Help with leak, possibly at the regulator!

[allin]

So I brewed my first all-grain batch 2 weeks ago and it''s time to start taking readings and see if its ready to keg this weekend!

But....my first kegged batch was my previous batch and I had a leak somewhere that caused me to lose my 5 lb CO2 tank pretty quickly.

Since it's been several months since I connected everything together (one keg at this point) I got a refill and rechecked my connections. A couple of the hose clamps were a tad loose from the gas line getting compressed over time, so I tightened those up a bit. I also removed the teflon tape from the tank threads per another recommendation.

So....to try to narrow things down, I closed the check valve on the beer side of the regulator....turned on the tank (~12lbs pressure set at the regulator), then turned off the tank and went to bed. The next morning, the gauge read 0 lbs pressure. I was hoping to see the same 12 lbs pressure.

I'm assuming the leak is somewhere between the tank's seal and the regulator. I did a quick visual of the tank's seal and it looks OK. I can see and feel a the o-ring sticking a little above the flat portion. I also did a quick visual of the regulator's seal, and I think it is ok as well. This seal looks a bit different though...it has a groove in it which makes it look like 2 seals next to each other, which sounds OK according to some other threads I've read. Its not cracked at all, I can barely feel the rubber above the flat section. There is not a fiber or plastic washer inbetween the tank and the regulator. According the the B3 site, this washer is not necessary for their regulator.

I took a light Star San solution and sprayed the connection points between the tank and the check valve (when @ 12 lbs) and I didn't see any bubbles. Do I need a thicker StarSan solution and redo the process?

Any suggestions?!

Cheers,

~allin

[surfbrewer]

I had a similar problem in the past. I would suggest doing a slightly higher concentration of star san and do the spray test again. Also, my leak ended up being the regulator itself at a small hole near the regulator pressure adjustment thinga-ma-jig. I finally found it by spraying the shit out of everything and there it was. I had even sprayed that area before and hadn't seen a leak there. Well, I replaced the regulator and that fixed the problem, haven't had a problem since.

Cheers

[Petedadink]

Here is how I find and fix leaks. First turn up your pressure to 50 PSI. At this point if there is a leak it will show. Do the Star san spray on everything.
If the leak is on a barb I dab a little aquarium grade silicone on and refit the barb. this usualy takes care of that. Check kegs as well . I have one that there is a crack on the "in" post . It took a while to figure that one out. I found it by feeling inside the keg around the post. Once you have tracked down and found all leaks its a good idea to check each time you change tanks.

[allin]

Quick update: I ran over on my lunchbreak to the welding supply shop where I swap my tanks explained my situation. Before I even finished my explanation, his first question was: "Did we give you that little teflon seal that sits inbetween the tank and regulator?"

He installed the first seal and gave me a spare! I just put the tank back in the kegerator to let everything cool back down. I'll retest this evening.

Thanks everyone!

[allin]

no dice...gauge is back at 0

I took the tank and regulator assembly over to the workbench and gave it a good dousing with Starsan....found the leak.....I couldn't see it, but I could hear it.

The leak is on the backside of the regulator assembly......it *barely* visibly bubbles out, but I can definatly hear it coming out of one of the threaded holes on the back of the regulator.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to get more supplies when I'm back at the Concord store getting a replacement

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

~allin

[Chris_J]

I had a similar problem in the past. I would suggest doing a slightly higher concentration of star san and do the spray test again. Also, my leak ended up being the regulator itself at a small hole near the regulator pressure adjustment thinga-ma-jig. I finally found it by spraying the shit out of everything and there it was. I had even sprayed that area before and hadn't seen a leak there. Well, I replaced the regulator and that fixed the problem, haven't had a problem since.

Cheers

Same thing happened to me. I got in touch with morebeer and they sent me a free replacement within a week.

[bewm]

Quick update: I ran over on my lunchbreak to the welding supply shop where I swap my tanks explained my situation. Before I even finished my explanation, his first question was: "Did we give you that little teflon seal that sits inbetween the tank and regulator?"

FWIW, I had a leak using that seal with my B3 regulator. The B3 regulator has an o-ring that doesn't require the use of that seal, but others on the B3 forums have experienced otherwise.

Definitely increase the concentration of StarSan and test it again, it should help you track down any leaks.

[Chris_J]

One more tip. Don't waste good starsan. Just use dish soap.