Advice needed - leaking fv tap

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wfr42

wfr42

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Hey there, put on my 4th brew (another young's IPA kit) today in a fv with a tap attachment (easier to take samples I thought).
The tap is (as someone else described) "weeping" despite my best efforts with vaseline, didn't notice any issues while sterilising but guessing I should've had some vaseline on the inside of the seal.
My questions are:
- will a drip affect fermentation and the quality of the beer?
- am I best to transfer the brew to another fv to avoid spoiling it? If so am I best to siphon rather than pour?
Thanks for any help.
 
Could I ask you where is the leak exactly, is it from the outside of the tap where it joins the body of the FV? If I am honest I don't like FV's with taps, its another lot of surfaces that can be infected so I have never used one. I just sterilise and stick the hydrometer in the ale (on the rare occasions when I use one) If it is on the outside then I would try to get some Vaseline on the point where the weep is, not ideal but it should work. if you do feel you need to transfer (which I would I personally would) syphon to avoid getting air into the wort

For future reference, is your FV one with a tap fitted and backing onto a flattened area or is it on that has had a tap fitted to a curved area?
 
I take it it is leaking from around the base rather than the tap itself? If beer is getting out, air is getting in potentially. Have another receptacle ready with a syphon (you need to keep as much oxygen out of your brew as possible). Give the tap a tweak to see if it stops. If not, be prepared to transfer and then you can sort out your leak. Just my advice, never had to do it. The other option is do nothing and trust to luck....
 
It's a curved fv with a tap hole drilled into it and is weeping from the where the seal meets the surface.

I intended to use it as a secondary vessel and to aid bottling but thought it would actually be fine as a primary and the tap would be better for collecting samples.

Have collected half a takeaway tub since this afternoon, am leaning towards siphoning to the other veasel to avoid oxygen and wasted beer.
 
I'd get it syphoned it I were you. That is quite a lot of seepage. If you look at a tap it is designed to fit against a flat surface, effectively forcing it to fit a curved surface is always a risk.
 
I dont know if this will be anything similar when I racked a brew off to a bottling bucket several months ago which is basically a FV with a bottler tap style tap I noticed it was leaking.. realising it was probably just loose I rubbed sanitiser up and down my arm real fast plunged in and tightened up.. not ideal but it did no harm in the end.
 
I had an issue many years ago with the old EDME barrels (which for a lot of reasons I liked) the tap at the bottom used to work loose after about four or five hours. (after barrelling) usually at about four in the morning. That's why I like top tap King Kegs. I digress however. At such a time of day and in a sort of somnambulistic trance I stuffed my unsterilized arm in and gave the damn thins a tweak. I never had a beer go off, perhaps by good luck rather than management but.... I did start using a second nut on the back of the tap after this happened about four times which cured the issue. Still miss the old EDME top taps though.
 
Thanks for confirming my thoughts on the best course of action. Siphoned to FV1 which was emptied this afternoon (and will most likely become FV singular after today's experiment with taps on FVS...).
Hopefully this batch is saved and today's brewing lesson isn't an expensive one...

Really enjoying all the advice on here and the friendly atmosphere, thanks for keeping a noob calm.

*now filled with steriliser (and an application of vaseline before tightening the tap) it appears "watertight"...
 
These taps do seem a bit temperamental, but I prefer that to opening the top every time I want to check the gravity. I normally put a few litres of water in mine (so it's well over the tap line and has a fair bit of weight behind it) whilst I am boiling and leave it for a while on the kitchen floor, if it all stays dry it's good to go. I must admit I never remember to use the vaseline!
 
Hoping I will never forget the vaseline before tightening, or to give a thorough check with water first, again.

There is very slow bubbling this morning, so it looks like I got away with transferring it.
 
Probably best to stick with a FV with no tap for primary fermentation - as you said FV with the tap will be good for bottling. Good luck with the current brew, sure it will be fine
 
I have had leaks too soon after I have put the brew on. Don't know if the initial heat causes expansion or the weight of the liquid.
I now always use two rubber washers (1 inside and 1 outside) and tighten with a large pair of pliers/grips.
 
Dry hopped this yesterday, samples while checking sg were good, only small issue is the Scottish summer has made for a slow ferment (my first brew of this in May required a bubbling tube!)

Hopefully bottling after the weekend. Thanks for confirming my thoughts and saving my brew!
 
Just to add something: if the washers are silicon, don't do the tap up too tight otherwise you'll warp the washers and mess the seal up even more!

I had the same issue with my first brew - I had 2 FVs with taps in, noticed a leak in the first about 10 mins after pitching yeast, chucked it all in the 2nd FV, and noticed the same in that! Cleaned out the first, added vaseline to the washer on the outside of the FV and tightened it up and thankfully that did the trick. I was on the verge of tears the entire time!
 

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