuade you from buying the Insignia, its just to let you know what you are getting into. Good luck and we are always here to help
fair enough, thanks for chiming in! I don't disagree with you that i need to learn and be willing to put more effort into it; i am going to give it another shot, and do some research in the meantime, and I do definitely appreciate the help and info in this and many other threads. i'll report back once i'm back in the game!
