which keg should i choose

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funkyslime

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Hi all I want to start kegging my beer again I stopped after nearly losing 2 batches to a leaky seal on a 2inch wilko barrel.
Just looking for advice on best ones available at the moment can't seam to find an decent review on any of them.
Looking at king keg,rotokeg,and as an alternative tap a draft anyone using these got any good advice it would be much appreciated.

Cheers
 
Youre' probably not going to like this reply but my advise would be to stick with the Wilko keg, I've got a RotoKeg (as well as a Wilko) and had nothing but problems with it, likewise others I know who've had King Kegs. There's more to go wrong (seals) with the more expensive kegs, and generally it does.

With all kegs you need to be careful not to over or under-tighten taps and lids. And you do need to renew all seals regularly. Which seal was yours leaking from? It should be fixable.
 
It was leaking from the cap seal replaced it put on a cheap wilko brew to test and leaked again (lost carbonation when I say leaked)
 
Does your cap have an S30 type valve as I have had the rubber PRV leak as well. Found best way to check was gas up the empty keg (I used the small Co2 canisters) and they dunk in water to see where the leaks are
 
I have started using plumbers ptfe tape on all threads, plus the usual vaseline, and had no problems for ages........
 
Just 8g gas bulbs . Think I'll give the ptfe tape a try before I commit to a new keg
 
I have a pair of cheap Youngs pressure barrels. They too have the narrow cap and they're pretty bad at leaking. The problem as I see it is that the rubber seal is flat rubber ring about a quarter of an inch wide, but the top of the barrel that is meant to push against it when you screw the cap on has a very narrow edge only a couple of millimetres thick and this pushes on the seal very close to it's edge. It's hardly surprising that if you tighten even slightly too much the seal distorts and the barrel leaks. Of course if you tighten it slightly too little, it'll leak as well.
So usually, I fill the barrel and prime it. Then when I'm half way down the barrel, the pressure will disapear, so I whip the cap off & re-prime it. After a few days rest we're back in business and the pressure usually stays till I'm down to the tap.

Funnily enough though, many years ago I used to have a couple of barrels made by Boots the chemists. The lid was wide enough to get your arm in for cleaning which was useful, and the rubber seal in the cap was a narrow round ring of rubber that pushed accurately against a widish lip on the barrel. It sealed perfectly, every time. only problem I ever had with those was the pressure relief valves used to leak - cured by screwing a stainless steel self tapper up into it's hole, inside the cap. Wish I still had those barrels...
 
Just stored a brew in one of these.

Bought a job lot of stuff in an auction, keg, brewing bin, lid, hydrometer and container for a fiver.

Refurbed the bin, new lid and tap.

Had to tighten the bottom tap really hard to stop a weep, should have used PTFE tape, will next time.

IMO the top lid won't benefit from PTFE tape, thread is on the outside, gas will leak through the washer for the valve or the sealing ring.

There are a number of good tips for these barrels if you check the equipment threads.

Years ago I had a beer sphere, never leaked once, such is progress.
 
The rubber ring seal on that barrel is usually the problem, as it distorts if it's over-tightened. I flip the ring every time I use it, and have a set of replacement rings (from eBay) and throw the old one away after 4-5 uses. You shouldn't need to tighten the lid that much, just enough to get a seal - over-tightening also risks cross-threading (been there).

Also worth getting a lid with an S30 valve, and a HB CO2 cyclinder. I normally give it a quick squirt of CO2 immediately after filling it, that way you can listen for any leaks and adjust the tightness of the lid to seal it. With a bit of practice, you'll work out what the right amount of tightness is. :thumb:
 

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