2 Gallon plastic keg

So, last week I saw this nice bargain on ebay that gave me an FV, a PB and various other goodies in it for a surprise goody box worth 20 quid + 10 quid postage. Get it delivered and I am reasonably pleased bar I was hoping for a 5 gallon keg. No keg size on it save I can tell it's small, so what better way to measure it than to fill it up with water and empty the water in an FV to get what size the keg is. So it's 2 gallons when totally filled to the brim. Sadly no instructions. How much beer should I be putting in it exactly, as I loaded it to 3/4 full with 40 g of brewing sugar the other day. Only to find I lose 5 pints in my very dark muhahaha of a bedroom when I checked on it today. I released a bit of pressure and drank a few pints to alleviate pressure. This is just for future reference mind - Cheers in advance.

Arcs said:

So, last week I saw this nice bargain on ebay that gave me an FV, a PB and various other goodies in it for a surprise goody box worth 20 quid + 10 quid postage. Get it delivered and I am reasonably pleased bar I was hoping for a 5 gallon keg. No keg size on it save I can tell it's small, so what better way to measure it than to fill it up with water and empty the water in an FV to get what size the keg is. So it's 2 gallons when totally filled to the brim. Sadly no instructions. How much beer should I be putting in it exactly, as I loaded it to 3/4 full with 40 g of brewing sugar the other day. Only to find I lose 5 pints in my very dark bedroom when I checked on it today. I released a bit of pressure and drank a few pints to alleviate pressure. This is just for future reference mind - Cheers in advance.

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And how much sugar? cheers

OK 2 gallons is 16 pints. Three Quarters full is 12 pints. For an Ale, maybe 80-100g of initial priming sugar is plenty in a keg of 40 pints. So 25g of sugar in 12 pints looks like a start point.

Slid said:

OK 2 gallons is 16 pints. Three Quarters full is 12 pints. For an Ale, maybe 80-100g of initial priming sugar is plenty in a keg of 40 pints. So 25g of sugar in 12 pints looks like a start point.

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My dad uses 70g of sugar in a 23L keg for his ales and that makes for a quite lively pale ale. I'd agree with Slid and try 25-30g and see how you get on

So is it best to leave that PB 3/4 full or can I fill the whole barrel and pray I don't get an eruption like last night or again, give the barrel enough space for the liquid to expand during carbonation? Cheers.

Arcs said:

So is it best to leave that PB 3/4 full or can I fill the whole barrel and pray I don't get an eruption like last night or again, give the barrel enough space for the liquid to expand during carbonation? Cheers.

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It sounds like you added too much sugar, those barrels are not rated for high pressure which is probably why yours leaked. You have to go easy on them. 3/4 of a barrel is about 9L so I'd say 15-20g sugar for that amount, or 25g for a full barrel

If you had an eruption when you added priming sugar, are you sure that it had stopped fermenting completely before barrelling?

fury_tea said:

It sounds like you added too much sugar, those barrels are not rated for high pressure which is probably why yours leaked. You have to go easy on them. 3/4 of a barrel is about 9L so I'd say 15-20g sugar for that amount, or 25g for a full barrel

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After reading this again I've realised 2 gallons is 9L so 3/4 of that is 6.25L. you definitely put way too much sugar in. I'd try 10-15g if you only want to fill to that level next time, and see how you get on.

Pavros said:

If you had an eruption when you added priming sugar, are you sure that it had stopped fermenting completely before barrelling?

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I took the necessary readings before plunging it. It wasn't an eruption per se, it was leakage through the spiggot of the keg at the valve end. That in my mind is too much pressure. I've had a few beers from it since, it's more than ready to be honest. Fury_tea is right. I pitched too much sugar.

fury_tea said:

After reading this again I've realised 2 gallons is 9L so 3/4 of that is 6.25L. you definitely put way too much sugar in. I'd try 10-15g if you only want to fill to that level next time, and see how you get on.

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Cheers bro. You live and learn

Arcs said:

Cheers bro. You live and learn

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No worries, if you still get leaking, you could also try a little bit of vaseline around the outside (not inside) of where the spigot connects to the keg. I had that issue with a leaky bottling bucket and the vaseline fixed it