Source
r/Homebrewing•
scuff

CO2 tank running out in a week?

I upgraded to a kegging system earlier this week, and my 5# CO2 tank is already empty.

One thing I did notice is that when I got the tank filled, the entire thing was covered in frost. I know that it's supposed to be a little bit cold when it's filled, but this seemed excessive. How much of that is normal? Could that be an indication of a problem with the tank?

The connection between the tank and the regulator was leaking when I initially hooked it up, but gently tightening it with a wrench seemed to solve the problem. I left one keg attached at 10psi the entire time. (It's a dual regulator, but the beer for the other keg wasn't ready yet and I left the other one turned off.)

I'm already planning on spraying the connections with soapy water once I get it refilled tonight. Is there anything else I should look for?

Posted Aug 24, 2012, 3:13 PM UTC

211
superhash•

You've got a leak no doubt. One thing I've found to help with sealing up my kegs is to pressurize it up to a good 30psi to get the O-rings to make a solid seal, and then back it off to my carbonating/serving pressures using the release valve.

Also, keg lube on your o-rings if you can't get them to seal.

3
mbridges•

Try adding things into the mix one at a time. Start by leaving the tank in the fridge with the valve closed. Then, attach the regulator and leave the outputs closed. Then put tubing and connectors on and open the regulator outputs. If you still have no leaks, put the keg in place.

One thing you can try to help your kegs seal is boil the lid and gasket. It makes the gasket more pliant which helps it seal.

2
ExtraSpecialBidder•

I have a leak in my regulator which isn't going to be resolved (broke in a move), which I deal with by not leaving my tank open, but instead bringing the pressure up by opening and closing the tank after every glass. A lazy but effective way to deal with it if you can rule out the keg as the source of the leak.

1
scuffOP•

It does look like my regulator was knocked around a bit when it was shipped. The plastic covers over the meters were knocked off, and there's a mark on the top. In my case, if I can narrow it down to the regulator, I'm going to exchange it for a new one.

Adjusting mine after every glass would not be practical. My tank is inside the fridge, behind the kegs.

1
sychosomat•

Since they are refilling your tank, just be sure to measure it after they do. The tare weight should be on the tank. Some places that do refills don't do a great job and this means you only get 2-3 lbs instead of the full 5.

As for the leaks, the soapy water trick should help, also use a cup of water to submerge your QDs in to see if that is an issue. Tightening those help me a lot. Also, another technique is to detach all your kegs turn your CO2 on, then off quickly. Then wait and see if the CO2 leaks. By adjusting what is on pressure various ways with different shut-offs and the CO2 in the system, but off, you should be able to localize the leak, making it much easier to spot.

1
boost2525•

Refurbish your kegs. Seriously, do it... it costs like $5 - $10 per keg and solved all of my leak issues.

You'll get new o-rings on the posts, new springs for the posts, and a new o-ring for the lid.

1
_JimmyJazz_•

leak. 20# lasted me 1.5 years

1
beertastic•

Definitely a leak (been there it sucks), and usually it is the kegs.

Get a spray bottle of star san (I prefer fresh star san batch over soapy water) and spray all around the edges of the keg looking for little air bubbles forming. The star san should be foamy enough to detect leaks.

You can also pressurize each (carbed) beer, then shut off the pressure (don't serve any beer). Give it overnight then release the pressure one at a time. All the kegs should still hold pressure, if not that keg is the culprit.

Also, go ahead and replace all the o rings and get some keg lube as already mentioned. I really like the keg lube I think it helps with the seal. My lhbs sells a set of o rings for less than $3.

Also, just go ahead and give everything a good tightening (you don't have to over tighten), maybe something came a little loose messing around in there.

1
scuffOP•

I did already replace the o-rings when I got the kegs. I didn't know about the keg lube until it came up here. (someone else mentioned it to. Between these things, I should be able to figure out if the leak is in the keg or the connection to the reg, or even the reg itself. I wasn't able to make it to the place I got the tank filled before they closed today, though.

1
randumnumber•

A problem area for me was where the tank screws onto the regulator. There is a little plastic flat bushing that after a few uses needs to be replaced. It eventually gets compressed to the point where it doesn't seal anymore. They are cheap at the welding or air gas store.

1
scuffOP•

The problem ended up being the release valve on the regulator, it's leaking a little bit all the time. It doesn't look like there's much I can do about it, so they're sending me a new Reg.

The keg does hold pressure on its own. Thanks for the help guys.

1