Leaking Gas Line

[Yt2]

Hi Guys,
Trying to set up a 4 tap kegerator and have got down to checking for gas leaks.
Well I have a leak.
I have sprayed all beer line joins, ball locks and regulator with soapy water and cannot find any bubbles.
Do I need to add thread tape to the screw on duotight connector that comes off the regulator to the gas line, as I didn't, but it didn't bubble up either?
Should I have used Starsan or something else.
What would be my next step if I can't find anything bubbling.
Pressure tested at 40psi.
Cheers...

 

[MHB]

Good idea to look for leaks at operating pressure, rather than 275kPa.

Sometimes the extra pressure will force a fitting to tighten up (especially push-in fittings and poppets).
Other than that, use a mix of detergent and glycerine (Linky), there are lots...
Start at the bottle (its valve), the Reg, all the lines and fittings, check the kegs too, the PRV's, cover all the welds, not common but it has happened.
Mark

 

[Ballaratguy]

If using duotight make sure the hose is coming straight out of the duotight otherwise it will leak (my experience) even when taking extra care to cut the end square
I’ve gone back to barbs and clamps because of this

 

[elmoMakesBeer]

If using duotight make sure the hose is coming straight out of the duotight otherwise it will leak (my experience) even when taking extra care to cut the end square
I’ve gone back to barbs and clamps because of this

I’ve made sure my duotight hoses are straight because of this. They work just fine for me. Also make sure the hose is really pushed all the way in. It’s easy to push it in halfway, feel resistance, and think that’s it. But keep going until it really stops. And definitely nothing wrong with barbs and clamps.

 

[Yt2]

OK have tried pressure testing at 12 psi and still had an undetectable leak. Swapped gas bottle & regulator and trimmed the end of the glass line before connecting to the gas.
Seems a lot better now, only lost around 2 psi overnight. Hi pressure gauge has dropped from 900 psi to zero but lost another 2psi on the set pressure in the last two hours.

 

[Yt2]

Should there be zero loss on both gauges overnight or on there always a slight drop?

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Hi Guys,
Trying to set up a 4 tap kegerator and have got down to checking for gas leaks.
Well I have a leak.
I have sprayed all beer line joins, ball locks and regulator with soapy water and cannot find any bubbles.
Do I need to add thread tape to the screw on duotight connector that comes off the regulator to the gas line, as I didn't, but it didn't bubble up either?
Should I have used Starsan or something else.
What would be my next step if I can't find anything bubbling.
Pressure tested at 40psi.
Cheers...

Do you have the kegs connected to the system? How fast is the leak. Can you send some photos of your setup?

 

[Yt2]

No kegs connected, started at 2pm with 12 psi.
Photo 2&3 starting pressure. Photo 4 current pressure 21 hours later.
Thinking of buying a manifold to minimise the amount if joins and less movement of the fittings.

 

[Gollywog]

Dip what connections you can in a bucket of water. That will help with any slow leaks that the spray bottle of foamy liquid missed. You will probably see a very slow bubble form over time.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Dip what connections you can in a bucket of water. That will help with any slow leaks that the spray bottle of foamy liquid missed. You will probably see a very slow bubble form over time.

I would agree with that. Dip all the fittings in a bucket of water. This should reveal the leak pretty quickly if it's in any of the fittings.

That particular model of regulator is known to have issues with leaks so I would then try and check the regulator particularly the high and low pressure gauge.

 

[Yt2]

Fixed,
Water bath showed the cause.
Two of the four red ball lock disconnects were leaking on the screw up head.
I only sprayed the hose connection area.
The regulator in the photo was from my old 2 tap kegerator. I used the second regulator and gas bottle to rule them out.
Thanks for the heads up, I will keep an eye out for leaks if I ever use it again.