Used corny keg - possible leak

[phildo79]

Bought a used corny from The Homebrew Company last December. Put my first brew into it 3 weeks ago.
I batch primed. Poured myself a glass last night and it was flat. When I received the keg, I gave it a thorough clean and replaced all the O rings with new ones. And when I filled the keg, I seated the lid with C02 and purged the oxygen.

I have it force carbing ATM with 20 psi. I have sprayed the lid and posts with star san and can see no bubbles of escaping gas. This has never happened to me before. I can only imagine the batch priming didn't work due to a leak. I emailed the guys that sold it to me and asked, 'how exactly do you pressure test these kegs?'. Their response was, 'the kegs are sold as is. We pressurise each keg and check it after a week to ensure no leaks.'

Not exactly promising. The answer kind of made me think if it's broken, then tough.

Does anyone have any ideas why the batch priming didn't work (other than a leak)? It is around this time that you start to doubt yourself but I am 99.9% sure that I primed the keg.

Appreciate the help guys.

 

[-Bezza-]

When the keg arrived, was it pressurised? All three of mine were so it was clear they were not leaking.

When you cleaned, did you remove the posts? I had a very small leak on mine after I removed which was caused by not tightening up enough. I needed to use a proper socket wrench not an adjustable spanner.

Try testing with some washing up liquid and water because the bubbles will be more obvious than starsan.

 

[phildo79]

Can't remember if it was pressurised or not.
Yeah, I removed the posts. I had to, they were caked in soda pop. One of them has a really unusal looking nut to tighten it. However my shifting spanner seemed to do the job. But perhaps it didn't do the full job.
Think I'll transfer into my other keg when I get home. And then try that soapy water trick. No sense losing more C02, in the vain hope that I just forgot to prime.
Cheers!

 

[BarnBrian]

Can't remember if it was pressurised or not.
Yeah, I removed the posts. I had to, they were caked in soda pop. One of them has a really unusal looking nut to tighten it. However my shifting spanner seemed to do the job. But perhaps it didn't do the full job.
Think I'll transfer into my other keg when I get home. And then try that soapy water trick. No sense losing more C02, in the vain hope that I just forgot to prime.
Cheers!

When you initially close the lid and pressure up, it's best not to lock the clamp until the lid is seated and not indicating any signs of leaks.

 

[The Baron]

I have got to say I have bought around 10 Cornies from HBC and all have been pressured up when they have reached me, yes some have needed the odd new gasket/O ring to make them upto the standard I required long term but they are sold as used Cornies and you can buy reconditioned ones from them at a higher cost. If you get one from them and it was not pressured up all you need to do is email them straight away and I am sure they would have sorted it out for you. If you then dismantle them for cleaning as most people will you may get problems getting them to seal straight away but eventually all mine have all pressured up. I tend to lift the cornie up withe the weight of the beer in it to make the large O ring seal before pressing the sealing handle over or you could use some lube or KY Jelly on the O rings to aid sealing

 

[BarnBrian]

O ring seal before pressing the sealing handle over or you could use some lube or KY Jelly on the O rings to aid sealing

Reminds me of the newly weds who couldn't tell the difference between KY jelly and putty. All their windows fell out.
I'll get my coat!!!!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Reminds me of the newly weds who couldn't tell the difference between KY jelly and putty. All their windows fell out.
I'll get my coat!!!!

I honestly belly laughed when reading that. :thumba:

 

[BarnBrian]

I honestly belly laughed when reading that. :thumba:

The sad thing is, I was told that joke when I was an apprentice in 1965 (it was vaseline then)

 

[The Baron]

Oh I get it now Vaseline!!!

 

[Minimag1]

Joking aside, I use vaseline or keg lube on all my seals now to avoid leaks, seems to work for me - I have bought 2 lots of 3 reconditioned kegs from HBC (all were well pressurized on receipt!) and have suffered no leaks. It is worth trying this.

 

[phildo79]

I always use lube... and sometimes I even use it on my kegs.

