Pressure Barrels - More than you wanted to know!

[Buffers brewery]

Weirdly, you might find if you open the tap up to fully open (with the glass tilted) you could reduce the froth. Be prepared to turn it off quick though. When I used the original tap supplied with the PB, the slower the pour the more froffy!

 

[Clint]

Hi Richy I use a soda stream for top ups you will need an adapter it works with pin or without View attachment 42831View attachment 42832View attachment 42831

I think I need one of those! Is the adapter ok for pin type valve? Where do you get the gas?

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Clint yes all mine are pin type, Gas i have 2 first one i got from the range the other off amazon last week £22-99 you can exchange then at the range argos and various other places, the adapter i just googled it

 

[Clint]

What weight of gas is in the soda stream cylinder?

 

[Rodcx500z]

425 grams so not much, brew keg tap reckon enough for 2 cornys, i am on the slippery slope now Clint

 

[Clint]

So...bear with me and my counting...at £24 it works out the same price as 10x8g at £4.50?
I'm probably wrong...

 

[Rodcx500z]

No you are probly right, i have come to the conclusion a big cylinder is a lot cheaper in the longer term after initial outlay, think im on the corny road here

 

[Richy25]

Hi Richy I use a soda stream for top ups you will need an adapter it works with pin or without

this looks like a great idea and possibly cheaper than the single cartridges?

Thanks for the tips Hazelwood, It does seem to calm down quite quickly but the jug idea much better. Its actually turning into a nice pint unconditioned very drinkable :)

 

[Richy25]

No you are probly right, i have come to the conclusion a big cylinder is a lot cheaper in the longer term after initial outlay, think im on the corny road here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CO2-Gas-...433234?hash=item1ab25a9f92:g:rwcAAOSwhHZf8wM4
one of these adapters?

 

[Richy25]

Attach files

really enjoyed the PB brew guys, once you've mastered the tap control, probably worth replacing as the wilko's one is a bit duff. Still no leeks, still got plenty of pressure 8ish pints in.

The coppers AIPA is a nice pint, albeit somewhat lacking a banging hoppy hit imo, will do again but dry hop it. loving the creamer head you can muster compared to bottles with the PB. Will definitely be refilling it again:)

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Getting cocky with the PB now eh? Good for you!

PBs do give great results if you look after them and use them with the right beers.

 

[MisterMike]

Great post, I use pressure barrels and find them reliable once you get familiar with them.

 

[Stevieboy]

Why a pressure barrel?

So when you can bottle beer, why bother with pressure barrels at all? My view - bottles are a real headache with all that cleaning, sterilising, filling, priming, capping, labeling, the risk of bottle bombs from over-carbonation or flat beer from under-carbonation. What you have to do 40 times over with bottles, you do just once with a keg. When it comes to carbonation, all the beers in the picture below came straight out of a pressure barrel beautifully carbonated and conditioned. You can of course get the same results with other systems but for me, pressure barrels are a good way to get great results without the hassle of bottling and without the complexity and expense of full-on cornelius (“corny”) keg setups with kegs, gas bottles, regulators, and all the plumbing – which is all a bit daunting in the beginning when you don’t even know what things are called let alone how they’re assembled and used.

View attachment 31224

I'm a PB user - but I never get carbonated beer out - it's always flat (I don't mind, I like warm flat beer) - how do you get carbonated beer out of your PBs?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I'm a PB user - but I never get carbonated beer out - it's always flat (I don't mind, I like warm flat beer) - how do you get carbonated beer out of your PBs?

Read further down the thread and you will hopefully find the answers to all your questions. Almost certainly you need to replace the pressure release rubber on the valve - it’s very likely letting all the CO2 out. You’ll see photos and more info in the thread but come back to me if you need more help.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

This thread made me try using my PB's again after 4 years. I followed HB's instructions. Result was I barrelled a bitter (Yankee) on the 31/3/21 with just priming sugar and its almost finished, it's still well carbonated and I've added no additional CO2.

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

I have 6 PBs on the go and find KKs the best and as I said immediately I read the OP I think it encyclopaedia like.

However I have a problem that I can't solve as follows

Last brew had gas coming up the central hole during 2nd Ferm ... I lived with it as it was slight. When empty I changed the small rubber seal as advised in the OP and that gave me confidence as it was new , flush and tight

Just got to pressure with St Peters Ruby and it has started again so I am stumped. It is a brass valve not really old and takes the small gas bulbs

Just wondering if I can as a fix put a bulb in holder and pierce it . In theory (I'm good at theory till someone tells me my theory is rubbish) the gas can't get in the barrel as it is "full" and will provide a seal ?

So 2 questions above. I can't see how the valve can leak if the only way out is through the gas input hole so is there a way pls

I will change valve when Ruby has been drunk but is there a way to seal this leak till then

Cheers Wherrypuzzled

 

[The Baron]

Only just found this thread must have slipped the net.
What a brilliant write up by Hazlewood

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I have 6 PBs on the go and find KKs the best and as I said immediately I read the OP I think it encyclopaedia like.

However I have a problem that I can't solve as follows

Last brew had gas coming up the central hole during 2nd Ferm ... I lived with it as it was slight. When empty I changed the small rubber seal as advised in the OP and that gave me confidence as it was new , flush and tight

Just got to pressure with St Peters Ruby and it has started again so I am stumped. It is a brass valve not really old and takes the small gas bulbs

Just wondering if I can as a fix put a bulb in holder and pierce it . In theory (I'm good at theory till someone tells me my theory is rubbish) the gas can't get in the barrel as it is "full" and will provide a seal ?

So 2 questions above. I can't see how the valve can leak if the only way out is through the gas input hole so is there a way pls

I will change valve when Ruby has been drunk but is there a way to seal this leak till then

Cheers Wherrypuzzled

Remember there is a route for gas to enter the keg (via the central pin/channel) AND there is a route for gas to escape (via the pressure release rubber).

If you attach a gas bulb and pierce the seal, gas will enter the keg because the pressure in the keg is much lower than the gas pressure in the bulb - so the bulb WILL discharge. As it does, the pressure in the keg rises and if it gets above the threshold will escape through the pressure release. You can have gas going in AND gas coming out at the same time if the pressure in the keg is already fairly high.

Can I ask why you think the gas is escaping back up the “gas-in” route rather than leaking past the pressure release rubber? The latter is almost always the cause.

 

[Wherrypuzzled]

Hi HB

I can hear gas slowly very slowly leaking and putting my finger over the top of valve and it silences it immediately. Put soapy water over top and it slowly blows up then pops

It's why I am foxed and its quite a new valve as well but the input rubber didn't look that good (not concentric) so I put a totally new one on that was .

I made sure it was seated right and it was tight so I didn't add the cable tie and was amazed when it got to pressure and still had the hiss because there seems no way out for gas other than through those 2 bands .

Can see there is 1/4 inch of head in barrel so it's not losing that much gas but annoying in the extreme ... and I am a fan of PBs never having had that much grief ...... Bottles time consuming Cornies too rich for me lol

Cheers wp

 

[Buffers brewery]

Before I gave up on the HB valve (the Achilles heal of the PB) I suffered the same problem. It was so unpredictable and could occur halfway through a barrel after adding a puff of gas. Soo frustrating. So I cannibalised a HB valve and used the brass securing nut to make a plug (soldering a piece of copper sheet across one face) and fitting a disc of rubber inside so I could fit it to the valve to seal the non-return valve gas path.

If you want to DM me your address I’ll send it to you. I don’t need it anymore as I use corny posts now.
Cheers