Kegging- if I turn off my gas and the regulator holds the same reading

[Ben1]

Hey guys

I've been tearing through gas and am convinced I must have a leak. I did the soap test but no luck.

I disconnected my kegs and turned the gas off and in 48 hours I haven't lost any kpi on the gauge. Does this suggest the leak is in the keg or in the connection to the keg?

 

[timmi9191]

On both high and low pressure gauges?

 

[Ben1]

There are two gauges, the second one hasn't moved either but usually won't until the gas is just about to run out

 

[Rocker1986]

It's pretty normal for the gauges not to move when the gas bottle is turned off in my experience. Last Saturday I turned mine off when the last keg was emptied (and cleaned etc.), manifold valves all off, and the gauges sat at the same pressure for days. It was only today that I'd noticed they'd dropped back to zero. Not exactly sure where that pressure went, there aren't any leaks in my system anymore, otherwise the gas bottle would have been empty very soon after I got it (in December).

 

[GalBrew]

You are most likely leaking at the interface between keg post and quick disconnect. I would be changing the o rings on your keg posts first up and try again.

 

[timmi9191]

I had a similar prob a while back..

Get a bucket of water, immerse each disconnect and your manifolds and check for leaks.

Then connect a keg, pressurize and turn off gas and monitor the pressure. Do this for each keg, one at a time.

I eventually found my leak with this method.

I now leave my gas turned off and manifolds closed. I only turn gas on when pouring. Minimizes chances off wasting a bottle and reduces over carbonation at the keg of the keg.

 

[Ben1]

Thanks timmi. So I'm on the right track that if the gauge doesn't move the system is closed?

 

[timmi9191]

depending whether the manifold is open or closed

 

[Ben1]

No manifold- goes straight to disconnects

 

[timmi9191]

disconnectS

More than 1, so your gas line is split? must be some form of manifold unless you have multiple piggy backed regs?

 

[Rocker1986]

I used to run one gas line that was split to 3 kegs by way of a couple of push-in T-piece fittings, no manifolds or any other regulators. But then I decided that was easier to just use a manifold. And I have found so far that it has been much better.

Also allows me to have different carbonation levels in each keg; if I hook them up at serving pressure I can just try one glass each day and when it's where I want it, I can turn off the gas to that keg and just run it a bit when needed to top it up. It's not precisely accurate by any means but it will do for my situation.

But anyway that's a bit OT... from the sounds of it, the problem is probably at the keg end of the system.

 

[Ben1]

I have the same set up as rocker used to have. Standard Craft Brewer (store) set up

 

[Rocker1986]

Yeah that's where I got mine from too. I bought new kegs though so I wouldn't have to worry about replacing seals or posts or whatever for a while.

I stuck the manifold to the outside of the kegerator with double sided tape and run all three lines through the hole in the back; I had to remove that plastic sleeve from it to get them all to fit, but it works.

The manifold leaked when I first got it and I lost most of a gas bottle. I found the leak, which was in one of the valves. All valves and other screw in bits on the manifold have since been sealed up with silicone, and there are no more leaks. The bottle I've had since December pretty much stays on all the time so it would have died by now if the system was leaking anywhere for sure.

How long does it take to run through a gas bottle? What size bottles are you using?

 

[Ben1]

It's a 3.6kg keg on legs. I turn my gas off when I finish drinking but sometimes drunkenly forget. The bottle was last filled January and has only had a couple of kegs through it

 

[Rocker1986]

Hm, yeah definitely a leak then. I use 6.8kg cylinders but hell, a 3.6kg one should last way more than 2 kegs. It could be anywhere along the line though from the regulator barb all the way through the non return valve (if you have one in place), to the T-piece fittings, the gas disconnects and fittings or the keg gas posts themselves. I know it's probably a stupid question but are the disconnects actually on the posts properly? Sometimes it can be difficult to get them to push the poppet down far enough to get them to fit correctly. A bit of keg lube helps.

 

[dblunn]

Sounds like a leak in the keg posts or keg lid seal.If you can't find the leak just yet why don't you just turn on the gas before you start drinking and then re-gas before retiring for the the night. If you forget to re-gas then no harm done as you can do it the next day when your head is clear. Hopefully you will find the leak in due course. I keep a bag of the post 0-rings in stock as they need to be replace regularly.
Good luck, Dave

 

[ctagz]

i use a pool to check if im leaking gas... just submerge and look for bubbles

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Hose connections may test good one day then bent hard or moved in the fridge they can leak. You can here gas leak when wiggling them sometimes. Not trustworthy if that happens. I eventually got SS small hose clamps for every hose connection. Any fail points from that is O rings in the disconnects. When eliminating all fail points you can turn off your bottle and the reading should not change. The only thing that makes it go down in pressure is dispensing your beer. Or force carbing a new beer will take a bit too until the beers are an equilibrium at serving pressure.
Hope that made sense. :unsure: