What should the normal Pressure be in a Pressure Barrel

I have been having problems a many know on here with my pressure barrel What I would like to know what to know on average should one of these barrels be I must admit my one there is about 30 pints in it the co2 bulbs I use these
https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/registe...2-8-gram-injection-bulbs-pack-of-10-p-14.html Are this any good to me

Homebrew PBs have a safe working pressure limit, and fitted caps should have a pressure relief device that should vent before the safe working limit is reached. My standard cheap PBs have a limit of 15psi(g). I had an older PB stamped with 10psi(g) max.
Your PB should have a similar stamp, if not talk to the supplier.
So the maximum working pressure range for any PB should be between 0 psig and at whatever pressure the pressure relief vents, in my case being about 15psig.
Therefore however you introduce CO2 to your PB, whether by priming sugar, CO2 bulbs, or CO2 S30 type cylinders, the answer is the same.

So as i read it you can have Pressure 0 pisg it means it still has pressure in the PB then. I buy the small bulbs 10 for £4 what are the larger ones for then? Thanks for all the advice you have given me I am learning this very slowly but getting there:mrgreen::whistle:

pb's are the 'jack of all trades' of homebrew dispensing, bundeling everything into a single cheap solution.

experience with a corny and attach directly to the dispense post tap has taught me that without any pressure restriction between the vessel and tap pressures suitable for maintaining condition in the keg are to high for optimum serving and result in fobbing (foam)
So to serve i would suggest 1-2psi or the lowest pressure you could set/maintain would be optimal.

However PBs use injection systems that overcharge and reduce in pressure over time with dispensing, while this is a pita when it comes to serving especially directly after a co2 injection, it has a beneficial side effect of helping to retain the condition within the beer whilst the pressure is at its highest.

If you have a regulated co2 supply you can fit to a PB i would suggest that 2 pressures would be ideal, 1 to maintain the optimum condition in the beer between dispensing sessions which you can look up in a kegging chart based on the PBs temperature and desired level of condition.
The second pressure being a nominal low pressure just enough to push a beer out easily, And when it comes to serving you vent off excess pressure to pour and reset to maintain condition at the end of the serving session.. It will be wasteful of some co2, but if in a big bottle still way cheaper than using co2 bulbs..

edit of course you can only use pressures lower than the level that triggers your pb's lazzy band prv..

APINTA said:

So as i read it you can have Pressure 0 pisg it means it still has pressure in the PB then. I buy the small bulbs 10 for ��£4 what are the larger ones for then? Thanks for all the advice you have given me I am learning this very slowly but getting there:mrgreen::whistle:

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0 psig means no pressure differential compared to outside/ambient/atmospheric.
If you use a bulb in a standard PB the resulting internal pressure is dependant upon several variables including
- start pressure
- capacity of bulb
- temperature of the beer (and its ability to absorb CO2)
- how much beer is in the PB (and therefore its overall ability to absorb more CO2)
If you are struggling with the see saw effect of using bulbs I suggest that you invest in a larger S30 cylinder and a cap with the injection valve that will mate up to it. This will allow you to inject small quantities of CO2 as required, under your control, to dispense your beer, rather than the all or nothing methodology of using a bulb.

terrym said:

0 psig means no pressure differential compared to outside/ambient/atmospheric.
If you use a bulb in a standard PB the resulting internal pressure is dependant upon several variables including
- start pressure
- capacity of bulb
- temperature of the beer (and its ability to absorb CO2)
- how much beer is in the PB (and therefore its overall ability to absorb more CO2)
If you are struggling with the see saw effect of using bulbs I suggest that you invest in a larger S30 cylinder and a cap with the injection valve that will mate up to it. This will allow you to inject small quantities of CO2 as required, under your control, to dispense your beer, rather than the all or nothing methodology of using a bulb.

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So do I have to buy a Special cap etc for the larger cylinder My bulbs hold about 8grm of gas each and my PB is holding about 23 pints at the moment.Going on about the large cylinder how do you known you have put enough gas in and not overdo the gas.The only way I find out at the moment is using a schrader valve meter. The silly thing is before I put a bulb in the PG when I pressed the valve down you could ear gas come out but the reading on the meter was 00 but the beer was coming out fine so when I did put a gas bulb to be on the safe side it read 3.0 but with in a hour it read 00 but the beer was OK so last night I put 2 bulbs in had a reading of 7 but had rather a large froth head when I pulled a pint on it checked it today and it read 5.4 is that because of the spare room in the PB because the PB as only a 3rd full and there is a lot of empty space above the beer. Thanks

