Hand pull and a pressure barrel.

Hi all. Just wondering really. I've got a pressure barrel that needs refurbishing (new seals and tap needed). I rarely have the need to use this and my other barrel at the same time so could sacrifice it for a project.

Wondering if I could hook it up to a hand pull / beer engine type setup. Nothing too fancy, hoping I can do something without extra co2 etc.

Cheers as always!

I tried that some time ago.
The problem I had was that as you draw ale via the beer engine air need to be drawn into the barrel.
My solution was to fit an old polypin with a CO2 inlet then gently fill the polypin with CO2 but not pressurised. at the same time the polypin was connected via tap and siphon tube to the barrel, so when I pulled a pint the co2 was drawn into the barrel.:thumb:
Whenever the co2 polypin got low I gave it another squirt. The polypin also acted as a storage for the co2 naturally vented from the brew.

So why don't I still do that? I find polypins to be easier to handle and work connected to the beer engine or by them selves which saves the beer wastage in the tubing connecting pin to pump. When I have friends over, or if I intend having a good weekend I will plug in the engine.

I use my BE regularly with a pressure barrel, but I do connect a CO2 cylinder via the S30 valve, using one of the old Midget Widget adaptors. Unfortunately, they stopped making them, and the new, improved (metal, not plastic) versions are a bit pricey:

http://brewingathome.co.uk/product/midget-widget-world-universal-barrel-hose/

I expect that, for a single barrel, you could maintain pressure with an S30 cylinder or bulbs. Connecting to a beer line can be as simple as a reducing series of tubes:



Or replace the tap with a more elaborate series of JG fittings (in barrels with a 4" cap - the fittings are secured with a back nut)

Hope that helps

Cheers,
Chris

Cheers for the replies guys. So, are we talking about having a fitting in place of the normal tap, that would then connect to the beer line? Barrel on the floor underneath the BE which would be mounted on the bench?

And then a method of maintaining pressure in the keg, I can see various ways of applying CO2 but how much CO2 would I be going through for a pressure barrel connected to a beer engine?

Cheers again guys.

kentmark said:

Cheers for the replies guys. So, are we talking about having a fitting in place of the normal tap, that would then connect to the beer line? Barrel on the floor underneath the BE which would be mounted on the bench?

And then a method of maintaining pressure in the keg, I can see various ways of applying CO2 but how much CO2 would I be going through for a pressure barrel connected to a beer engine?

Cheers again guys.

Click to expand...

Hi
Which barrels are you using? Anyway, here's a pic of my previous setup:



You can see the topmost budget barrel is connected to a gas line via a Midget Widget barrel connector (linked in previous post) to the barrel's S30 valve. The tube from this goes into a JG 5/16 tube to 3/8 stem fitting. The stem goes into a 3/8 shut-off valve. The valve is shut during secondary fermentation, because the lower valve rubber on the S30 has to be removed to allow CO2 in. Without that valve rubber, the S30 is 2 way, and would lose pressure. When serving the beer, it's connected to 3/8 gas line to maintain low 'blanket' pressure (3 or 4 psi).

I found the simplest way to connect to beer line was the series of reducing diameter tubes you can see. This will also work with the larger diameter drum taps that come with the KKTT and Boots PB you can see. For those, though, I preferred a slightly more 'elegant' solution using JG fittings:



The 'exploded diagram' fittings are for a bottom tap barrel. A 1/2" bulkhead adaptor fits the barrel, requiring a 1/2" stem to 3/8 tube, then a 3/8 stem to tube elbow, some 3/8 tube to a shut-off valve, which connects to the beer line to serve the beer. Top right is the KKTT fitting - just the bulkhead adaptor, and the 1/2" stem to 3/8 tube fitting to connect via more tube to a shut-off valve.

I've used PBs as low pressure kegs for a couple of years, and found it to be a perfectly good way of serving cask-type beers (via the cooling system and BE). Prob was the space they need - you can see the PBs and fermenters taking-up a lot of room in the first pic. That's where my bathroom door opens! I've switched to cornies to save floor space, and to liberate my bathroom door! (But I continue to use one PB on the bar, next to the handpull).

kentmark said:

And then a method of maintaining pressure in the keg, I can see various ways of applying CO2 but how much CO2 would I be going through for a pressure barrel connected to a beer engine?...

Click to expand...

A pub-size 6.35 kg cylinder lasts about a year.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Chris