First kit and a wee snag

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Gar

First kit and a wee snag

Post by Gar » Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:28 pm

Hiya,
Got a kit (Woodforde's Wherry) complete with equipment for Xmas and started it off a couple of weeks ago. All was going well until I transferred it from the FV to the keg. As soon as it was full the tap started passing slightly in the closed position. There's a little drop about every 5 seconds.
For the time being I've lain the keg on it's side with the tap at the top.
In this position I can replace the tap - if I had a replacement - but if I have to wait for one to be delivered will secondary fermentation have started meaning I'll lose any pressure? Maybe it's a moot point because if it's passing in the closed position there isn't a complete seal anyway?
Thanks in advance.
Edit ... no idea why it posted twice and I can't seem to delete one of them. Not my afternoon it seems #-o

Fil
Telling imaginary friend stories
Posts: 5229
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: Cowley, Oxford

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Fil » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:15 pm

if its a lever tap?? the fully open and fully closed positions are at about 11 oclock and 7 oclock rather than 12 and 6, and pushing too far to close can result in a weeping leak??

if its the thread seal, pulling and bulking up the male thread with a healthy wrap of ptfe can make the seal ok.
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Fil
Telling imaginary friend stories
Posts: 5229
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: Cowley, Oxford

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Fil » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:15 pm

welcome to brewing btw ;)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Gar

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Gar » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:16 pm

Hi Fil, thanks for that. I checked supplier website and they advise the closed position is at 3 o'clock rather than all the way back, which they call 2 o'clock. I've moved the lever in tiny increments from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock and although it's leaking slightly at every position. It's definitely coming from the tap, not the thread where the tap screws into the keg.

Fil
Telling imaginary friend stories
Posts: 5229
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: Cowley, Oxford

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Fil » Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:58 pm

pushing the tap too far back may have pushed open the seal between the 2 plastic surfaces in the tap barrel,

You can try pushing the PB onto its back so the tap is uppermost and not in danger of draining beer. while you use somthing of a slightly smaller diameter to push the tap back/up through the barrel/body and out, this will let you wrap a couple of layers of ptfe round the tap above and below the beer flow entry ? been a while since i had such a tap so am relying on recall, so you may need to wrap the whole thing and poke a hole for beer exit??

then twist/push back into place, in/out will strain the plastic and may leave visible strain marks, and may? stretch the taps barrel out a bit making the problem worse.. but ptfe is foodsafe, and inho its worth the punt to save a brew ;) and its a quick fix while you await a replacement tap which i think is probably a good idea ..

or if its a very minimal drip, sit a tray beneath it and it may clog up with brew sediment/trub? but as pressure builds with yeast consuming the priming and residual sugars if it starts pissing out trying a fix may be worth it,,

all else fails prop the pb on its back while you can find a replacement.. pb taps generally screw into the PB body , when refitting a wrap of ptfe is again good idea imho..
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Fil
Telling imaginary friend stories
Posts: 5229
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: Cowley, Oxford

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Fil » Sat Jan 27, 2018 7:07 pm

ps my 'clock' was 90 degrees out i had 3 o'clock pointing thu the pb's centre DOH! (my ol pb sat in a cupboard and i accessed it from the side as the tap would stop the door closing ... )
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

Gar

Re: First kit and a wee snag

Post by Gar » Fri Feb 02, 2018 10:39 am

Hi Fil,
Thanks again for all that info. I replaced the tap and inspected the original one. There was some plastic swarf inside it from where the keg had been drilled (or the hole was tapped) to fit the tap, this was preventing a proper seal being formed when the tap was closed. I thought I'd managed to get all the swarf out when I was sterilising the keg, this little corkscrew bit was jammed inside and out of sight.
Lesson learned and I now have a spare tap :)

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