If I open and shut my CO2 bottle really quick with the valve downstream of the regulator closed, the dispense gauge will shoot up to 15 psi or whatever my dispense pressure is and over then minute or so the pressure will drop to zero. I’ve squirted Star San solution over various fittings of the regulator but can’t find a leak. What’s my next step?
How tightly is the regulator attached to the tank? Did you use a wrench?
Is there a gasket between the regulator and tank? Some regulators have a nylon gasket attached, others need a separate gasket, but it shouldn’t be metal/metal.
How much do you trust the valve? It may be bleeding through the downstream valve and the regulator is okay.
Paul
+1
Dip that downstream valve in some StarSan
Following advice of a homebrewer at Praxair, I tightened a nut in the middle of the valve handle with a manual nut driver (if that is the right term, it looks like a screw driver) so I would avoid overtorquing it. That sealed the leak. I think the nut tightens the packing around the valve stem. I think the leaky stem may have allowed some air in the gas line which caused my kegged beers to age really fast.