StarSan - Sanitizer and Leak Finder

I'm not sure if its bad luck, carelessness or a combination of both that has caused issues with CO2 the last couple years. I’ve had issues with a keg lid, o-rings and a hairline fracture in a regulator that all lead to leaks in my kegging system. Those I don’t believe I did anything wrong. However, not fully tightening the gas socket on the keg was my fault.  

I went to check on my 10 lbs CO2 tank today since I just filled those Porter kegs and to my disappointment it was empty. I filled it just 2 months ago so I know something was wrong. Now it became a game of find the leak. This is where StarSan comes in! 

Because of how easily StarSan foams up, it’s the perfect medium for looking for leaks because it bubbles like crazy. So I carefully went through each connection on my system looking for leaks. Nothing after 3 kegs. Finally I got to the gas socket on the 4^th keg and it started to bubble. I tightened it up and the bubbles stopped. Problem solved. This does teach me to check all of my connections one last time after filling a new keg. 

I learned a trick today when I talked to the guy at the CO2 place about my leak. He said, turn on the CO2 tank, lets it fill the entire system and balance out and then turn off the gas at the CO2 tank. If there is a leak, you’ll see the pressure slowly start to drop on the regulator since you are not forcing in any more pressure from the tank. If there is no leak, it should hold pressure in the regulator.

So I hope I go downstairs later or tomorrow and still find that everything is still OK.