Regulator gauge indicates a CO2 leak somewhere

[browndog]

Brewers,

I've got one of those cheap "tesco I think" regulators for my CO2. It is usually hooked up to 4 kegs. I noticed the other day that when I shut the valve off on the cylinder, the high pressure gauge immediately dropped to zero. I unscrewed the gauge out of the regulator body and reapplied some thread tape thinking there was a leak there, but it continues to drop to zero when the valve is shut off. Is the pressure leaking out into the kegs or are the high pressure and low pressure sides of the regulator separated from each other as I have always thought.

thanks

Browndog

 

[dmac80]

Sounds to me like you have a gas leak somewhere in the system.

You should hear the gas flow through the reg if the pressure drops immediately though.

Have you tried taking the gas QD's off the kegs to see if that stops the leak?

Cheers
Dan

 

[browndog]

Hmmm... hadn't thought of that. I'll isolate the system at the manifold and see what happens.

 

[MastersBrewery]

have the same problem with mine, I have a leak at the gas cylinder tap, a spray bottle with detergent and water is your friend, gas it up and spray liberally.

 

[stux]

Sounds like a fast leak, so should be easy to find.

 

[browndog]

have the same problem with mine, I have a leak at the gas cylinder tap, a spray bottle with detergent and water is your friend, gas it up and spray liberally.

Yeah, I thought the leak was around the regulator somewhere so I sprayed as much as I was game to on the valve and reg and got nothing. The strange thing is the high pressure gauge drops, but the low pressure gauge does not budge.

 

[MastersBrewery]

quick question ..... how long till the lp guage drops?

 

[browndog]

quick question ..... how long till the lp guage drops?

The HP gauge drops in a minute. The LP gauge doesn't drop at all.

 

[MastersBrewery]

BD in that case what you descibed in your op would have been my solution ..... scott me F#$%ed

 

[stux]

Does the gauge drop when you turn off the gas bottle, or the regulator?

 

[browndog]

When you turn off the gas bottle.

 

[dmac80]

I've found that the HP gauge can drop if there's a leak on the LP side, before the LP side drops. The leak will use the gas in the LP side, the regulator will maintain the pressure in the LP side by using the gas trapped in the HP side after the valve.

You should be able to pick up an HP leak fairly easily i'd reckon if there was one.

Cheers
Dan

 

[matho]

I found exactly the same thing as Dan, if I have a leak in the LP side of the regulator then if I turn off the bottle the HP side drops quickly but the LP side stays unchanged for a long time.

 

[NewtownClown]

Check the nylon washer where the reg screws onto the bottle. They should be changed every time a new bottle is swapped out. That is what I was advised when I experienced the same issue as the OP. Fixed

 

[Dan Pratt]

Hi All,

Im currently battling a leak somewhere and after losing 2 bottles of 2.6kg Im now thinking its the Tesco Gauge. My 4 way valve did have a leaking valve which I swapped out and that stopped leaking and then i found my keg king QD had micro micro bubbles leaking out.

I removed the 4 way manifold and created a new single line with a andale QD and filled with pressure to 100kpa, turned off the bottle and within 15mins the HP gauge would drop and then the LP gauge would too....?

I think the reg is rooted, can you get them repaired or just buy a new one?

 

[QldKev]

Looks like it may be leaking, not sure.

You can buy a kit for the reg.

 

[Dan Pratt]

See i created a new 4 keg system under my bar and the gas/reg was in therer with the kegs. I went away for a few days and when i got back th temp was -7c. the gauges on the bottle looked low and this is when i decided to remove the gas/reg and run a line into the keezer. Since then the reg/leak has become a real issue.

Im heading to the LHBS this morning as will see if they do a kit for it and possibly borrow a reg to see if thats the problem. after much elimination it only leaves the reg to be the problem.