Leaky co2 splitter - video

[carniebrew]

No wonder my brand new 6.8kg bottle of co2 ran out in only 6 weeks and 3 carbed kegs, see the attached video:

http://youtu.be/NC36P7bfcv0

The bubbles are coming from the middle connector. After this video I unplugged that middle gas line and swapped it with the one above, tested again, bubbles still coming from the middle, so it's the splitter I guess, not the line.

Stupid me for not testing this...I originally tested all my individual gas/beer lines after connecting them all up, but when I added the splitter to the system I don't recall checking it specifically. $50 worth of co2 vented into the atmosphere...lesson learned!

 

[Pogierob]

You really should fix that mate. It's no good for the kegs

 

[joshF]

I'd be looking at getting a john guess fitting mate. The black/blue ones from kegking aren't comparable at all to the real deal.

 

[carniebrew]

I notice the ad for the splitter said it was "john guest style" fittings, which I guess means a rip off? Mind you I'd never heard of John Guest before. Oh and the black/blue wasn't from Keg King actually, it was Cheeky Peak, where I got my entire setup from. What's a "real" John Guest fitting look like?

 

[joshF]

The real john guest fittings look pretty much the same but are 2 tone. the main piece of a dull cream color, the part where the line goes is more of a grey colour. Despite not ordering directly from kegking, heaps of retailers actually stock their products. You can usually tell when you see alot of the same products fromkegkings price list also being sold by retailers.

 

[gava]

My mate went to Pirtek in Bendigo and got a manifold setup from there with awesome push fittings/small ball valves and some sweet looking black hose.
When he had it connected up he could pull the hose anyway and pretty hard and no loss of gas.

He had some cheap white and blue plastics fittings before too and kept loosing bottles. After the 2nd refill and $110 he splashed out for the 4 way manifold.
It did cost him about $120~ but no loss of gas afterwards.

-Gav

 

[HBHB]

We trialled those fittings some time back. After forking out for several bottle refills due to piss poor quality control, we swapped them all over to JG fittings, barbed modular manifolds and solid manifolds. Buy once buy well.

But, If that line is just some random soft vinyl hose, you've got no chance of getting it to seal on a push in fitting. Suggest a decent quality beer and gas line.

Martin

 

[Ross]

I agree with Martin - We introduced John guest fittings to the homebrew market here, & despite trialing many different options, we've never been able to find a better product.
It's hard to tell from the video, but the line doesn't look the best quality. If you are using push-fit fittings, never use a soft line or cheap lines like Beva, as you risk losing your gas however good the fittings.


Cheers Ross

 

[Pogierob]

Just a thought, what happens if you take the end plug(bung) and put that in the middle "leaky" one.

It's a long shot, but might be worth a try

 

[mckenry]

John Guest the best? Hate to see the worst. These literally fell apart inside my kegerator. Never had any pressure applied. I know how to use these things, and have had success with them before. These are genuine John Guest, bought from a sponsor.



I replaced them with a manifold. Takes up more space, but I hate losing gas.

 

[HBHB]

John Guest the best? Hate to see the worst. These literally fell apart inside my kegerator. Never had any pressure applied. I know how to use these things, and have had success with them before. These are genuine John Guest, bought from a sponsor.

photo (1) (1024x768).jpg

I replaced them with a manifold. Takes up more space, but I hate losing gas.

Have seen a small number with splits in the grey collar. But never seen that before. I still prefer the solid manifolds over everything else. We are trialling a new breed that looks promising. Only time will tell.

 

[carniebrew]

We trialled those fittings some time back. After forking out for several bottle refills due to piss poor quality control, we swapped them all over to JG fittings, barbed modular manifolds and solid manifolds. Buy once buy well.

But, If that line is just some random soft vinyl hose, you've got no chance of getting it to seal on a push in fitting. Suggest a decent quality beer and gas line.

Martin

Thanks, but how do I tell if it's "some random soft vinyl hose"? It says "Westway Food Grade PVC".

