Why do my plastic barrels keep leaking?

[iandiggs]

This is the 2nd barrel that has leaked - not through the tap but actually through the surface of the barrel at the bottom. Getting fed up with it now as i keep losing the brew.
I have sometimes tried to clean off stains in the inside of the barrel with something pointy and abrasive and possibly left a scratch - would theses scratches possibly develop into gashes and then become perforated under pressure?
The barrels are a few years old.
Please advise...

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Perhaps it's time to invest in some nice shiny cornelius kegs.

[iandiggs]

Runwell, are these the normal ones you get in wilko's?

[GrowlingDogBeer]

No, they are entirely different, and a much more serious method of keeping beer.

The cornelius kegs we all use are nearly all second hand and were once used to contain the syrups used in Soft Drink dispensing, but they are ideal for beer as they can withstand up to about 150 psi of pressure, not that you need that much, compared to the 10 psi a plastic keg can hold.

To use them you do need to have a CO2 gas supply and regulator, plus some taps for serving. The initial set up can be a bit pricey but they last forever.

Heres a pic of some of my kegs so you can see what I mean



And here they are all set up for dispensing beer



The gas bottle and regulator are in the bottom of the fridge set to 12 psi and connected via gas lines to all the kegs, the kegs are then connected to taps via beer line.

You don't need to prime cornelius kegs as you can force carbonate the beer using the CO2 cylinder.

Have a look at this video, it shows you what the keg is and how it works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdDSmhZYBVs

[iandiggs]

thanks for that, Runwell-Steve. Not sure if i can afford this equipment yet

[iandiggs]

Runwell-Steve, i've just got my first cornelius keg (as a birthday present), with tap attached to the rim - but no co2 cylinder yet. Is it essential i get the co2 cylinder? Can you not buy some similar to the very small independent bottles that come in packets for the wilko valve screw-on lids? (i've noticed that those ones do actually fit the valve at the top of the cornie but that valve does not have a pin in it to pierce them)...

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Glad to see your heading in the corny direction, you won't be dissapointed.

You do need a CO2 cylinder and a regulator really. depending here you live you might be able to pick up a CO2 cylinder very cheaply indeed locally.

The thing with a corny is once you fill them you have to force carbonate them, you don't prime cornies.
There are 2 reasons for this, 1, you don't want sedment, 2, you need to get pressure inside the keg as this is what makes it seal, without it being pressurised it won't seal.

I'm slightly intrigued that you say your small gas bulbs fir the valve at the top of the corny, there is nothing on my cornies that would vaguely resemble this so I'm thinking it's possible you have a S30 valve in the top of the keg, which is a bit unusual, if that is the case you could get an adapter for the bulbs, but I don't think I would bother.

I've not known cornies to come with S30 valvesin them though, where did it come from.

Your top man for all things corny related is Norm.

Heres his stuff on ebay

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/normannumpa/m.ht ... 4340.l2562

He sells kegs as well, just drop him an email

Normansplace at hotmail dot com

[iandiggs]

Thanks, Runwell-Steve. i see what you mean about the pressure in the keg sealing it as the top has to be pushed outwards against the rim, doesn't it. I was thinking about just priming it on my first ever keg as i was sure this beauty wasn't going to leak - i was only concerned about repressurising it when the liquid level got low (as you would need to in the plastic kegs i have been using (and getting fed-up with) lately). Doesn't the priming sugar also condition the wort as well as carbonating it, though? If there is no sugar, do you end up with a different style drink?
I was also thinking about the sediment question if i was going to prime it with sugar; the tap tube leading down into the keg goes right to the bottom and i was wondering how this would avoid continually sucking up the sediment.
Heavy duty equipment for me! Scared my girlfriend a bit.
I'll have to have a look at the co2 cylinder/regulator. thanks again for your advice for a complete cornie novice.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

The priming sugar doesn't really do anything apart from prime it, it doesn't have any effect on the conditioning.

As to the sediment, that is another good reason not to prime a corny, some people cut 1/2 inch off the bottom of the tube but I haven't bothered. You will always get a little sediment so don't be surprised if your first pint is cloudy, but after that you should be fine.

Norm does the regs, there is a thread on here about where to get gas, have a search through there.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=577&hilit=gas+supplier

[iandiggs]

Do you think it's worth buying a cornelius charger (the small co2 charger going for about £20) to start with? Not sure if the small gas bulb would go very far in filling the cornie up..

[iandiggs]

...like this one - looks ok:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cornelius-Keg ... _846wt_907

[Andy]

Yes, they work. I use them when I take a cornie keg away from home. Good short-medium term solution until you can afford to get a reg + CO2 cylinder. Shop around for the CO2 cylinders, the innovations ones are very expensive but I use cheaper ones which are compatible (not all are).