A leak in any mini keg system can result in flat beer, an empty CO2 bulb or worse all of your brew spraying the inside of your fridge, esky or picnic basket. We can have a look at some easy ways you can minimise this.
When you assemble a new system or are adding new parts to your existing one it’s a great idea to take a few minutes to check these locations that could the cause or site of potential leaks.
Disconnects
Sometimes you can get an improper seal between the posts on your spear and either the gas or beer disconnects.
If this is occurring a bit more that you would like it might be worth getting some keg lube from your home brew store.
Just cover the black O ring on each post with a small amount of lube and replace your disconnects.
The CO2 regulator
This is site where you screw in your bulb or bottle directly into your regulator or by using a reducer, adaptor etc. In some instances, this is a high-pressure seal. Even the smallest leak in this area will empty your CO2 source.
Please check every connection in your system and ensure they are tight and not leaking before leaving a regulator attached and dialled in at the on position as gas will quickly escape if there is one.
Another area where leaks can occur is from the adapter where the gas screws in and around the bolt labelled 1.8k on the rear, both nuts can be tightened to eliminate this.
Method to test for leaks
Check for bubbles
The simplest way to check for any leak is to have your mini keg under a small amount of pressure and mix a small amount of dish washing liquid and water in a spray bottle or if you are home brewing some foaming no rinse sanitiser and spray it on and around the disconnects, regulator and where the tap connects to the spear. The soapy water or sanitiser solution will bubble at the site of any leak making it obvious if you have a troublesome seal.