Empty Co2 - In 2 Weeks!

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

Hi - I bought a CO2 bottle and kegging kit < 2 weeks ago. I went to pour myself a beer...and the CO2 bottle is empty!! The bottle is 6.8kg.

I had one leak in the gas post because of an ill-fitting poppet, which was blocked when the gas was connected (planning to fix it after the keg is empty). Apart from that no, no other leaks that I could detect. Is it possible that an entire 6.8kg of gas could have escaped in such a short period of time via a gas leak elsewhere? I would have thought that a gas leak would be audible to escape so quickly....

 

[clean brewer]

Hi - I bought a CO2 bottle and kegging kit < 2 weeks ago. I went to pour myself a beer...and the CO2 bottle is empty!! The bottle is 6.8kg.

I had one leak in the gas post because of an ill-fitting poppet, which was blocked when the gas was connected (planning to fix it after the keg is empty). Apart from that no, no other leaks that I could detect. Is it possible that an entire 6.8kg of gas could have escaped in such a short period of time via a gas leak elsewhere? I would have thought that a gas leak would be audible to escape so quickly....

Sounds familiar mate, yes it is possible to lose that much gas with a small leak....

Best thing is to turn it off when not in use... And watch your PRV's also, thats where I lost gas...

:icon_cheers: CB

Best thing about it though is you will become more vigilant, I replaced all old poppets and PRV'S, my gas level has not moved since I got a full keg of gas.... :beerbang:

 

[Bribie G]

What's a PRV ?

 

[Bugglz]

What's a PRV ?

pressure release valve

 

[Bribie G]

Aha, a burper. Can you get a complete new valve or do you just replace a rubber or something?

 

[Bugglz]

Aha, a burper. Can you get a complete new valve or do you just replace a rubber or something?

Nah you have to get a new valve, they're usually about $15

I found most of my leaking kegs were leaking through the PRV

 

[glaab]

Thats a real pisser!, what's that to refill?, $50? Did you go around and spray all the joints/ connections with soapy water?

 

[clean brewer]

Aha, a burper. Can you get a complete new valve or do you just replace a rubber or something?

Yes, you can get a complete new one, they are expensive but shop around for the best price....

I sense that on the older flat ones, they(the seals) cant be replaced. but the new ones can be....

Here is a pic of the 2 different sorts, the old at the top, very different..... The newer sort are longer and seal better also as they fill the hole of the lid alot better.....



:icon_cheers: CB

 

[Tony]

A while back i was going through a bottle a month.

I couldn't find the leak on anything in the system..... i spent countles hours with spray bottles of detergent looking for bubbles.

One day i disconected the lines and upended the top of the bottle with the reg still hooked up and under pressure into a bucket of water. I found a stream of bubbles coming from a little vent hole on the base of the reg.

I took it to MHB who pulled it apart for me and we found it had a small piece of crap stuck on the rubber seat of the pressure side and the gas was just leaking out there.

WARNING: SUBMERSING YOUR REGULATOR IN WATER WILL STUFF ALL THE FIBER SEALS INSIDE IT. So if its not stuffed...... it will be!

I have warned you!

cheers

 

[tdack]

Wow! Two weeks, I feel for you. I'm just about at the end of my bottle and it's been nearly two years! And there have been a few kegs poured from it I can tell you.

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

Ha, thanks for the replies, so it seems to be user error! As mentioned, I will definitely learn from it. I didn't spary with soapy water either - just filled up with starsan, charged with CO2 and looked for leaks.

It's only $25 to refill thankfully, Thursday I will be up and running again. Rest assured, I will be turning the gas off and then checking my kegs closely!!

Cheers all, thanks for the tips and replies

 

[Fents]

another good way to check for leaks without using soapy water is to dial the gas up to 300KPA without a keg connected. if the dial starts dropping back you have a leak somewhere.

 

[Fourstar]

I found most of my leaking kegs were leaking through the PRV

You will also find this to be the case if you put PRVs back onto a different keg after cleaning. I'm assuming as they are old, dinged up and tempremental like a keg on menopause they usually only want to pair with their respecive kegs. Try switching them around on your kegs, you may find it solves any leaks you have. Its probabaly got something todo with the PRVs seal or length (ive noticed some are slightly longer than others) It did with mine.