Wilko 5 gallon pressure barrel

Mark_wato · Nov 16, 2016

Please would somebody write a;
'how to / for dummies'
Instructions for this piece of equipment please?

Wilko barrel only please

I'm pretty confident with bottling, but I have a spare barrel laying around and before I put 5 gallons of beer into it I want to make sure I don't ruin my lovely beautiful gorgeous nectar.

I.e secondary fermentation or not? What is the deal with these co2 bottles?? How and why and what and when??

Thank God for the homebrew forum otherwise my hobby would be a disaster!

Thanks all

__________________
Fermenting

- Wilko hop and cheer ipa

Conditioning

- brew dog evil dog double ipa

Drinking

- John bull traditional english ale
- Wilko starter kit real ale ( might throw this **** )

Graz · Nov 16, 2016

Not much to it really.

The basics are:

1. Ensure it's clean / sterilized before you use it.
2. Add priming sugar to barrel, use this http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/
3. Syphon beer from fermenter to barrel leaving sediment behind.
4. Do up lid, tight but not too tight for a good seal, bit of vaseline on the O ring helps.
5. Stick it somewhere warm for a couple of weeks to prime.
6. Further conditioning somewhere cool for however long you want to wait (2 weeks + preferable).
7. Drink beer.
8. When flow from tap reduces significantly add some gas through the valve in the lid. Goto 7. When beer runs out clean barrel and put away for the next brew.

The only thing to note is what you're using for CO2, not sure the type of valve that those Wilko barrels have? I suspect it's the pin valve that you screw the CO2 bulb onto (in a holder), in this case you just use one bulb each time the pressure gets low. You can also get bigger cylinders such as the Hambleton Bard S30, to use one of these you need a valve in the cap without the pin. When the pressure drops you simply screw the cylinder on to give a squirt of gas and them remove it again. Not too much otherwise you'll open the relief valve on the barrel and lose some of the gas.

Mark_wato · Nov 16, 2016

OK cheers.

So what is with the force carbonation?

I read somewhere you don't have to add priming sugar if you use co2?

I wasn't sure whether I screw the bulb on and leave it there or just the case of a one time injection then discard until you need more pressure and repeat?
----------------------------------------------------
Fermenting

- Wilko hop and cheer ipa

Conditioning

- brew dog evil dog double ipa

Drinking

- John bull traditional english ale
- Wilko starter kit real ale ( might throw this ****)

Graz · Nov 16, 2016

Force carbonation is when you pressure up the vessel containing your beer to a much higher pressure than you'd use to serve it. Under this pressure the beer will start to absorb some of the CO2 making it fizzy.

You can only really achieve this with metal kegs designed to withstand the pressure e.g. Cornelius Kegs. Plastic barrels can only handle about 10 psi after which the safety valve will vent (better this happens than the barrel exploding).

So with a plastic keg best to prime with sugar to get the initial pressure and carbonation then add more gas with the CO2 bulbs as you serve it. The bulbs are one shot, you screw it on, it dumps all the contents into the barrel after which you can remove it or just leave it there until the next bulb is needed if you like.

Mark_wato · Nov 16, 2016

Thanks mate that's really helpful.

I read that the wilkos barrel can withstand up to 15psi..

And they sell the same bulbs in wilko.

So... just as I'm getting my head around it

I only plug a co2 bulb on when it struggles to dispense my beer?

How do I know if I'm adding too much, or indeed not enough co2?

I don't want my beer to spoil with air getting in but at the same time I don't want to bust the barrel?

Thanks

Mark

----------------------------------------------------
Fermenting

- Wilko hop and cheer ipa

Conditioning

- brew dog evil dog double ipa

Drinking

- John bull traditional english ale
- Wilko starter kit real ale ( might throw this ****)

terrym · Nov 16, 2016

Mark_wato said:
I only plug a co2 bulb on when it struggles to dispense my beer?

How do I know if I'm adding too much, or indeed not enough co2?

I don't want my beer to spoil with air getting in but at the same time I don't want to bust the barrel?)

When it looks like there is insufficient pressure inside the PB to dispense the beer, you need a CO2 top up. Don't let it get down to where air glugs back up through the tap or your beer might spoil.

The 8g or 16g bulbs completely discharge their contents.

If the PB pressure reaches its operating pressure limit or thereabouts (in this case 15psig) by overpriming or CO2 injection the pressure relief device fitted in the cap will release excess pressure to keep internal pressure below that limit, protecting the barrel from overpressure.

Clint · Sep 7, 2018

What has fitting do these have? Mine is two months or so in to a beer I was keeping for around Christmas. It carbed up ok, seemingly with no leaks. I've drawn about a pint off it in around third pint lots to check carb and taste it. I've just tried again now and there's no pressure. I've tried gassing it with my screw on gas bulb holder thing but it doesnt pierce the bulb...
Edit...
After a pint from the OTHER keg to help the thinking process and closer examination of the offending equipment j could see it's a pin type valve on the Wilko keg,the bulb, however didn't seem to want to fit into the top of the valve as there is a rubber or PTFE lining to ensure a seal. I was confident that with enough downward pressure I could get the bulb to seat in and be pierced. I fitted the bulb into the holder and jammed a bit of card on top of the bulb in the head of the holder. This worked,the bulb injected the barrel but some gas vented through the relief valve. I've tried the keg and drawn off a tiny bit which now seems ok. I am concerned though as to why a previously carbed and sealed keg should apparently lose pressure...the beer is my last kit,a muntons Belgian which to be fair tastes ok.

Wilko 5 gallon pressure barrel

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