CO2 regulator needle bottomed out, but beer still flowing

[ryan408]

I put together my kegerator a few months back and am part way into my second keg. When I put the kit together the CO2 regulator needle was over the red in the dial, which I assumed shows how much pressure is inside the bottle. It's a 5 lb bottle. Towards the end of the first keg the needle started dropping fast. Now, part way into the second keg the needle is resting at the bottom of the dial as if there's no pressure in the bottle any longer, but I've been pulling beers off it just fine with a perfect head for a week plus.

What's going on here? Is my bottle really that empty after 1 keg? I thought a 5 lb should last longer.

Thanks.

[psychodad]

If your co2 is inside the fridge, the gauge reading will not be accurate. If it is outside, you're losing gas to a leak.