Barrels - OK I give up

[baccus]

So you might recall I had some trouble with a couple of cheapy budget barrels I bought. On both the seal didn't seem right, so I had to get a replacement from the suppliers. Both were replaced. Now, some 5+ weeks later both barrels are pouring flat cloudy beer. One barrel is Coopers Aussie Ale, the other Brewpak IPA. I poured a pint from the IPA just to see if it would clear in the glass, or maybe taste OK. It doesn't. Couldn't finish the darn thing. Had two sips and then dumped it.

The Coopers barrel is clearly not sealed, air is being sucked up the tap.

The brew (from the same batches) that I put into bottles as little taster types is fine, nice clear brew, so there's nothing intrinsically wrong with it.

I followed all the advice given with these barrels, put Vaseline round the threads and made sure not to over tighten.

I'm seriously considering just going with bottles. I've got two barrels of plop now. Grr.

[speedtripledan]

would using better barrels not be a better option before cornies i used king kegs never lost a brew in them some brews stayed in there 6months and were still fine.
Now on Cornies with proper bartap etc i would never go back to plastic...

[leedsbrew]

I lost two batches when using a budget barrel when I 1st started out. Went over to cornies and never looked back! Well worth the investment

[SMASH3R]

I have had no end of problems with my less-than-budget pressure barrels in the past. A king keg and Hambleton Bard Beer Sphere.
After much searching around on here and trying to tighten everything, I found that the seal around the lid was the culprit. I only found this out by nearly filling both barrels with water and pressurising up with CO2, the submerging in a plastic dustbin. A slow leak (bubble) was visible around the lid after several minutes submersion.

To solve it, I have (following advice on here) employed two tactics:

1) I used double-sided carpet tap and stuck some fine wet and dry paper to a very flat, glazed bathroom tile (30p for the tile). I then carefully sanded the lip on the very top of the barrel until it was perfectly flat for a minute or so. It already looked flat to me, and I couldn't feel any lips/bumps etc, but this bit had been proved to be the area of the leak. After a thorough cleaning, I put the lid back on with a very thin smear of vaseline and to my great surprise, the barrel now seals with a very easy one-handed tightening. No more of this wringing the heck out of it to close it.

2) To keep and eye on the thing, I have fitted a 1 bar/15 psi pressure gauge in the lid. This has verified that I do not loose pressure, and it great for keeping an eye on the serving pressure. I like to serve at around 2-5psi, and top up to 7-10psi for storage. Serving above 5psi tends to cause gushing

Good luck.

[baccus]

Well I've figured out there are two problems. First, the rubber seal can twist up funny inside its recess. I've seen this twice now. Second, the safety valve is defective by design. The valve is just a glorified rubber band and this seems to need some gentle tweaking to get it so that it won't leak.

One barrel now seems to be OK, but I suspect the other is lost.

Can I buy different screw caps for these cheap barrels? Maybe one that'll let me add a pressure gauge and let me top up the CO2? At the moment I just have CO2 capsules, so there's little control over the amount of CO2 going in.

[techtone]

Well I've figured out there are two problems. First, the rubber seal can twist up funny inside its recess. I've seen this twice now.

I had problems in the early days but I have done many brews since with no problems and I now have high confidence with them. I have 5 budget kegs. My main lesson was to ensure the rubber seal is totally dry and clear of vaseline on the side that mates with the cap and then just to use a tiny smear on the visible side to allow the barrel to slide into place as you do it up and it does not need to be tight just secure.

All I keep an eye on is to prevent too much pressure build up and if necessary release some gas. I detailed how I monitor the pressure in other threads. (watch plastic feet and mark level with masking tape)

[Jolum]

Hi Baccus, Sorry to hear you've had such arse-ache with the budget barrels. I've got cornies, KK and budgets and use them all - you can't have enough storage space Anyway, I'd listen to techtone, what he's saying is dead on about the seal, the only thing I'd add is although you want to keep the Vaseline to a minimum on the seal, you want to coat the threads inside the cap good and thick. The first few times I used a plastic barrel and cap (I'm too embarrassed to say how many years ago ) I made the mistake of using the Vaseline sparingly on the threads and I could never get a good pressure up - now when I use a budget barrel I have to be really careful with my priming or I can over pressurise to the point where the bottom bulges out

Anyway, stick with it, it's all part of a learning curve but it's worth it in the end.

[Wooderson]

Get yourself some 2ltr bottles of spring water and fill them from the barrell with some sugar for priming.It should undergo some form of tertiary fermentation, might not be as good as it could have been but it's got to be better than ditching what you've got.

[Eric]

Hi Baccus,
Anyway, stick with it, it's all part of a learning curve but it's worth it in the end.

Absolutely, the best possible advice. My King Keg, Hambleton Bard and 4 budget kegs each have their weaknesses but give little trouble. They all connect with S30 cylinders which last for ages as nearly all the gas needed is produced by the beer. You'll learn to tell when on the odd occasion one doesn't seal and fix it long before it becomes critical. I've no reason or inclination to change.

[baccus]

Get yourself some 2ltr bottles of spring water and fill them from the barrell with some sugar for priming.It should undergo some form of tertiary fermentation, might not be as good as it could have been but it's got to be better than ditching what you've got.

Well I tried this once already. The beer now has a more sugar taste (aduh!) but is still flat because the barrel screwed up again.

If I learned anything it's not to try and transform a flat batch by adding sugar and to learn to enjoy flat beer!

[akka lakka]

hi ive been having the same problems with budget kegs i reckon shash3r has good idea with pressure indicators,so ive sent off for 3 off ebay ,ive learnt loads on jims forum see ya regards joe.

[techtone]

hi ive been having the same problems with budget kegs i reckon shash3r has good idea with pressure indicators,so ive sent off for 3 off ebay ,ive learnt loads on jims forum see ya regards joe.

Where are you going to fit a gauge in a 2" lid?

Personally, I can see exactly how much pressure there is by looking at the base of the keg.

[baccus]

Just another update on what turned out to be a barrel nightmare: One of these budget barrels started leaking from the tap. Luckily it seemed to be a slowish leak and I think I caught it early, so not much damage done. However I did spend a few days going up and down the stairs thinking Mmmm these stairs smell of delicious beer! (The barrels are stored under the stairs) Then one day I put two and two together and went to investigate.

So tips for fixing leaky taps?

And I want to convert these barrels to the controlled CO2 injector type. Where can I get the right valves/screw caps?

[Eric]

Budget barrel taps are just screw fit. All you should need to do is tighten it gently. They are great, easy to clean after every brew as they unscrew and can be stripped down quickly after heating by insertion in hot water, cleaned, sterilised, and pushed back together. Injector caps and S30 gas bottles from virtually all home brew shops.
Glad to hear you didn't give up.

[baccus]

Just so you know, I bought replacement S30 valves and a bottle of gas for these barrels. Last brew sealed up nicely with it pretty much jumping out of the barrel!