Help with 5lb co2 tank leak

[resk]

I have a 5lb tank and it seems to be leaking while the regulator is off.

I just got it filled with 5lb of liquid co2 and noticed the hissing noise.

It's leaking out of the little stubby nut which has little holes on all sides.

The main valve is all the way off, there is no leaking where the regulator attaches, either

I'm afraid to mess with a pressurized tank; but I did check the little nut with the holes, and it doesn't seem loose

Help before I lose 10 bucks!

[geoffgarcia]

did you use teflon tape?

I hate messing with my regulators and tanks also *LOL*
It just freaks me out playing with it for some reason:)
A few times I've jacked the stuff up all the wrong ways and had my needles peg in the red line *LOL*
its freaky, and I always think something is gonna explode!!!!
luckily once its setup its done and you just let it sit.
I use those huge tanks, like scuba tanks, I think they are 20lbs.

[NatakuTseng]

Just try tightening that little nut, it sounds like its where the burst valve is. I'm sure its quite similar to CO2 tanks designed for paintball use, they have a special, usually copper, disk inside there that if the pressure gets to high, it blows the disk and lets the CO2 escape through that relief valve so it doesn't blow up. A lot of times what happens with these is they just get loose, many times just taking an adjustable wrench and tightening it will solve the problem, all that happens is that the nut is a little loose which doesn't seal that hole right since its all tapered and lets the gas escape. If that doesn't work, your going to have to bleed the tank off till there isn't anything left and take that off and check things out to make sure they are all ok, its possible something has been damaged. Keep in mind when you do this if you have too, CO2 goes from a liquid to a gas and when it does it creates A LOT of pressure, inside that bottle the pressure is going to be anywhere from 1100 to 1300 PSI just because of the reaction of going from gas to liquid, so before you go taking anything off, the tank has to be completely empty.

[resk]

There is no regulator connected to the tank, so teflon shouldn't matter

It's just a tank, nothing connected, and it's losing co2 out of the little nut with the holes in it

There is alot of pressure in these tanks, having respect for that is a good idea.

[resk]

The nut is on there tight enough that I'd have to "dog" it to get it any tighter.

I'm going to let this tank run, it's at least got a few days of co2.

Then I'll remove the nut and check it out.

[NatakuTseng]

A lot of the times thats what it seems like, but usually you just need to get it to turn a tiny bit to get it to seal, don't forget that its gonna be harder to turn anyway because of the pressure of the tank. 99% of the time when I get a customer that has problems with their CO2 tanks its because of that, and it seems like your turning it a bit hard, but just a little bit and it seals it.

[plantbrain]

There are plastic or compressed wood washers you add between the tank and the reg. No washer=> leak.
Teflon or pipe compound will also help.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[djlen]

I use Tap Rite regulators and when I started I was wrapping the threads and trying all kinds of gaskets with little success at removing tiny leaks.
I wrote to the company and they said, 'don't use anything. The regulator will function better with no leaks if just attached to the tank'. I tried it and have not used any kind of gadget since, with no leaks.
I found that the best way to test for leaks is to use a bowl of water and submerge all connections looking for bubbles.
This method works for me.

Len

[NatakuTseng]

Granted what you guys have said is valuable info, but your missing something, the tank isn't even attached to anything. Its leaking out around the nut for the burst valve.

[djlen]

Is it your tank or a used, trade in tank?
Take it back to the place that filled it. They can fix it or replace it for you. It's defective.

Len