Pin hole leak in Corny

[BeerCat]

I am sure i cant be the first but my keg sprung a hole right in the bottom last night and emptied 8l of pilsner all over the garage floor. Had to empty the fridge and clean it and just noticed i also lost all my gas. I am so glad i have a spare but i am really ****ed off. The 12l keg was £70 second hand . I am starting to wonder if second hand kegs are false economy.
Not the first time i have lost a whole keg full of beer but at least before it was from leaking posts which are easy enough to fix. I always pressure test my kegs now before filling to make sure they seal but i guess this old thing couldn't take 60PSI. I am bloody glad i brew lots of beer so wont run out but this was intended for a competition and i only have a 19l keg left so that will be drunk and i will have to brew more. Problem is my hose has also sprung multiple leaks and is well beyond the magic of tape to fix.

 

[Dutto]

WOW!

I worked in the Oil & Gas Industry for many years and any leak from anywhere was treated as a serious matter!

I notice that you mention 60psi. According to this US site ...

https://www.brewersassociation.org/attachments/0001/4566/Summary_of_Key_Findings_Refillable_Kegs.pdf

... The Brewers Association consider 60psi to be the MAXIMUM allowable working pressure and that the MINIMUM Design Pressure is 300psi to give a five-fold margin of error.

Personally, I would examine all of my kegs (both inside and out) and then test them (using water rather than a gas such as Air, CO2 or Nitrogen*) to ensure that they were fit for purpose.

Here's a good place to start ...

https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/gs4.htm

BTW, before anyone points out that a beer keg "only" runs at 5psi to 35psi please remember that "Pressure = Force ÷ Area" whereas "Force = Pressure x Area".

* Water is an incompressible liquid and therefore a failure won't cause an expansion; whereas a gas is compressible and a failure can result in a massive expansion.

 

[Richie_asg1]

If it is a stainless keg I know that stainless steel can pinhole if any bleach is left inside it. I lost a saucepan that way just standing overnight. As it was at the bottom it may be a possibility.

Could get it welded up rather than bin it, or weld it and convert into an electric boiler.

 

[BeerCat]

@Dutto I have always force carbed at 60PSI unless its a stout and never had any issues. Will give your link a read later. I do test them with starsan just in case any grommets need replacing but i was amazed to find a hole in the bottom. I did a quick search and was unable to find anyone else with that issue so it seems i just got lucky.

@Richie_asg1 I had no idea bleach could cause such damage! Its not the cause here though as i never use it. Would welding be secure or even sanitary? The last thing i want is to lose more beer as i lost a full keg this summer.

Thanks for your replies Gents.

 

[Richie_asg1]

Welding would be fine if you find someone who knows what they are doing. If they are very good then you may not even be able to tell it had been repaired. If it was me it would have a big blob of weld on it.

 

[Dutto]

MIG welding followed by a pressure test would be okay.

SS can take most things but “chloride cracking” is a known weakness an bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is one of the things that can attack it - also salt!

enjoy.

 

[terrym]

Personally, I would examine all of my kegs (both inside and out) and then test them (using water hydraulic testy cannot be donethan a gas such as Air, CO2 or Nitrogen*) to ensure that they were fit for purpose.

* Water is an incompressible liquid and therefore a failure won't cause an expansion; whereas a gas is compressible and a failure can result in a massive expansion.

I think that's a message that regularly needs repeating on this Forum, and applies to any homebrew pressure containing item where water can be used for testing in preference to a gas. In industry the rules for pressure testing a vessels are far more rigorous for pneumatic testing compared to a hydraulic test, and if I remember correctly pneumatic testing is always carried out at a lower pressure relative to the MAWP in view of the safety considerations, and will only be carried out where a hydraulic test cannot be done.
I often read on here about folks pressure testing their plastic PBs with an air pump alone and for me they apparently have no real appreciation of the stored energy inside the pressurised air filled PB and what can happen should things go horribly wrong.

 

[Mrobson]

MIG welding followed by a pressure test would be okay.

SS can take most things but “chloride cracking” is a known weakness an bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is one of the things that can attack it - also salt!

enjoy.

Isn’t bleach the main ingredient in most purple beer line cleaners?

So leaving some in the bottom of a keg or even using it to clean kegs is a bad idea?

 

[terrym]

Isn’t bleach the main ingredient in most purple beer line cleaners?

So leaving some in the bottom of a keg or even using it to clean kegs is a bad idea?

My understanding is that anything which contains chloride in solution could potentially corrode SS. However there are several types of SS and some are more corrosion resistant to chloride attack than others, in particular type 316 which is sometimes used in a marine environment. Since the grade of most 'stainless steel' items sold to domestic rather than industrial consumers is usually unknown I would work on the basis that leaving any chloride containing solution in contact with SS over a period of time could cause corrosion and so would avoid it. However for applications like line cleaning I would say it would be fine to use it then completely flush it out after a short time when its done its job.

 

[Smileyr8]

When I worked in engineering we would have done this kind of repair regularly, try to find a engineering shop with a tig welder try to ensure they use 316 stainless (I think this is what is used in manufacture of Cornies), if you can speak to the welder directly you should be able to get it done for a drink.

 

[foxy]

Kegs are generally made of 304L stainless steel which is low in carbon so ideal for welding, I would just go with silver solder if doing the repair myself.
Or 25 GBP would get you one of these.

 

[cossie.j]

Kegs are generally made of 304L stainless steel which is low in carbon so ideal for welding, I would just go with silver solder if doing the repair myself.
Or 25 GBP would get you one of these.
View attachment 22184

I’m still waiting for a U.K. distributor to get these in. I’d certainly have a few at them prices, but I’m sure after company’s have paid duty on them and added their profits on top they won’t be quite as cheap as £25? Still I’d definitely like a few for sure. Hopefully soon we’ll get them in over here

 

[foxy]

I’m still waiting for a U.K. distributor to get these in. I’d certainly have a few at them prices, but I’m sure after company’s have paid duty on them and added their profits on top they won’t be quite as cheap as £25? Still I’d definitely like a few for sure. Hopefully soon we’ll get them in over here

They haven't gone into full production yet, someone else in the Uk asked and the company replied they would be about $55 AUD in the UK. I expect the GBP will rise owing to Brexit so could be cheaper.
Though you guys seem to pay through the nose for brewing related supplies.

 

[cossie.j]

They haven't gone into full production yet, someone else in the Uk asked and the company replied they would be about $55 AUD in the UK. I expect the GBP will rise owing to Brexit so could be cheaper.
Though you guys seem to pay through the nose for brewing related supplies.

Hopefully soon they’ll be available as they seem to be a great little device for not much money? Fingers crossed

 

[Dutto]

Isn’t bleach the main ingredient in most purple beer line cleaners?

So leaving some in the bottom of a keg or even using it to clean kegs is a bad idea?

Dunno the contents of beer line cleaners ...

... but worked on a 1.5 billion cubic feet a day gas plant (NGL 1000) in Iran that had to change out the stainless steel inlet facilities for Inconel after chlorides in the feed gas were discovered!

Personally, I occasionally use bleach as a sanitising agent, but I make extra sure that it is NEVER allowed to sit in the Growler and ALWAYS rinsed out so that there isn’t even a whiff of bleach left.

 

[Federalman]

Where are you based? If you know where the leak is I can possibly TIG weld it for you. I’m in Bedfordshire