Just joshing. Yeah, I always use Vaseline on the O ring on the lid. I have a reconditioned keg from Malt Miller that has caused me no problems. In fairness, I didn't dismantle that one like I did with the used one from THC. But that's the norm when you buy a used one.

I did the soapy water test and didn't notice anything escaping. I even loosened one of the posts and still didn't see anything. In fact, it felt like I had to loosen it quite a bit (figuratively speaking) before I seen suds coming out.

I will make sure to use the proper tools to tighten the posts and perhaps put the old lid O ring back on. It looked in good nick when I took it off.

 

[chrisbjones202]

When you originally seated the lid how much pressure did you use and did it pop up fully? I’ve got 4 HBC ones one of which the lid is tight in the opening and needs a bit more pressure than the others.

I’d give it a few days pressurised to see if it carbs. Is it chilled or room temp?

 

[foxbat]

I suspect that your keg and its seals are absolutely fine. The lid needs pressure to seal. The gas you used to seal the keg will have been absorbed in the first few hours leaving you at zero psi then you're relying on the lid sealing under the pressure building from the slow secondary fermentation. It's possible that didn't happen and the CO2 escaped from the unpressurised lid.

Another possibility is simply that the secondary fermentation was just slow. You say you managed to pour a beer but it was flat. You need a few psi to pour so perhaps it's just slow to referment.

 

[phildo79]

When you originally seated the lid how much pressure did you use and did it pop up fully?

I probably used 10 psi but may have used up to 20 psi.

I suspect that your keg and its seals are absolutely fine. The lid needs pressure to seal. The gas you used to seal the keg will have been absorbed in the first few hours leaving you at zero psi then you're relying on the lid sealing under the pressure building from the slow secondary fermentation. It's possible that didn't happen and the CO2 escaped from the unpressurised lid.

Hmmm, never considered that since it didn't happen with my other keg. I think I will blast it with C02 and leave it for a few days. I had it force carbing for nearly 24 hours but when I purged it with the release valve, it emptied after one or two bursts. That shouldn't happen. It's possible I just didn't get the lid bang on straight, I suppose.

 

[xozzx]

The lid needs pressure to seal. The gas you used to seal the keg will have been absorbed in the first few hours leaving you at zero psi then you're relying on the lid sealing under the pressure building from the slow secondary fermentation. It's possible that didn't happen and the CO2 escaped from the unpressurised lid.

This sounds the most likely. If you are wanting to save CO2 then set it to about 5psi and leave for about 5 days at this. That should be enough to keep the seal until the yeast gets going again.
Lube will also give a much better seal.

 

[phildo79]

I had a very small leak on mine after I removed which was caused by not tightening up enough. I needed to use a proper socket wrench not an adjustable spanner.

Do you know the size and name of this different socket? The post I have looks like this one on the right:

 

[HarryFlatters]

I've just ordered a deep 7/8" socket for my kegs. I'll tell you tonight if it fits

 

[-Bezza-]

Do you know the size and name of this different socket? The post I have looks like this one on the right:

I don't know for sure as I've only ever seen ones like on the left. I would guess that it's a 12-point version of the 6-point nut on the left. That being the case, I would guess at 22mm as that's the size of the 6-point version.

You'll need a deep socket wrench to get over the top of that post. Alternatively, a rachet spanner might work.

 

[phildo79]

I have seen universal grip sockets that might work but they aren't cheap. £15 to £20 minimum and there is no guaruntee that it'll work.

 

[-Bezza-]

I have seen universal grip sockets that might work but they aren't cheap. £15 to £20 minimum and there is no guaruntee that it'll work.

Might be worth taking a punt on this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00UALJKKA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 although I would think a ratchet version would be better longer term.

Alternatively, you could take it down to your local car mechanic and see if they can tell you exactly what tool you need. Take a beer with you and you won't have any issues getting help! I have a professional mechanics tool set and it didn't even take one minute to find the right size tool and get the post off, so can't imagine anyone would be too bothered about lending you a quick hand - it's just a case of having the tools available!