ARGHHHH!!! CO2 leak!!!!

[Kinleycat]

Lost 2/3rds of a cylinder of CO2 over the last week.
Checked all the joints with soapy water and nothing.
Put a new cylinder on and continued to lose, so ive closed it off.
I have everything rfuning through a gas management board - could it be this?
I was thinking of putting the punctured bike inner tube theory into practise and submerging in water, are they waterproof?
HELP HELP HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bobsbeer]

Not sure the gauges will be waterproof. Some have a hole in the back and or the dial front is not sealed as under normal circumstances it doesn't need to be. Sounds like a right pain to find.

 

[screamlead]

I would think filling a bath with soapy water then connect the gas to the board and just submerge the outlets would find the leak ? Not sure if theres any rubber seals in them or not as dont have one = yet ! If found maybe a possibility to remove said outlet???
Thats my theory anyway? :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

I'd try screamlads suggestion but put the gmb in the water vertically and don't submerge the regs. I too had a leaky gmb, I had to shut it off between uses (though it wasn't the GMB's fault). I found a way round it though and that was to make a rigid connection to the gmb then connect the lines to there. The GMB ports are just like John Guest fittings, if you apply too much pressure with the bend in the gas line they will leak, so even with the 'fix' I did applying too much pressure to the joint will just cause a leak at some point. Let us know how you get on :thumb:

 

[Kinleycat]

I'm confused!!!
When I turned on the CO2 cylinder to test this afternoon it read 750psi which is what it does with a full cylinder, despite reading 650 this morning.

Two to three hours later its back down to 700

The last cylinder dropped through the red section in about a week, so I'm not going to risk it again.

 

[kev]

The pressure inside is dependant on temperature.

It'll go up and down as it gets warm and cold.

K

 

[Kinleycat]

Will it drop down to zero from 500 psi in a week at just normal "summer" temps or would i have to live on the sun?

 

[joe1002]

Nope, the pressure goes up the warmer it gets. I think Kev was referring to your pictures, the pressure went up during he day and back down in the evening. That is normal in my experience.

To drop from 500psi to 0 in a week means you have a leak somewhere. I always turn my co2 off when I am not using it. :thumb:

As V says, the push fit connectors on the GMB can leak if your co2 line does not exit dead straight. Have you also chacked the connections at the regulator and co2 bottle end?

 

[Kinleycat]

Checked everywhere Joe!!
The drop in temp on the photos was at a reasonably constant temp the first pic was at 3:30pm and the second at 5:30pm. so about 17c.
I have a y connector to split 2 lines from the main line for the 2 cornies in the fridge that are at a jaunty angle so that could be the culprit, but having said that it has always been the case and i never lost gas before.

 

[Vossy1]

Is the loss happening with the lines connected to kegs, ie, could the kegs be leaking.

I have a y connector to split 2 lines from the main line for the 2 cornies in the fridge that are at a jaunty angle so that could be the culprit, but having said that it has always been the case and i never lost gas before.

I thought you'd checked all joints with soapy water, if not get em checked and the cylinder joint too.

 

[Kinleycat]

Is the loss happening with the lines connected to kegs, ie, could the kegs be leaking.

I have a y connector to split 2 lines from the main line for the 2 cornies in the fridge that are at a jaunty angle so that could be the culprit, but having said that it has always been the case and i never lost gas before.

I thought you'd checked all joints with soapy water, if not get em checked and the cylinder joint too.

When i had the big loss i had only one connected and i checked it with soapy water on the posts, seal and pressure release.
I feel a deconstruction coming on!! :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

When i had the big loss i had only one connected and i checked it with soapy water on the posts, seal and pressure release.

Did you check the gas in disconnect? They should have a seal in them if it's missing that could be the culprit.

 

[mixale]

I've had several minor leaks in the past where you connect and disconnect several times and the ends of the plastic line is very scuffed and scratched.
Beer line is cheap enough - disconnect all lines, trim ends cleanly and reinsert.

Also had the same problem with non-straight entry into JG fittings.

 

[ScottM]

I think you may be misunderstanding the way pressurised gas is contained in a cylinder. When it's pressurised to those levels it becomes a liquid, the liquid then fills the cylinder until it weighs xxkg, generally 6.3kg for our homebrew cylinders.

