Losing CO2 when dispensing

[403Brewer]

I have been going through CO2 like crazy (like 5lb per corny keg) once I hook my keg up to dispensing. I hook up to carb, check all for leaks and it appears to remain pretty much flat on my CO2 pressure gauge so I don't think the leak is there. Once I hook to dispensing it seems like its all good for a few days, then all of the sudden the tank will be gone pretty much over night. Can the CO2 leak on the dispensing side? The tap is fully closed after pouring everytime, only one keg on system while I get this figured out.

Currently the CO2 is in the fridge (mini fridge kegerator) but I'm thinking of moving it outside the fridge and just drilling a hole through fridge so I can turn the CO2 off once I'm done pouring for the day, any issues with losing carb on beer if I do that?

Any suggestions are helpful, thanks!

 

[kombat]

I think you're being a little deceived by the way the pressure gauge works on a CO2 tank. Since the gauge reads normal for a while, then suddenly drops to 0 overnight, you're convinced it's an intermittent leak. In actuality, the gauge will read full until the last little bit of liquid CO2 in the tank converts to a gas, then the needle will drop quickly as the gas is dispensed. But as long as there is any liquid left at all in the tank, the pressure will remain the same. What I'm getting at is, you probably have a constant leak. While your needle is saying "full," your tank is slowly bleeding out CO2 somewhere, and that liquid CO2 is converting to gas.

Let me skip ahead and answer your last question first. There's no problem with keeping your CO2 tank outside the fridge, and it's fine to shut off the gas after a drinking session. The beer will remain carbonated in the keg provided there are no leaks. That last part is key, and it sounds like that's not the case in your setup currently.

So you must find the leak. The first place to look is where your regulator attaches to your tank. There should be a little rubber/vinyl washer in there. If you've got metal-on-metal, then that's almost certainly where your leak is. Make sure you've got some type of plastic gasket/washer in there.

Next, spray some StarSan around any connection points, particularly with the hose clamps. Look for bubbles. Finally, spray around the lid of your kegs.

Get yourself some keg lube, and use it every time you refill a keg. That stuff has made a huge difference eliminating leaks from my own system.

 

[LLBeanJ]

+1 to everything kombat said.

If you're only getting about one 5 lb tank per keg, you have a leak and it is most definitely on the gas side, as leaks on the liquid side will not only leak gas, but beer as well.

 

[theck]

I dunk my lines and such in a bucket of water as well helps to really find the spots.

 

[403Brewer]

While your needle is saying "full," your tank is slowly bleeding out CO2 somewhere, and that liquid CO2 is converting to gas.

Hadn't considered this...but seems more likely than it just dropping to zero all of the sudden.

I guess back to my first question...does it make sense to be losing CO2 or having a leak downstream from the keg? IE from Keg exit, through tubing and up to the tap? Next step is going to have to be for me to dunk everything underwater...I'm using keg lube and sprayed down everything for leaks and didn't see anything.

 

[kombat]

It would not be through the tap because, as LLBeanJ said, if you had a leak on the liquid side, you'd be losing beer, not gas. It's impossible for your tap to leak CO2 - it can only leak beer. Possible places for leaks are:

• The connection between the tank and the regulator. There's supposed to be a gasket/washer in that connection.
• Inside the regulator itself. This would be very unusual and would mean your regulator is defective. I guess if you have a cheap one, this might be a possibility, but the good ones are very well tested before leaving the factory.
• At the connection/barb between the regulator and the hose. Give it a spray with StarSan and look for bubbles. Tighten up the hose clamp.
• At the connection/barb between the hose and the manifold (if there is one). Again, spray with StarSan, look for bubbles, tighten the hose clamp.
• Within the manifold body. Again, very unlikely as these are well tested at the factory.
• At any of the connections/barbs leaving the manifold, and the corresponding hoses. Tighten clamps, spray with StarSan, etc. Close the valves of the manifold, open each one by one, pressurize the system, then close the valve on the CO2 tank. The system should stay pressurized. If so, try it with a different valve until you find one that causes the pressure to drop over a day or so.
• Between the hoses and the keg connectors (i.e. ball lock or pinlock quick disconnects). Again, spray with StarSan, tighten the clamps.
• At the gas-in keg post. Remove the post and replace the O-ring on the gas tube. Make sure the post is nice and snug. Pressurize the keg, then remove the gas line and spray the post. Look for bubbles around the base. If the poppet itself is leaking, that's not good, but it's not the source of your leak in this case, because that would only cause you to lose pressure while the gas connection is disconnected. While the gas line is connected, the poppet is wide open anyway, within the housing of the connector.
• Ignore the beverage post. If it were leaking, you'd know it, because there would be beer trickling out.
• Last, but most certainly not least, the keg lid itself. In my experience, this is most often where the leak is. Spray around the lid with StarSan and pressurize the keg. Look for bubbles around the rim and around the pressure relief valve. If you have bubbles around the PRV, make sure it's nice and tight. If it's still leaking, you may have to replace it or get a whole new lid. If the rim of the lid is leaking, replace the main O-ring and lube it up with keg lube. I usually put on a dollop about the size of a pea and spread it around (top and bottom) the O-ring with a Q-tip. Finally, make sure you're keeping adequate pressure in your keg itself. If you have your regulator set to something like, say, 5 psi, that's probably not going to be sufficient to press the lid closed and form a good seal. You want to keep the pressure at at least 10 psi to really get a good seal on that lid.

CO2 leaks can be extremely frustrating. Hopefully these tips have given you some ideas you might not have thought of yet for tracking down the source of your problem.