Co2 Leak

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mosquat
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Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:24 pm

Hi all,

I think I have a leak but just wanted to check something as I'm always confused by the way my regulator works..

So if I have Co2 connected and only disconnects (i.e. no kegs are connected) should I expect to see the regulator gauges remain at a constant PSI?

In the above test setup I turn on the co2 and then turn it off again (so I don't lose all my co2) - overnight all gauges will have dropped to 0

I noticed on the top of the regulator there is a small hole which is there by design (from Redditch Controls) and I can hear gas escaping here. I'm just not sure if this hole is mean to release gas for some reason...i.e. if the co2 is off perhaps there's a reason to slowly release co2 from a "gassed" regulator??

I expect not..and dont want to try to find out the answer to this the hard way by leaving my co2 on overnight...

thanks for any comments

C

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LeeH
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Co2 Leak

Post by LeeH » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:41 pm

It should leak from any point of the system IMO. Bottle to reg or reg to keg.

I leave both my CO2 and N2/CO2 on 24/7 if i have a keg attached.


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Last edited by LeeH on Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mosquat
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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:42 pm

thanks Lee - sorry do you mean "shouldn't" ?

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LeeH
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Co2 Leak

Post by LeeH » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:43 pm

Shouldn’t!

Sorry.

Maybe time for new reg.

I use these. http://www.micromatic.com/gas-equipment/beer-regulators

Cannot remember what U.K. supplier I got them from.


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Last edited by LeeH on Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mosquat
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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:43 pm

:D

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:30 pm

LeeH wrote:
Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:43 pm
Shouldn’t!

Sorry.

Maybe time for new reg.

I use these. http://www.micromatic.com/gas-equipment/beer-regulators

Cannot remember what U.K. supplier I got them from.


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Thanks for the link, my reg isnt even all that old but I have always disliked it. Its meant to be able to carb one keg and provide serving pressure for another but I have only ever been able to get the guages to sync...think I will just replace this annoying item

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:40 pm

Around the 1.30 mark, this gentleman mentions a possible diaphram issue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahT0N09sLFU

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by Dads_Ale » Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:10 pm

I had a similar issue with a regulator mounted on a distribution board. I assumed the hole was there to vent pressure in the event the diaphragm was damaged or failed. Mine also leaked through this hole. Needless to say I replaced the regulator.
I do get a bit of a drop over time with everything turned off, reg gauge goes to zero after a couple of days, but I figure I can live with this as I don't leave the cylinder open and have a lot of lines connected(except when I forget LoL) as the volume of the line is very small,

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:21 pm

thanks for the replies - as co2 is difficult to get hold of (even more so at the moment) I hate to see any wasted :) Will be shopping for a new regulator. Hoping a gas board crops up on articles for sale on this forum

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by alexlark » Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:54 pm

I went with these, good brand and cheaper. Also brand new off eBay. They appear from time to time. Around £15 each:
https://www.micromatic.com/economy/1-pr ... -1141-mini

My main reg is then a cheap welding one. Makes for a cheap reliable setup.

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by f00b4r » Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:44 pm

mosquat wrote:thanks for the replies - as co2 is difficult to get hold of (even more so at the moment) I hate to see any wasted :) Will be shopping for a new regulator. Hoping a gas board crops up on articles for sale on this forum
I know you missed out on mine but it is probably worth putting up a wanted thread for one, beers have a tendency of amassing stuff and not being very good at clearing it out.

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LeeH
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Co2 Leak

Post by LeeH » Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:44 pm

The problem with the welding regs is the lack of pressure relief.

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:55 pm

Thing I disliked most about my redditch reg was the ballache of adjusting the psi. Looking to the co2po they seem to have addressed looks of brewers issues.

Was also thinking of starting a wanted thread for a gas board too, cheers f00bar


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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by PeeBee » Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:47 pm

Most regulators have a "hole" in the body to vent gas.

Regulators will vent gas (into the regulator body, hence the hole) if the pressure on the supplied side gets too high. Regulators designed to handle noxious gases have no such vent system for obvious reasons.

I use this mechanism on certain "secondary" regulators so the regulator can be used as a "spunding" valve - for fermenting under pressure (a whole lot better, and cheaper, than the crappy "poppet" spunding valves). But many regulators that have this feature are not very accurate at doing it.

Some regulators intentionally bleed tiny amounts of pressure from the supplied side, forcing the regulator to constantly make up the lost pressure. This allows the pressure setting to be quickly dialled down as well as up but are intended for air compressors (continuous air supply). Ones to avoid! But you can accidentally stumble on these - I did!

The OP doesn't seem to describe a regulator that intentionally leaks in this way.

I do have a Corny disconnect that leaks when not attached (it's fine when attached). You discover these if spraying them with Starsan or the like before connecting.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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Re: Co2 Leak

Post by mosquat » Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:58 pm

Thanks for such a detailed response. I don’t think my leak is by design, I’m edging closer to trying to get hold of the co2po and not trying to get a board


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