BeerBorg

K I have a slow leak somewhere in my system. It takes about four months to empty a 5# tank. I have done the soapy water test several times never a bubble!!!! I have only noticed this in the past year because I have not been drinking much. I am suspecting a couple of bad kegs. One keg will be flat and the other has carbonation. Any ideas from the BORG WISDOM ARCHIVES

How many kegs do you have hooked up to that 5lb tank? My tank with 3 kegs constantly hooked to it lasts me about twice that long. I think I get about 12-15 kegs out of 1 tank as an estimate.

I thought this was about getting old and having trouble... Nevermind.

I would think you need to pressure an empty tank and give it the soap test, the one that goes flat would be the likely culprit I would think.

I agree with RickBeer. Your leak might not be coming from the usual gasket suspects. You may want to test the release valve if you haven't already. Those can sometimes be where the leak happens.

That's a pretty slow leak. I'm not sure how much would even show up with a bubble test. I'd be inclined to replace the gaskets on the kegs.
Do you use keg lube?

Nope I have not been using keg lube. I generally store the empty kegs pressurized. All of the pressure reliefs are fairly new. I bought new lids for all the kegs I got from work they had the old pressure relief valves. How do you check these?

I would try to hold the keg under water in the tub or something for a little while to see if any bubbles form, then go from there to the next item in line. like each fitting, even the regulator may have a small hole in the diaphram.

I just fill my kegs with a little starsan, pump in 30 psi and spray the lid and popets with star san to see if anything is leaking.
Also, I have some used kegs that the lids only fit tight in 1 direction so if I have a slight leak, I just rotate the lid 180 and it always locks it in for me. Not sure why this is but it's definitely the case on 2 of my used kegs.

When setting the lids, here's a tip:

Connect your CO2 but don;t open it yet. Set regulator to about 25psi.
Put the lid in and pull it up but don't lock it down (meaning don't pull the arm down to fully seat it).
While holding the lid, open the valve on the CO2 and let the gas push the lid up and find the best seating. Then, you can lock it down, vent, etc. This has helped me get good, solid seals every time, but I still recommend keg lube, too.

That being said, this is only going to help if the leak is in the lid somewhere. But, it's a good way to get a good seal nonetheless.

I think my next step is to recondition all of my kegs. One of the ones that was in the beer had CO2 coming out of the gas post when I disconnected it yesterday. The poppet was stuck in the open position!

Sometimes just replacing the tiny o-ring on the poppet is enough. I also use lube on those rings and on ALL the rings on my kegs with each new beer. Takes a few minutes but seems to save the life of the rings.

braukasper wrote: One of the ones that was in the beer had CO2 coming out of the gas post when I disconnected it yesterday. The poppet was stuck in the open position!

Remember, when the gas disconnect is hooked up the poppet valve is ALWAYS open anyway. Now if you want it sealed with it disconnected then sometimes a quick push with your fingernail will reseat it or replaced the poppet or O-ring. What you don't want is a leak with the disconnect hooked up. That could be the post O-ring, but there is also a O-ring up in the disconnect.
This is a great source for O-rings. I have enough to last me through my brewing career. I went with the silicone O-rings for my gas posts, just to make it easier to identify them. The silicone O-rings are orange.

Thanks for the linkie Inkie!

I have applied keg lube to the 2 kegs that are hooked up. Will start reconditioning the kegs this winter. Has anyone tried the floating intake that Williams Brewing sells?

braukasper wrote:I have applied keg lube to the 2 kegs that are hooked up. Will start reconditioning the kegs this winter. Has anyone tried the floating intake that Williams Brewing sells?

Could you please link me to this item at Williams, I can't find it and am curious about it?