I am new to kegging (yay) but have been brewing for a while. I have a 5 gallon keg with a 5 lb CO2 in the fridge currently carbonating. I set the regulator for the keg side to approximately 7 psi (before the fridge), while the tank side read 800 psi (not cooled). After a few days in the fridge the keg read close to zero psi, does this indicate a leak? The keg side reads 600 psi.
From thermo i know that the fridge will remove heat from the keg/CO2 and reduce the overall pressure, but i don’t think the keg should read zero. Will the pressure reading dip due to CO2 being absorbed by the beer? I have since turned it up to 7 psi again and a day or two later dropped to 4 psi. The tank number hasn’t changed.
I had pressure tested the regulator and keg and it was air tight, but i did clean and sanitize the keg components before putting the beer in. So i guess there is possibility of a loose fitting.
I’m a little confused (not unusual). You say “After a few days in the fridge the keg read close to zero psi, does this indicate a leak? The keg side reads 600 psi.” and I don’t think it can be both. 8^)
I’m going guess the keg gauge says 0 and the tank gauge says 600 and that the tank isn’t in the fridge? If that’s the case, I would assume you have a leak somewhere on the keg side. Small enough that it isn’t draining your tank too fast but big enough to not allow the keg to hold pressure. If the tank is chilled now then a reading of 600 may not be that far off.
Is the beer carbonated after sitting on the tank for a few days? Can you pour normally? If those are both answered yes then you may have a bad gauge on the low pressure side.
The TANK side was 600 psi and it is in the fridge with the keg. Thanks for catching my typo there. So it sounds like i either have a defective regulator or a slow leak somewhere on the keg side of the regulator. I will take a look. Thanks guys!