Just want to find out about Kin Kegs on here a friend of mine has two of them and both have gone back because of leaks from under the cap. Now my wife is getting me one for xmas with the adjustable tap with the gas bulb. Are there lots faults with these Kegs and should I avoid them
King Keg faulty?
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Graz
Landlord.
They have there moments but generally I've had success with mine.
Key things are to check the top of the neck for high spots as this will make it difficult to get a good seal, there's a thread on here somewhere about sanding them down to make them uniform. When putting the lid on apply a smear of Vaseline to the O ring and don't over tighten it.
I've added Schreder car valves to mine so that I can monitor the internal pressure with a car tyre pressure gauge.
The gas bulbs are expensive and if for whatever reason your keg hasn't sealed properly you'll end up using quite a few to dispense the beer. If you have a local HBS then I'd highly recommend getting a Hambleton Bard CO2 cylinder instead as with these you can just give a short controlled burst of gas when the pressure gets low. One cylinder lasts me ages and it's only ã5 for a refill. If you don't have a local HBS then I see that you can now get adapters for the new style SodaStream cylinders so that might be worth thinking about also.
You can test them by part filling with water and then squirting in some CO2, then check the seals for leaks with a spray of diluted washing up liquid or immerse the thing in water to look for bubbles.
My long term plan though it to move to Corny kegs as I've now got a big fridge that I'd like to turn into a kegerator. May well still use the King Kegs as well though, possibly even convert them to use pub gas.
Key things are to check the top of the neck for high spots as this will make it difficult to get a good seal, there's a thread on here somewhere about sanding them down to make them uniform. When putting the lid on apply a smear of Vaseline to the O ring and don't over tighten it.
I've added Schreder car valves to mine so that I can monitor the internal pressure with a car tyre pressure gauge.
The gas bulbs are expensive and if for whatever reason your keg hasn't sealed properly you'll end up using quite a few to dispense the beer. If you have a local HBS then I'd highly recommend getting a Hambleton Bard CO2 cylinder instead as with these you can just give a short controlled burst of gas when the pressure gets low. One cylinder lasts me ages and it's only ã5 for a refill. If you don't have a local HBS then I see that you can now get adapters for the new style SodaStream cylinders so that might be worth thinking about also.
You can test them by part filling with water and then squirting in some CO2, then check the seals for leaks with a spray of diluted washing up liquid or immerse the thing in water to look for bubbles.
My long term plan though it to move to Corny kegs as I've now got a big fridge that I'd like to turn into a kegerator. May well still use the King Kegs as well though, possibly even convert them to use pub gas.
King kegs are pretty good cheaper versions have much more problems. Personally I think they are the easyest and quickest way to get you beer dispensed compared to bottling and cornies and are simple to fill and clean.
I had issues with mine then changed the round profile lid seals for square profile seals from Balliihoo - I then changed my lids for balliihoo lids which come with a pressure measuring valve included - very handy for checking its carbing up and not leaking once filled and sealed.
The flat profile seals have been very reliable for me - much more than the round profile seals on the king kegs as standard:
https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/#square-section-o-ring-seal-for-4-inch-barrel-caps-p-206.html
If I buy any more actual kegs I would probably buy the balliihoo top tap kegs, instead of king keg:
https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/#ballii...2-injection-valve-pressure-indicator-p-4.html
The flat profile seals have been very reliable for me - much more than the round profile seals on the king kegs as standard:
https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/#square-section-o-ring-seal-for-4-inch-barrel-caps-p-206.html
If I buy any more actual kegs I would probably buy the balliihoo top tap kegs, instead of king keg:
https://www.balliihoo.co.uk/#ballii...2-injection-valve-pressure-indicator-p-4.html
If your friend has had problems with them, you yourself have had problems with them (leaks galore and a cracked cap as reported in several of your threads), do you think its a good idea to go down the same route?
The sayings "Throwing good money after bad", " Once bitten twice shy" and "Glutton for punishment" all come to mind!
Thanks terrym I am going to carry on with this until I beat the Bugger:lol: I have a king keg keeping its pressure Ok! I have now looked in to the King Keg problem with some help from Graz it seems that King Keg Q control is not that brilliant as when they join the side parts together it seem one side is slighter higher that the other which will not keep its pressure to fix it either sand it down or put plumbers tape around the thread. Oh well back to killing the King keg beastly until I defeat it:drink::electric:
All I can say is good luck. I spent 18 months tracking down multiple leaks with mine. And then when I did finally get it to seal, the beer in it got infected
They are great when they are working but mine has been such a headache, I don't use it now.
Cwrw666
Landlord.
I've had nothing but trouble with budget barrels but a while back bought a Wilkos one - they're about ã30 - they recently changed their design and it's really solidly built now and I've had zero issues with mine.
I run three basic Youngs PBs, each with the basic non-injection type cap. Apart from the tap, there are normally only three source of leaks on these, the cap to PB seal, the relief device seal, and the seam on the PB itself. I have had leaks of all three types but the first two are usually easily sorted (I keep spare cap seals which helps), though if the PB seam splits out of warranty it's a chuck away job (Youngs replaced mine). Any leak is usually found with the help of soapy water. I have also had a pin hole leak on the shell of a PB, but it was well over 40 years old and a freebie!
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