APINTA said:

So do I have to buy a Special cap etc for the larger cylinder My bulbs hold about 8grm of gas each and my PB is holding about 23 pints at the moment.Going on about the large cylinder how do you known you have put enough gas in and not overdo the gas.The only way I find out at the moment is using a schrader valve meter. The silly thing is before I put a bulb in the PG when I pressed the valve down you could ear gas come out but the reading on the meter was 00 but the beer was coming out fine so when I did put a gas bulb to be on the safe side it read 3.0 but with in a hour it read 00 but the beer was OK so last night I put 2 bulbs in had a reading of 7 but had rather a large froth head when I pulled a pint on it checked it today and it read 5.4 is that because of the spare room in the PB because the PB as only a 3rd full and there is a lot of empty space above the beer. Thanks

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1. I would not be relying on the gauge to tell me what to do; I would be relying on whether I can dispense several pints of beer from the tap over a few days or even weeks after I had injected a bulb. If you can't do that you have a leak somewhere and for that I and others have explained what to do.
2. If you inject two bulbs into your beer then initially there will be 'high' pressure in the PB gas space (relative to when only one bulb has been used) and your beer will be 'frothy', but if you leave it for a few hours CO2 is slowly absorbed by the beer until it reaches equilibrium, the PB pressure falls in the process, and the dispensed beer is then less frothy. Irrespective of how many bulbs are used, and assuming no leaks and the pressure relief hasn't vented, as you slowly draw more beer off over a few days or weeks the CO2 is given up by the beer into the gas space until the pressure returns to zero or virtually zero, and at that point you then dispense flat or nearly flat beer.
3. If you use an S30 cylinder you just allow as much gas as you require into the PB to dispense the beer, by screwing the cylinder down to allow some gas to be injected and then by backing off the injector valve when enough has gone into the PB. By experience you learn how much gas to inject.
4. The injector valves for bulbs and S30 cylinders are different. The bulbs have a piercing needle, the S30 types don't. Some valves are sold with a break off needle so that you can convert a bulb injector to an S30 type, but once you have done that you can't reverse it.
That's it for me. I'm done.

Hi terrym Thank so much explaining that all to me and info and giving up your free time of course I am now going away a happy brewer at last. :whistle:Sorry to be a pain in the **** I will now stop asking silly Q :mrgreen:also Many Thanks once again Terrm Have a good weekend Regards Eric

As Terry says, get a lid with an S30 valve and a Hambleton-Bard cyclinder, saves faffing around with bulbs, especially if you have a leak and need to track it down.

I've tracked my PB gassing up and it's quite a steep curve to start with then starts to level off after Day3 at around 5PSI. Evetually gets to 9 PSI if I leave it long enough, then I start worrying and start taking beer out.

darrellm said:

As Terry says, get a lid with an S30 valve and a Hambleton-Bard cyclinder, saves faffing around with bulbs, especially if you have a leak and need to track it down.

I've tracked my PB gassing up and it's quite a steep curve to start with then starts to level off after Day3 at around 5PSI. Evetually gets to 9 PSI if I leave it long enough, then I start worrying and start taking beer out.

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Thanks for that does that mean I have to buy a different type of PB then in the Photos I can see rather professionally looking Gauges there Can not see how they connect to the PB though and have you got to be a techy person to fit and understand them :whistle: I am still on a learning curve here so it is still all new to me

I put these gauges on my king kegs http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Keg-Ho...%3A15503df915e0ab4d2bf729eafff41d99%7Ciid%3A1

They work very well and I know exactly what's going on inside the Keg. I fitted mine to the lid and I also use S30 valves.

Bigjas said:

I put these gauges on my king kegs http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Keg-Ho...%3A15503df915e0ab4d2bf729eafff41d99%7Ciid%3A1

They work very well and I know exactly what's going on inside the Keg. I fitted mine to the lid and I also use S30 valves.

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So I take the old valve out of my PB and put theis in its place this is my PB
So where do you put the Bulb in to top up the gas

Does this picture help?

Would the the above fit My one https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/registe...njection-valve-and-pressure-gauge-p-1090.html
Is this the same as the ebay one Thanks
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Keg-...d=aaa171fd44ac48d2b753a839140482a0&pid=100675

APINTA said:

Would the the above fit My one

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Yes, there are only 2 types of lid 2" and 4".

I got my gauge off eBay and had to drill a hole. I made smaller hole then gradually reamed it out to make the gauge a real tight fit, as I was concerned about pressure loss. Works a treat.

what size drill id you use to start it off with