Very slow regulator CO2 leak

[ritaelyn]

I have a 8 month old taprite regulator.

And it's leaking very slowly. How concerned should I be? With the CO2 tank OFF, and both output valves OFF, the high pressure gauge goes from 800 psi to 700 psi over 24 hours. It's losing 50-100 psi every 24 hours. This is a *slow* leak, so slow that spraying soap or star san doesn't show any bubbles. I've tried replacing the oring on it but it's still leaking.

Where may it be leaking at? The diaphragm? One of the gauges? Should I get a new regulator? Or can I live with this leak?

Will it be fine to leave the tank off and only turn it on for serving, or will it eventually leak all the co2 out of kegs and make my beer go flat?

 

[bpgreen]

I don't know where it could be leaking and I'm pretty bad at diagnosing leaks, so I can't help there.

But after I had a couple of canisters run completely out in a couple of days, I routinely turn off the tank except when I need it for dispensing.

 

[thisjrp4]

I've had a regulator leak. But a new one.

 

[The_Bishop]

It's probably leaking at the valve stem on the CO2 tank. They're designed to seal completely only when fully opened. When closed, the stem seal is allowing the CO2 left in the regulator to seep out.

 

[day_trippr]

I didn't want to start a thread for this revelation so I'm tagging on the end of this one as someone might run into it some day.

The hot side of my humble brewery was shut down from July until this Monday due to home renovations. Over that time I did some periodic maintenance of my brew rig, RO system, ferm chambers, conditioning fridge along with a keezer overhaul.

Included in all that was leak testing multiple gas systems, and I found one of them would not hold gas overnight (charged up, close cylinder valve, checked gauges next morning). All of the other systems are still holding test pressure - now almost a month since they were charged (which is pretty cool, actually )

I had that regulator's shutoff valve closed so it was clearly a very localized issue, so I disconnected the cylinder and reg from the conditioning fridge, stuck it in my cheap slop sink, and commenced soaking every connection with bubble fluid. Could not spot a leak.

And then serendipity struck: I got distracted by a story on the news.
5 minutes later I came back to see the wee bastid had been exposed!

I have three other Chudnow primary regs in service and a spare dual primary (upgraded that set to a Taprite) and none of them have tape or evident thread compound around the PRV. Best as I can tell they rely on a brass-to-brass seal - and there's a chance if I had tightened this one down more it might have resolved the leak, but after putting some pressure on the fitting I was reluctant to see if it would turn any further.

So, I taped it.

It don't leak no mo'!

Cheers!