Normally you will see around 700-750psi, this will be the case until all the liquid is used up in the cylinder. You won't notice any pressure change (other than heat fluctuations) until ALL of the liquid has ran out and only gas is left. When this happens the pressure will drop RAPIDLY, over a very short period of time.

If your cylinder was 750psi one day and 0 the next, this doesn't necessarily show a leak..... it just shows the liquid as used up and the cylinder de-pressurising.

Is it possible that your cylinder has all been used up through natural use?

 

[Kinleycat]

I think you may be misunderstanding the way pressurised gas is contained in a cylinder. When it's pressurised to those levels it becomes a liquid, the liquid then fills the cylinder until it weighs xxkg, generally 6.3kg for our homebrew cylinders.

Normally you will see around 700-750psi, this will be the case until all the liquid is used up in the cylinder. You won't notice any pressure change (other than heat fluctuations) until ALL of the liquid has ran out and only gas is left. When this happens the pressure will drop RAPIDLY, over a very short period of time.

If your cylinder was 750psi one day and 0 the next, this doesn't necessarily show a leak..... it just shows the liquid as used up and the cylinder de-pressurising.

Is it possible that your cylinder has all been used up through natural use?

:wha: This is highly likely!! :lol: :lol:
Cylinder 1 went from the low 500 to 0 in about a week having taken about three months to go from 750 to 600 this was running anything from 2 to 6 kegs and initially probably overcarbing, does this sound about right?
Cylinder 2 went from 750 to 650 overnight and then back up again to 750 later that day only to drop down to 700 later that afternoon.
Im not paying the earth for CO2 £15.99 a cylinder with no initial deposit so i'm happy if its not pissing out everywhere with that cost for 3-4 months of gas, i just don't want to see this one empty as quick as the last one seemed to.
Either i will have to check under water, disassemble, or suck it and see with cylinder 2 and see what happens (or even all three), i have a back up cylinder if needs be.

 

[ScottM]

I think you may be misunderstanding the way pressurised gas is contained in a cylinder. When it's pressurised to those levels it becomes a liquid, the liquid then fills the cylinder until it weighs xxkg, generally 6.3kg for our homebrew cylinders.

Normally you will see around 700-750psi, this will be the case until all the liquid is used up in the cylinder. You won't notice any pressure change (other than heat fluctuations) until ALL of the liquid has ran out and only gas is left. When this happens the pressure will drop RAPIDLY, over a very short period of time.

If your cylinder was 750psi one day and 0 the next, this doesn't necessarily show a leak..... it just shows the liquid as used up and the cylinder de-pressurising.

Is it possible that your cylinder has all been used up through natural use?

:wha: This is highly likely!! :lol: :lol:
Cylinder 1 went from the low 500 to 0 in about a week having taken about three months to go from 750 to 600 this was running anything from 2 to 6 kegs and initially probably overcarbing, does this sound about right?
Cylinder 2 went from 750 to 650 overnight and then back up again to 750 later that day only to drop down to 700 later that afternoon.
Im not paying the earth for CO2 £15.99 a cylinder with no initial deposit so i'm happy if its not pissing out everywhere with that cost for 3-4 months of gas, i just don't want to see this one empty as quick as the last one seemed to.
Either i will have to check under water, disassemble, or suck it and see with cylinder 2 and see what happens (or even all three), i have a back up cylinder if needs be.

500 means that the tank is empty of liquid and running off of pressure. Dropping to 0 over a week sounds about right.

750 to 650 is strange, perhaps a misreading? I would expect between 700 and 750 depending on temp. This won't drop until there is no liquid in the tank.

 

[Kinleycat]

it would appear my leak was the cylinder depressurising as ScottM advised.
I have left Cylinder 2 on for we'll over 24 hours and all is well.
Thanks for everybody's help!!!
Stand down!!! Panic over!!! Return to barracks!!! :

 

[ScottM]

it would appear my leak was the cylinder depressurising as ScottM advised.
I have left Cylinder 2 on for we'll over 24 hours and all is well.
Thanks for everybody's help!!!
Stand down!!! Panic over!!! Return to barracks!!! :

Easy mistake to make, I didn't realise how it all worked either until I started setting up my own system :)