HELP! First Cooper Stout but keg problems?!

[RatboyOllie]

I could cry, ive waited and waited to try my first Coopers and done everything by the book, just thought i would take a "taster" just to make sure all is well and no infection and Ive got absolutely no pressure whatsoever in my Brewmatser Top Tap Keg !!! Does this mean my whole lot is going to go off?!

Thing is, its the first time ive kegged anything so i first tried the keg with water whilst i was cleaning it and i made sure i understood how the hambleton bard cylinder worked and tried it all out and gave it a blast with co2 openened the tap and watched it all gush out,

now ive got nothing and when i screw the cyclinder on it doesnt do anything either, its as though the cylinder is empty, but its brand new, it came in a sealed packet from the lhbs?! Do these things leak? What could it possibly be? Why isnt there any pressure in there just from the priming sugars? The little bit that I did draw off tatsed nice and stouty but was quite carbonated, what have i done wrong here chaps?

Im lost now and a bit pssed off coz ive took me time wi this one and really wanted it to work.............

gonna have to drown my sorrows with a few TC's tonight !

boooo hooo hoooo

HELP ME PLEASE !

[Ditch]

Chill out. Nothing too revolting's liable to happen to ye Coopers, whilst we sort ye gas out.

If ye screwing it on and nothing's happening? Could be the valve on the bottle's stuck. I've only read of this, never experienced it myself. So I can't go too deeply into it. There's a way of sorting that out. Dip the nozzle in hot water, or something. Don't quote me on that. Have a scratch about under Equipment till someone pops up here and explains it.

If ye get that characteristic sound inside the keg, as the gas goes in? Leaky keg. Re fit the lid and try. Or, with one of those horrible TTK's. it might be something's come adrift in the plumbing?

Is there no issue of gas when ye lift the rubber band round the S30? That could better illustrate true lack of gas in there.

What ever's going on; I'm sure we'll have it all sorted by tomorrow and ye Coopers will survive. Just keep checking back for responses here.

[Lillywhite]

now ive got nothing and when i screw the cyclinder on it doesnt do anything either, its as though the cylinder is empty, but its brand new, it came in a sealed packet from the lhbs?! Do these things leak?

Does the cylinder rattle when you shake it? If so then the cylinder is empty and possibly didn't shut itself off last time you used it and gas slowly escaped. It recently happened to me, after I only used it three times, but my local HBS gave me a free refill.

A tip is to check every time you use the cylinder to ensure it has shut off and if in doubt immerse in warm water for a few seconds.

[RatboyOllie]

cheers for responses !

The bottle rattles but only because the little metal pin type thing goes up and down in the top of the valve, i was trying to figure out how that thing going up and down makes the bottle empty, but i was too thick. Does that mean my bottle is empty if that thing moves on its own, how annoying, its brand new, i only used it to test the barrel ! So frustrating having to trek to the bloody lhbs, grrrrrrrr.

Anyway, im pleased that My Coopers should be ok, only problem now being ye cant drink the fecker coz its a top tap keg?!

I tried the little rubber release band and there was no sound at all, i then took the lid off completey and rescrewed it on thinking i would be bale to repressurise via bottle, thats when i noticed my bottle also not working.

I cried myself to sleep last night after having to resort to drinking Guinness, dont hold that against me Ditch its all I had!!

[Lillywhite]

The bottle rattles but only because the little metal pin type thing goes up and down in the top of the valve, i was trying to figure out how that thing going up and down makes the bottle empty, but i was too thick. Does that mean my bottle is empty if that thing moves on its own, how annoying, its brand new, i only used it to test the barrel ! So frustrating having to trek to the bloody lhbs, grrrrrrrr.

That's what I meant. If you screw the cylinder down slowly and then only use the cylinder in short 1-2 sec bursts there's less chance it will stick open but check after every time you use it.

Do what I did and go back to your local HBS and complain that you were given a faulty cylinder and ask for a free replacement. It should save you a fiver.

I know it's a pain but you'll be a bit wiser after this, like I was.

[RatboyOllie]

cheers lilywhite,

can i just confirm, you know the little pin type thing that goes up and down in the valve on the bottle.... should that not do that, that means its empty does it?

cheers, like you say, ive learnt a lesson !

[Lillywhite]

can i just confirm, you know the little pin type thing that goes up and down in the valve on the bottle.... should that not do that, that means its empty does it?

Yes that's right. When you have a full cylinder the brass pin sticks out about 2-3 mm and you will find you can't push it in with your finger but when it's empty it's very loose because there is no gas pushing the pin out so it rattles when you shake it. Screwing the cylinder down on the valve is needed to get gas out of the cylinder and into your keg.

Another way you can tell how much gas you have in your bottle is to weigh it. The tare weight on a full bottle is around 720 grams (it will tell you the exact weight on the bottle) and they give you 240 grams of CO2.

[RatboyOllie]

magic, cheers !

[RatboyOllie]

mornin,

just thought i would finish the thread off with an update. I popped into the lhbs on the way home from work, they replaced the co2 cannister straight away with no problem at all explaining that this does happen from time to time. He then went through everywhere possible that my keg could be losing pressure and told me what to look for etc.

I got in, gave it a blast with the co2, left it an hour and of course, just to test if it was holding pressure, poured meself a glass, or two.......

I will report my taste findings on the other coopers thread as this was just about my keg and cannister really.

cheers for the info everyone, the thing about weighing the cannister may have been an obvious one to the masses but i hadnt a clue and its really fckin helpful !

cheers

[Lillywhite]

cheers for the info everyone, the thing about weighing the cannister may have been an obvious one to the masses but i hadnt a clue and its really fckin helpful !

Glad you're now sorted.

Actually the tip about weighing the cylinder was given to me by my local HBS owner.

[RatboyOllie]

as it happens i was only temporarily sorted.........

the fella at the lhbs gave me a load of tips to test whether the keg was leaking, one of them being put a bit of water in the top of the prv. Sure enough the bugger is leaking away and was still bubbling some 9 hours later when i got in from work. Phoned him though and he is sending me a replacement through the post, theyre a good bunch down at Brewmart in Sheffield, cant complain at all and always happy to advise.

Hopefully this'll sort it once and for all and i can enjoy me Coopers !

Guess its maturing as well whilst i await my new valve..........

might just have a quick taste tonight though! Just to check its still there like......

[Ditch]

So, ye had a self emptying gas bottle and a leaky valve on the keg? God, that's bad luck!

Just be sure, if ye draw some off ~ for quality assurance purposes ~ ye get a squirt of gas back over it when ye've done. It'll probably leak out, of course. But not all of it and it should thus still lay a blanket over what's left of ye Coopers.

[KevP]

The guys at Brewmart are first class, I gave them a whirl last year and have stayed ever since, remarkable personal service, my Coopers Dark Ale was an xmas gift from them.
I did order a King Kegb TT from them and it came pressure tested over 24 hours, due to known problems with KK's.

[RatboyOllie]

will do Ditch, cheers !

KevP i didnt get a Xmas present.............

I go into the shop in person so clearly they dont log all my purchases like they will do for an online customer otherwise I would certainly be due one !

boooooooooooooooooooo

[sparky Paul]

The guys at Brewmart are first class, I gave them a whirl last year and have stayed ever since, remarkable personal service, my Coopers Dark Ale was an xmas gift from them.

That was nice of them!

Good supplier though, and competitive pricing.