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Lost a bottle of co2 in a short time like that and after spending hours mucking around, I still suspected there were leaks, so now I always turn it off at the bottle when it's not in use.

 

[Dan Pratt]

After losing 2 bottles to a leaky gas disconnect I always turn the bottle of whe not in use.

 

[carniebrew]

Yeah, I think I'll start getting used to only turning the bottle on when the kegs need a top-up of co2. Otherwise off can be the default.

 

[pcmfisher]

I don't see everyone's infatuation with push in fittings whether they are john guest or cheapies.

Maybe if you want to take stuff apart all the time for some reason?

I have much more confidence in barbed fittings.

 

[carniebrew]

Just a thought, what happens if you take the end plug(bung) and put that in the middle "leaky" one.

It's a long shot, but might be worth a try

I tried that, but even well coated with vaseline it's still leaking out of that middle connector. The leak seems to be coming from above the blue collar, it must just be faulty.

pcmfisher, no infatuation here, I just bought a complete 3-keg setup all from the one vendor, and the gas splitter was the only one they had on offer. They offer multiple levels of "quality" on some items, and I went premium on those, like the font, taps and disconnects, but some items there was only one choice, such as the gas/beer lines, clamps and 4-way splitter. They're sending me a replacement splitter, of the same type, and I'll test that thoroughly before use this time....if it's no good I'll look to go barbed and daisy chained fittings, maybe like BribieG was showing in his thread a while back.

After what Ross & Martin said above, I'm keen to know what quality of beer/gas line I have, it's not soft, even when warm...but I don't know if that helps much. No reply yet on mine being "Westway Food Grade PVC".

I see Grain & Grape sell a metal 4 way gas manifold for $39.95, but I've recently read posts where guys are complaining even they can leak, so I'm definitely going to get used to leaving my bottle off when it's not needed.

 

[QldKev]

Yeah, I think I'll start getting used to only turning the bottle on when the kegs need a top-up of co2. Otherwise off can be the default.

Turning bottles of and on is a pain in the ***. You never end up with a perfect CO2 level in the beer, it's just hit and miss. I have 2 separate kegerators and never turn either CO2 bottle off (except when I take it in for a refill). I've been kegging for many years (would be at least 10 yeas by now) and have only lost about 2 bottle of gas over that time. I've said it before, that Keg King **** works out expensive by the time you buy it, loose bottles of CO2 and then end up buying decent gear. Piss that Keg King **** off and get some decent gear and don't look back.

 

[carniebrew]

Turning bottles of and on is a pain in the ***. You never end up with a perfect CO2 level in the beer, it's just hit and miss. I have 2 separate kegerators and never turn either CO2 bottle off (except when I take it in for a refill). I've been kegging for many years (would be at least 10 yeas by now) and have only lost about 2 bottle of gas over that time. I've said it before, that Keg King **** works out expensive by the time you buy it, loose bottles of CO2 and then end up buying decent gear. Piss that Keg King **** off and get some decent gear and don't look back.

Appreciated Kev. I didn't realise I was buying KegKing **** though, there's nothing on the splitter indicating it's KegKing stuff. I got my setup from Cheeky Peak in Albury, and yeah, I was trying to avoid using any cheap components, which is why I upgraded where I could. I'm also happy to upgrade any **** components I currently have, but am not exactly sure how to tell what's **** and what isn't. Obviously the splitter is...so what do I use instead? What are you using?

And how can you tell if your beer/gas line is ****, vs what's good?

 

[QldKev]

I've just gone a mixture of
http://craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=749
and
http://craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=742

It doesn't give a neat manifold, but I never would turn them off anyway. My thought is make life easier so the less I can do the better. I carb my beers up at serving pressure, so I never touch the bottle or reg.

For the line, it's only $1.90 per meter for the JG, I would replace it to be safe.
http://craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2229

With any other bits if you are not sure post a pic of them up.


edit: mckenry's collection doesn't look good, but from my understanding that must have been 1 bad batch. I would chat with Ross or Martin to see if they have had a lot of issues.