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Kegging Conundrum HELP!!

darvinlikemarvin

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Apr 7, 2013
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Location
Iowa
I was going to keg my first batch of homebrew last weekend and ran into an issue that I cannot figure out.

Equipment -

5 gal ball lock corny keg,
5lb co2 tank,
threaded plastic disconnects for gas and liquid

I filled the keg part full with Star San. Then I closed everything up, connected the gas and liquid lines, and filled the keg with co2 to run Star San through the liquid line. As soon as i turned on the co2, water started coming out the top of the black plastic disconnect.

Here are the troubleshooting steps I went through (all unsuccessful):

- took the black disconnect off and kept the pressure on the tank to see if the leak was happening at the metal posts....no water coming out with the disconnect off

- double checked that I had the gas and liquid posts on the correct side....I have gas connected to the "IN" side and liquid on the other...both were wrench tightened

- checked the o-rings on the post and dip tubes.....all were in place and intact

- disassembled the liquid post and pulled out the poppet..nothing appeared out of placed or broken (to the novice eye, that is)

- disassembled the black plastic disconnect...unscrewed the plug cap....again, nothing appeared cracked or broken

I ordered a replacement disconnect piece but I'm wondering if anybody has thoughts as to why this is happening??
 
If these parts are like ball valves, I learned (also the hard way) that the pieces of different brand ball valves are not interchangeable.  So, if you bought different kegging pieces and have taken them apart to sanitize them, perhaps you paired some mis-matched parts. 

I feel your pain.  I switched to kegging last fall and it seems every batch has met some issue like this.  The tiny washer ripped in the last one I did.  Before that a leaky cobra trigger end was to blame. 

I *think* I have replaced all the crappy equipment. 
 
Good to know! I reordered a replacement disconnect along with another set of o-rings and some keg lube. Fingers crossed!
 
I pretty much wasted 3-5 lb bottles of CO2 by not leak testing,..won't happen again if I can help it!
 
I've never sanitized a keg in the fashion you describe. I usually soak all the keg parts in Starsan, fill the keg with sanitizer, then dump it back into a bucket. I wipe the dip tube off and suck sanitizer through it three or four times, then reconnect all the keg parts. I do the same thing with the lid, and use keg lube on the o-ring about every third or fourth batch to prevent the ring from cracking. You can test for leaks by simply injecting C02 connected to the ball lock connector (IN), then look for leaks everywhere by spraying soapy water on all the suspect areas. I suspect you have a bad disconnect if you can't see any leaks from the procedure I just described. Could be an issue with a bad poppet.
 
Check to see if there is a black rubber washer on inside of the connector.  I bought a connector once and it was missing that washer.  The leak came from the top of the connector.
 
Detmurds said:
I pretty much wasted 3-5 lb bottles of CO2 by not leak testing,..won't happen again if I can help it!

I wasted about the same amount even though I thought I had leask tested everything!

What I do now is that I only open the cylinder gas valve and leave it open when I expect to be using the kegerator for a couple of hours, then I try to remember to shut it off - depending on how many beers I have had!

No lost bottles of CO2 since I started doing that!  Of course I have to leave the valve open when carbonating.

Brian.
 
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