Rubber gasket on keezer lid is sweating

[Belgian Samurai]

Hi,

The rubber gasket on my keezer lid is sweating profusely. Before the humid summer began here in the Midwest, I thought it was an air leak with the lid not sealing properly, but often, I find there was/is a strong suction to overcome in opening the lid, so now I'm wondering if it's merely the relative humidity. However, the inside keezer temperature does fluctuate from 36-39F and that is confusing me. There is moisture inside, which has frozen and now melted, which would imply an air leak if it weren't for the times I had to apply a bit of effort to open the lid. While drinking through this keg of beer, I have opened the lid to check on gauges and things and to show it off to people probably 2-3 times per week, FYI.

Before we get to the pictures, I had problems with mold in the faucet spout because I wasn't pouring a glass everyday. I completely disassembled the faucet and washed everything in alkaline wash, reassembled it all and everything is once again swell. Now after pouring a glass, I have adopted a new habit of spraying a no-rinse sanitizer into the faucet spout until it drips clear. Since then, I have not had a single issue with mold in the spout. (Then prior to pouring a glass, I open and close the faucet into a non-drinking glass just to flush out the faucet. Hardly any waste, but enough to see that all sides of the spout got flushed. Then pour the glass, followed by the no-rinse sanitizer.) Since adopting this habit, I have even used a faucet brush to check for mold and the bristles come out clean. So that has been successful even with the high relative humidity. Which, brings me to wondering, if it's merely the humidity causing the lid gasket to sweat, then I don't think we need to do much about it and just continue to have good faucet cleanliness.

Questions to follow the thumbnails.

The pictures:




Notes:
Tap shanks #1-4 have the same amount of insulation on them; however, only tap #3 & #4 are sweating. Taps #2-4 are empty.

Questions:

1. I have seen some people insulate the collar and others not. Should I insulate the entire collar?
   1. If yes, is this very rigid packing insulation okay, or should I get a different type?

EDIT: I found the insulation answer on this HBT forum thread.


As always, thank you for your helpful input!
Belgian Samurai

 

[cajunrph]

Possibly an air leak where the condensation is? So minor you can't really detect it. From the looks of the droplets to me it seems like some air is leaking out that point. Is the seal in good shape?

 

[Belgian Samurai]

Possibly an air leak where the condensation is? So minor you can't really detect it. From the looks of the droplets to me it seems like some air is leaking out that point. Is the seal in good shape?

I purchased the freezer this Spring, but as far as I can tell, the gasket is okay.

A funny thought just crossed my mind: dry off all of the condensation, pump the keezer full of CO2 and use a spritzer bottle to locate the leak. I wonder how much CO2 it would take out of my 20# tank. Haha (but seriously, thoughts?)

 

[cajunrph]

Probably use up your whole tank. Just use an air compressor. The two taps that are leaking seem to be below the other point. Do you feel any cool air there? I'm not sure where you have the keezer. How did you handle the opening? Does it open above the wooden collar or below it?

 

[Belgian Samurai]

Probably use up your whole tank. Just use an air compressor. The two taps that are leaking seem to be below the other point. Do you feel any cool air there? I'm not sure where you have the keezer. How did you handle the opening? Does it open above the wooden collar or below it?

Yeah, the air compressor approach sounds smarter. All 4 taps are the same height. Just verified no cool air was leaking from them. The lid opens above the collar.

 

[cajunrph]

Ok, Maybe the seal isn't as straight there, More likely the wood isn't true and maybe warped a tad. Is there any way to place some additional gasket material on the wooden collar at the point of the leak, You'd have to work with it to make it right.

 

[Belgian Samurai]

Ok, Maybe the seal isn't as straight there, More likely the wood isn't true and maybe warped a tad. Is there any way to place some additional gasket material on the wooden collar at the point of the leak, You'd have to work with it to make it right.

Yep, I think you're right. I'll shut it down, get the lip dried off and fill it with air to isolate the leak(s), then I'll have an idea of what I've facing. I'll report back. It's actually a convenient time as I just emptied that keg.

EDIT: When I built that collar, I didn't have access to a jointer or planer. I was aware that could play a role in the gasket sealing correctly.