a leak. ouch… thought my last keg was just empty, so got the replacement, and squat. my big question to all of you is if you have had this problem, did your kegs empty as well? my kegs have no pressure (my empty keg had no pressure) and i’m nrevous about my beer being oxidized.
Your beer should be fine just flat find the leak fix it and recarb.
I don’t mean to thread jack, but this raises in interesting issue. I know most people leave the gas on at all times, but I know of a few guys that keep the gas off, only to give a blast of air during/after a drinking session. Any thoughts? I know the occasional blast is a PATA unless your gas is outside the keezer…
I’ve thought about this as well. When I went away for a weekend recently I decided to turn my tank off. Came back, was able to pour a pint and then gassed back up. Things went fine. But 2 days only. I wonder what would happen if I went away for a week.
I thought also that if I would leave for a week, and wanted to leave the gas on, just remove the tap lines as I’ve read where some have leaked all over. I’m not really sure what the best action is.
In my kegerator where the CO2 is behind the kegs on the compressor hump it stays on all the time. For my chest freezer where I condition kegs I just hook up the CO2 quick when I’m pouring a beer. As long as your kegs seal when they will hold pressure.
One caveat is that when you’re carbonating a beer (set and forget method) you need to leave the CO2 hooked up as the CO2 is going in to solution and you need the tank hooked up so it can replenish the CO2 in the head space and keep the pressure steady. That concept seems to trip up a fair number of people new to kegging.
I wouldn’t want my kegerator if I had to constantly turn the gas on and off. Of course my tank is inside, but even it was outside… I still wouldn’t want to do it. The whole point of kegerator is to have readily available beer with the pull of a handle. Not with the turn of a knob, pull of a handle and turn of a knob again. Just seem silly to me. But like always… this is just my opinion.
I recently dealt with several leaks due to faulty worm gear clamps. To verify that the leaks were gone I shut the gas off at the tank and monitored the regulator pressure for 5 days and it was consistent.
Yes I do occasionally abstain from drinking during the week and yes I know it’s a problem and I’m working on it.
I have kegged for the past six years and have not experienced this problem (knock on wood). Turning off the gas between uses would be an inconvenience and shouldn’t be necessary.
Wrathis said “Yes I do occasionally abstain from drinking during the week and yes I know it’s a problem and I’m working on it”.
I will keep you in my prayers. Best wishes in overcoming this condition.
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Yeah, I’m 99% sure I know where the leak is, as I recently changed my setup. I was just surprised that it backflowed and ran out of the kegs. But, I guess it makes some sense pressure wise. Oh well, lesson learned, don’t skimp on the clamps.
Also only use Oetiker clamps they won’t cut your hoses like the screw type will.
I don’t even have clamps on most of my hoses. :roll:
I leave my gas tanks on all the time. Get a spray bottle and fill it with Starsan solution and spray everything down while the gas is on. If there is a leak, the solution will bubble. Leaks can happen at the regulator, the In and OUT posts of the keg, where gas lines are split, etc. I have 4 kegs being served by two 5-lb tanks that are split with Ts. The T connections are just wedged together into the gas lines with no fasteners of any kind and they do not leak, thank Jeebus. But things change over time and if you suspect something, keep that spray bottle handy and double-check.
Manifolds can be a problem spot. Mine was such a slow leak I could only detect it after submerging the whole manifold in a bucket of water. Even then, it took minutes before a tiny bubble would appear. I’m in the no clamp camp. 3/16" ID tubing on 1/4" OD barbs.
[quote=“roffenburger”]I don’t even have clamps on most of my hoses. :roll: [/quote]Me neither and I have never had a leak.
turns out it wasn’t the clamps at all… it was a faulty pressure release on a keg. fixed!!
I use Ken’s methods after suffering my first loss of 5lbs. Worse yet is when I didn’t push my OUT all the way down only to come back and find 5 gals of Bock in the bottom of my kegerator…
