no not normal at all, the bottle should be sealed up there is a small nut with a hole in it, on the reg, this nut contains a copper disc, it may be that this has "popped" what i would do is de gass the btl, take the nut off and check the disk replace if required put a bit of ptfe around the nut and wind it back into the reg, check the guage next, again wind it out, check there are no cracks or fractures, and replace as per burst nipple (nut thingy) then try and charge the bottle up and see how you go. " EXERCISE CAUTION AT ALL TIMES WHEN MESSING AROUND WITH THESE BTLS THEY ARE POTENTIALLY LEATHAL" the reason i say check the nut is becasue it is right next to the guage, and it may be that the air is escaping from there, if it transpires that it is the reg guage, i would replace it straight away, as it may not be giving an acurate reading which could be a prob when filling up (BANG) lol