Sounds like you’re getting serious @Clint I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you have your sleeves rolled up an’ everythin’
Pressure Barrels - More than you wanted to know!
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Sounds like you’re getting serious @Clint I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you have your sleeves rolled up an’ everythin’
@Hazelwood Brewery I don't think you've gone in to enough detail. Only joking that's an excellent piece.
I've a couple of older Wilko PB's that serve me well but I've noticed their new design now has a 4" opening.
I've a couple of older Wilko PB's that serve me well but I've noticed their new design now has a 4" opening.
Good to hear, it must be far easier to clean if you can actually get your arm in!
I found those plier things...it's a castration banding tool,...sounds awful! Not unless yours is a proper brewing spanner one...Sounds like you’re getting serious @Clint I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you have your sleeves rolled up an’ everythin’
If your King Keg top tap starts dispensing more gas than beer, your beer comes out as foam and you find you are using a lot of gas, it's usually because the o-ring shown at top right is not sealing.
You can verify this by tilting the barrel forward so the tap is below the surface of the beer. Now dispense some and see if the beer comes out clear with no foam.
O-rings will seal indefinitely if not disturbed but when you take everything apart for cleaning check this o-ring is still resilient and a snug fit when you push the spigot back into the tap. O-rings are readily available on eBay; size is 16mm x 18mm. Silicone grease will soften silicone rubber. Vaseline is the best lubricant and it will actually aid sealing as it helps the o-ring to settle into position. Before every use, I test the seal with air pressure. I fill the PB to just below the tap and pump the PB up with a car tyre until the relief device squeals. But don't exceed 15psi - mine squeal at ~10psi. This is why I recommend installing Schrader valves.
You can verify this by tilting the barrel forward so the tap is below the surface of the beer. Now dispense some and see if the beer comes out clear with no foam.
O-rings will seal indefinitely if not disturbed but when you take everything apart for cleaning check this o-ring is still resilient and a snug fit when you push the spigot back into the tap. O-rings are readily available on eBay; size is 16mm x 18mm. Silicone grease will soften silicone rubber. Vaseline is the best lubricant and it will actually aid sealing as it helps the o-ring to settle into position. Before every use, I test the seal with air pressure. I fill the PB to just below the tap and pump the PB up with a car tyre until the relief device squeals. But don't exceed 15psi - mine squeal at ~10psi. This is why I recommend installing Schrader valves.
Hagrid
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I've always thought that using a PB would give you a short shelf life to drink the beer, but is that an old assumption based on the the mini kegs (like hobgoblin) you buy in the shops?
How long would you expect to get to drink the beer in a PB? It's only me at home drinking beer and I tend to have a pint or two at weekends, would I get through it before it went off?
I've got two kicking around at my parents. One I've never used (it was donated by an ex's dad) and the other I used for a couple of beers I brewed for parties years ago, but did't think I'd get the shelf life to drink it without a party. I'd like to explore the PB route rather than collecting, storing, washing blah, blah, blah... all the bottles.
Thanks H
How long would you expect to get to drink the beer in a PB? It's only me at home drinking beer and I tend to have a pint or two at weekends, would I get through it before it went off?
I've got two kicking around at my parents. One I've never used (it was donated by an ex's dad) and the other I used for a couple of beers I brewed for parties years ago, but did't think I'd get the shelf life to drink it without a party. I'd like to explore the PB route rather than collecting, storing, washing blah, blah, blah... all the bottles.
Thanks H
Beer should keep for months. But as soon as you admit air, say by bubbling through the tap because there is no internal pressure the beer will spoil within a few days.
If you have a second hand PB and intend using it, it is worth changing all the seals and gaskets and certainly running a pressure test on it before you fill it with beer, when you will find whether it leaks or not.
As others have said, months. I sometimes leave a beer in the keg for up to 3 months conditioning before I even start drinking it.
On average I drink 5 pints a week (2 dry days a week
) so my 5 gallon King Kegs last about 8 weeks. I find, if anything, the beer improves towards the end of the barrel, so provided you maintain a good CO2 atmosphere over the beer, you’ll be alright. I find having a pressure gauge helps to maintain the barrel pressure within my desired limits. Some say they’re not necessary but I find them helpful.
Here's a tip for the brass S30 valve with pin rather than an insert.
If the black o-ring is damaged and won't create a seal for 8g cartridges or sodastream adapter, an emergency (or even permanent) replacement is to cut a slice from the end of some small diameter silicone tube making a "washer" and place it inside the top of the valve around the pin. Start with a thickish slice so that it sits level with the top of the pin. The silicone tube should compress and create a good enough seal to the face of the cartridge rather than around its neck. If the cartridge won't puncture, cut a little more off the silicone washer until it does. Too thin a washer and the cartridge will puncture before a decent seal is made by the washer. This is unlikely to work with the stainless valve body and insert, as gas will still escape up the sides of the insert.
If the black o-ring is damaged and won't create a seal for 8g cartridges or sodastream adapter, an emergency (or even permanent) replacement is to cut a slice from the end of some small diameter silicone tube making a "washer" and place it inside the top of the valve around the pin. Start with a thickish slice so that it sits level with the top of the pin. The silicone tube should compress and create a good enough seal to the face of the cartridge rather than around its neck. If the cartridge won't puncture, cut a little more off the silicone washer until it does. Too thin a washer and the cartridge will puncture before a decent seal is made by the washer. This is unlikely to work with the stainless valve body and insert, as gas will still escape up the sides of the insert.
I thought that "week" in your post was a typo and should have been day. Then I realised just how much my girth had increased since this lock down and drink up period started and I may be drinking a little too much.
I used to drink 10 pints a day when I was a lad but that was in the Gulf and I was doing hard, physical work. Even now I drink about 10 units a day. I suspect I am not alone. Currently, at 65, I have no health issues. I weigh 89kg and am 176cm tall. Technically overweight but not terribly.
I’m on the same page as you!
Type 2 means I have to be sensible nowadays.....most of the time
telenomus
Active Member
A very well written and informative essay on these kegs. I had 5 plastic barrels in the 1990s, eventually switching to corny kegs, and I still bottle some. I eventually tossed the plastic barrels because I thought that over time they may have become brittle or otherwise untrustworthy. Do you know if they stand the test of time, or does the integrity of the plastic (not the valves, etc.) lessen as it ages ?
Chiplover
Active Member
I was starting to think I was the only one drinking them sort of volumes!On average I drink 5 pints a week (2 dry days a week
Really enjoyed reading your thread, just a few pointers, I have been helped here in the passed, by yourself and a few of the other guys and all been most helpful, the point is ,you like using the PTFE tape, whilst others don’t and I have been told that the Cap on the KK does not need to be really tightened, because it might distort the large o ring in the cap, I am still having issues with my barrels but just finding out the best way forward, what I think I will definitely do is purchase a bottom tap KK, also I have a sparkler tap, I might also try that
