Co2 Tank is empty.. 2 weeks

Jag1980

Jag1980

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Aug 18, 2008
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Marysville, Wa
I got my tank filled 2 weeks ago and it has been totally full as I only use about 1bps. I was running Co2 fine just yesterday and now today my tank in completely empty... I tightened it so super tight and couldn't go any tighter without breaking it when I got it filled. I just check the gauge a couple days ago and it was at 750.. What happen?
I got total 0 now :confused:


I just walked over to my tank and the main nut that attach's onto the bottle was so loose that I barley turned it with 2 fingers and it almost just fell off.. How the F would it get that lose after being so tight? I used the black washer they gave me when I get my bottle filled...
 
The nut was loose the whole time and your CO2 leaked out. Make sure when you are mating the regulator to the tank that you mate the nipple of the regulator to the tank and then screw on the "B" nut. The regulator should not spin after it's tight. If it does, it's not threaded correctly.

After you make the connections and open the bottle valve, use soapy water to check for leaks. Hope this helps!

Best wishes!
 
Jag1980 said:
I got my tank filled 2 weeks ago and it has been totally full as I only use about 1bps. I was running Co2 fine just yesterday and now today my tank in completely empty... I tightened it so super tight and couldn't go any tighter without breaking it when I got it filled. I just check the gauge a couple days ago and it was at 750.. What happen?
I got total 0 now :confused:


I just walked over to my tank and the main nut that attach's onto the bottle was so loose that I barley turned it with 2 fingers and it almost just fell off.. How the F would it get that lose after being so tight? I used the black washer they gave me when I get my bottle filled...
Click to expand...

This might be out of my league, but here goes.

The reason why your nut that attaches to the bottle was loose was because when you were screwing it in, the pressure caused a tight seal and didn't allow you to tighten it anymore. When the pressure from the system is exhausted, there no longer is a seal, and the nut will become loose.

I'm not sure what this black washer is, but typically, CO2 and pressurized systems use O-Rings made of rubber. The one's that I've seen in the Paintball industry is typically clear/white. This is where my experience limits me, as I don't know if these are the same for planted CO2 systems vs paintball CO2 systems.

Regarding the pressure that you saw couple days prior, it's not what you think. If you had a leak, you would see a constant pressure of 750-900 for the duration of the tank, up until the tank purges. CO2 remains a liquid under those pressures, and will typically not exceed those pressure readings, unless excited. It's only when the tank is totally liquid-less, that the pressure you see starts to drop.

I would suspect that you have a leak, and depending on the size of the tank, you could probably determine how big the leak is. Soapy water would help ID where the leak is, but be careful not to get the soap in the tank. Another way to test for leaks is to first try using plain water, and with a huge leak, you can most likely just use the back of your hand to feel the draft.

Good luck, hope this helps.

P.S. Good sealers I use in paintball is teflon tape for larger threads, and Blue Lok-tite for smaller ones.
 
Good luck, I have never experienced this problem
 
shawnhu said:
This might be out of my league, but here goes.

The reason why your nut that attaches to the bottle was loose was because when you were screwing it in, the pressure caused a tight seal and didn't allow you to tighten it anymore. When the pressure from the system is exhausted, there no longer is a seal, and the nut will become loose.

I'm not sure what this black washer is, but typically, CO2 and pressurized systems use O-Rings made of rubber. The one's that I've seen in the Paintball industry is typically clear/white. This is where my experience limits me, as I don't know if these are the same for planted CO2 systems vs paintball CO2 systems.

Regarding the pressure that you saw couple days prior, it's not what you think. If you had a leak, you would see a constant pressure of 750-900 for the duration of the tank, up until the tank purges. CO2 remains a liquid under those pressures, and will typically not exceed those pressure readings, unless excited. It's only when the tank is totally liquid-less, that the pressure you see starts to drop.

I would suspect that you have a leak, and depending on the size of the tank, you could probably determine how big the leak is. Soapy water would help ID where the leak is, but be careful not to get the soap in the tank. Another way to test for leaks is to first try using plain water, and with a huge leak, you can most likely just use the back of your hand to feel the draft.

Good luck, hope this helps.

P.S. Good sealers I use in paintball is teflon tape for larger threads, and Blue Lok-tite for smaller ones.
Click to expand...


Couldn't have said it better myself
 
How do I screw these on without it leaking? The black washer is squished and made a decent indentation from being so tight. I tightened it down so tight it felt like it was going to break, the I turned the bottle on and everything was perfectly fine. It became so lose that it felt almost like it could have fallen off the tank without me doing anything.. Last tank I had filled was fine, but I also used the white washer. I was told by people who used Co2 tanks and the people at the welding place that Teflon tape is not needed.
This should be a tighten and it fine and not a tighten and have to check it everyday for leaks, that just doesn't make sense..:confused:
 
Jag1980 said:
How do I screw these on without it leaking? The black washer is squished and made a decent indentation from being so tight. I tightened it down so tight it felt like it was going to break, the I turned the bottle on and everything was perfectly fine. It became so lose that it felt almost like it could have fallen off the tank without me doing anything.. Last tank I had filled was fine, but I also used the white washer. I was told by people who used Co2 tanks and the people at the welding place that Teflon tape is not needed.
This should be a tighten and it fine and not a tighten and have to check it everyday for leaks, that just doesn't make sense..:confused:
Click to expand...

Not seeing how this is set-up, but based on what you're telling me, and my experience with pressurized systems.

It sounds like what you have is a crush washer. It also sounds like you have an on/off valve at the tank level. First thing about crush washers, they are only good for one time use. After that, they are replaced with another crush washer. You can re-use O-Rings until they leak.

With crush washers, you should be able to feel when you are applying pressure to the washer. One thing that should never be done with crush washers is loosening it after it's been crushed.

If you get desperate, you can always dip the entire set-up under water to find the leak. If you go this path, use distilled to prevent any rusting in the future.
 
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