Loss of tank CO2, Spike in line. Can't explain. Help?

[bjlasota]

Hey all,

Pretty new to the kegerator trade as I got one as a wedding gift, but definitely a veteran at drinking brewskies. I drank my first keg this weekend with friends and for the most part, everything went fine. I broke it in with Killians, had my liquid temp about 38, and CO2 pressure about 9 lbs. Throughout the whole weekend, the beer flowed perfectly, perfect head, temp, and taste! I ran into an issue Sunday night and I'm looking for the cause before I purchase another keg.

All day Sunday the beer poured great. Sunday evening I sat down and wanted to have a couple beers. I started a pour and all I got was foam. I have a dual gauge regulator so I looked at my pressures. The tank pressure had dropped into the red zone to about 100 lbs, and my line pressure had spiked to about 20-25 lbs. What caused this spike? I checked for leaks on my lines and couldn't find any. Is it possible that the line may have micro-cracks that I can't tell with a soap test that slowly leaked over the weekend. What caused the drop in pressure in the tank so far(line leak?), yet made the line pressure double?

Looking for some help before I get another keg. Looking at new gas lines anyways. Is it bad to put a longer gas line? Mines currently 4', but I need about 5' to reach outside my kegerator when I've coupled up with the keg. Any help is appreciated!

[djc]

Sounds like your regulator is creeping. It can be disassembled and cleaned, some people report good luck with this fix, others seek replacements from the manufacturers under warranty, and others just buy a good quality regulator from a reputable source (many of the regulators that come with low end units are cheaply made overseas). A leak will not cause the pressure to rise, it will cause you to empty the tank. Your tank reading may just be off because it is inside the unit, when you chill it, the reading drops. Not a big deal, but you don't get much warning when you are about to run out because the needle is usually low anyway. The length of gas line doesn't matter, the length of beer line does.

[bjlasota]

Thanks DJC. I'll shoot for getting a replacement regulator as it's still under warranty. I'll hope to get a good one. When that one proves to be junk, I'll then invest in something of a higher quality. I got an 8 foot beer line for a 5 cuft fridge, which I think is enough as the beer was pouring perfectly this weekend.

[Sketch]

Agreed that the regulator creeped - but seeing as how your tank is also empty, you have a leak for sure. A leaky system can cause a regulator to misbehave, I have a Micromatic premium gauge, it had some creeping issues when I had a leak in my connections, although yours certainly could be defective as well.

Perform a leak test to find the leak, you certainly have one: Micro Matic Keg Beer Blog

[bjlasota]

I checked for leaks and installed the new regulator and I'm still havin the same issue. Not noticing a loss in tank pressure but am noticing the pressure in the line go up from my set pressure of 9 to around 20. Any thoughts on the issue?

[KillianBoy]

bjlasota,
Kind of unusually that you have 2 bad regulators, but it's happened before. Can you post brand of your gear and type of refrigerator? Maybe pictures, maybe it's something your doing or not doing, that we can't see but might be wrong. Also what brand of regulator and why does your tank need to be that far away. Your numbers at the start seem off but it might be CO2 slowly went up and got right, I don't know none of this sounds right.
KB

[bjlasota]

There really isnt a brand on the regulator. It came with my kegerator kit which is a great northern frosty keg. I set the pressure at 4 psi this morning and it creeped up to about 10psi a couple hours later. What do I need to do in order to unhook the keg to test all the equipment outside the kegerator? Can I just pop the coupler off or do I need to set it to a certain pressure? I'd like to submerse the hose in water to check for leaks around fittings and all. Is it possible that my regulator may only creep so many psi before it stabilizes out?

[Sketch]

I posted a link to a leak test in my previous reply- that will help you easily find the source of any leak without having to submerge everything.

You can also spray soapy water on all the connections and if you have a larger leak, that will certainly create bubbles and show the problem area.

First thing I would do would be replace the regulator. A non branded regulator that creeps that quickly can't be trusted, in my opinion.

[KillianBoy]

bjlasota,
I kinda confused as to why you have the tank outside and it's a 5 cu ft and not 6 cu ft and you have 8 feet of line, as the stand alone kegerator is listed as a whole the numbers are all different (I didn't think they sell conversion kits), but make sure (I have to ask, sorry if these questions are stupid but I have no pictures) that you have the right ID of line for all the hoses, clamps and make sure the tank is upright. If all of this is what your doing right, use soapy water and try but if you still have creep, you can (but not recommended by MM) try and submerge tank, regulator and coupler (in off position) in a container of water. There should not be any leaks and you can be certain the regulator isn't leaking.
But as Sketch says replacing the regulator would probably work if your doing everything right.
KB

[bjlasota]

The tank isn't outside and i do believe that the frosty keg is a 5 cu ft. I'm using all the materials that came with the kegerator. After looking at all the reviews and the amount spent on it, I would think that all the materials were good enough quality and of proper size to quench my thirst. Maybe I was wrong? I'm looking to get a little longer gas hose because the one that came with the kegerator is short and I can barely mount my gas bottle and put everything together with the keg outside the unit. It would be easier to tap the keg while it's outside of the kegerator, then load it up.

[bjlasota]

Possibly fixed?

I set the pressure really low a couple nights and it's creeped up to 10 psi and holding steady. I have the temp set to 39 and its pouring at that temp. However, when I pour, it drops about 2psi and stays. So now it's currently at 8psi and holding. I'm afraid to touch the regulator and turn it up and cause it to start creeping again, so I might just deal with the low gas flow.

[djc]

Not a good long term solution. You will either be undercarbing the beer (you will have breakout in the lines, and it will eventually go flat), or over carbing it and you will get foam. It needs to be steady and tuned to the v/v for the particular beer.

[KillianBoy]

bjlasota,
Sorry missed end of that sentence, I think my line 3 1/2 feet and I don't have problems, I put one side of the keg up edge of kegerator, couple, turn on and push in, no problem, the Haier is basically just as far from that point to CO2 tank, I don't need 5 feet.
Check the regulator, if screw type make sure the nut is tightened down to lock down adjusting screw, when you adjust, I usually tug on the coupler pressure relief valve till it goes down under 10 PSI, then I adjust up to wanted PSI, lock down the nut and it should hold, but again with these cheap regulators, it might be best to replace with a new MM regulator.
KB