26 replies to this topic

[MyaCullen]

just refilled my 10# C02 on Monday

 

 

guess what?

 

I was a dumbass, and apparently didn't tighten the nut down well enough on the regulator 

 

guess who has to get a fill tomorrow 

[Genesee Ted]

Been there.  Sucks.

 

Vibes

[MtnBrewer]

Greenhouse gases!!

[Big Nake]

Yeah, that sucks. CO2 is a mysterious creature for me. I had a tank that I had serving 2 of my tap lines and soon the gas ran out and I thought I did the same thing... didn't tighten it down enough. I swapped it out and took the empty to the refilling place where they told me it's practically full. Huh? I brought it home and it sat in the basement for about a month and this past weekend I put that tank back into that serving fridge (the new empty is being taken for a refill today) and that mysterious tank is working just fine. Weird.

[MyaCullen]

Yeah, that sucks. CO2 is a mysterious creature for me. I had a tank that I had serving 2 of my tap lines and soon the gas ran out and I thought I did the same thing... didn't tighten it down enough. I swapped it out and took the empty to the refilling place where they told me it's practically full. Huh? I brought it home and it sat in the basement for about a month and this past weekend I put that tank back into that serving fridge (the new empty is being taken for a refill today) and that mysterious tank is working just fine. Weird.

bad regulator?

 

in my case, i was able to unscrew the nut by hand

[Big Nake]

bad regulator? in my case, i was able to unscrew the nut by hand

I honestly don't know why that happened but beer was barely flowing and the gauge showed ZERO contents, ZERO pressure, etc. and I assumed that I didn't tighten the nut enough or maybe the washer was bad or something. I have learned that you have to crank that sucker down when you tighten it. One that can be loosened by hand is either not tight enough or it's being loosened by sasquatch.

[MyaCullen]

why does CO2 have to use the stupid male threaded bottles?

[Big Nake]

why does CO2 have to use the stupid male threaded bottles?

It adds to the mystery. When I was a kegging newbie, people told me to use the white plumbers tape on the threads. Then others said that anyone who did that misunderstood how CO2 tanks & regulators work. A guy at one gas place by me (a welding shop) said it never hurts to use the tape. Another guy at another place (a fire-extinguisher place) told me to just take it off because it's not doing any good. I still don't know if it helps or not.

[MtnBrewer]

I've been told it only helps with liquids. I don't know why that would be. It probably can't hurt.

[MyaCullen]

I've been told it only helps with liquids. I don't know why that would be. It probably can't hurt.

Danstar says no, Fermentis says yes

[SchwanzBrewer]

I've had mystery tanks too. Pain in the butt.

[MtnBrewer]

Danstar says no, Fermentis says yes

 

Yeah but what do they know about Teflon tape?

[MyaCullen]

Yeah but what do they know about Teflon tape?

arg me thinks we had a thread mix up

[MyaCullen]

It adds to the mystery. When I was a kegging newbie, people told me to use the white plumbers tape on the threads. Then others said that anyone who did that misunderstood how CO2 tanks & regulators work. A guy at one gas place by me (a welding shop) said it never hurts to use the tape. Another guy at another place (a fire-extinguisher place) told me to just take it off because it's not doing any good. I still don't know if it helps or not.

The only benefit I could see to tape with on a Co2 thread, is keeping the nut from backing off, the nut only serves to compress the washer between the reg and the bottle.

[MtnBrewer]

arg me thinks we had a thread mix up

 

Ken was questioning plumbers tape. My post was that I have been told that teflon tape is only needed for connections that seal liquids (not liquid yeasties).

[Big Nake]

Ken was questioning plumbers tape. My post was that I have been told that teflon tape is only needed for connections that seal liquids (not liquid yeasties).

I know... for a second I thought the chief blue meanie lost his mojo. I read that comment on Danstar & Fermentis and slowly backed out of the thread not wanting to upset the space-time continuum.

[MyaCullen]

Ken was questioning plumbers tape. My post was that I have been told that teflon tape is only needed for connections that seal liquids (not liquid yeasties).

derper derp, I was thinking this was the dry yeast thread

 

 

Well back to the OP, I traded up my 10#er for a 20#er, and was very careful tightening down the nut this time. funny the one I got had teflon tape on the threads

[gnef]

I bought all my equipment on the cheap, so I've got leaks everywhere in varying degrees. I used to have some setups that were leak free, but they developed leaks. In the past, I have also gone through manifolds dunking in water, and sealing them up. Eventually everything leaks though, even the setups that were leak free for years.

 

I've just learned not to trust anything, and to always turn off the CO2. My leaks are never bad enough that gassing up the kegs will be problematic, but they are bad enough that over the course of 2-7 days, the gauges will read zero after turning off the tank.

 

As for the mystery tank - usually I can feel if a tank is empty, though my tanks are 20#-50# tanks, so there is more CO2 to expect. Almost all tanks that I've worked with have the tare weight stamped on the neck. If you put the tank on your grain scale, you should have a pretty good idea of how much CO2 is left in the tank, if any.

 

This is also the reason to have multiple CO2 tanks, and to always keep at least one full. You always seem to run out of gas on a tank when you need it the most. I think I have 5-6 20# tanks, and two 50# tanks. I have 3 20# tanks that I need to get refilled, another 20# tank close to empty, and a 50# tank close to empty - this last one has taken me a good 8 years to go through though since it is my serving tank, and I only use it to push carbonated kegs. I used to have more CO2 tanks, but decided I didn't need to have a dozen.

[positiveContact]

The only benefit I could see to tape with on a Co2 thread, is keeping the nut from backing off, the nut only serves to compress the washer between the reg and the bottle.

 

this right here.  i don't have tape on either of my regulators.

[Dave McG]

Teflon tape is only helpful in situations where the threads are what does the sealing, most commonly NPT threads, which are tapered. On CO2 tanks and on flare fittings, Teflon doesn't add to the seal at all, and it has a possibility of messing up the seal if it gets in the wrong spot.

 

As far as the male threads on the tank, gas suppliers make sure that different gasses use different threads so you don't accidentally hook the wrong one up. Flammables usually have left handed threading, some use different sizes, or sealing methods. That way, no one accidentally hooks up propane to Granny's oxygen. CO2 just happened to get male threads which seal on the face.