Handpull Sparklers

[Jim]

I like it,your an inspiration to continue drinking Jim,bit like the wife.

Heh.

[sparky Paul]

Nice looking pump Jim, much prettier than mine...

[deadlydes]

Question for other beer engine users - I seem to be getting a very slight leak back down from the pump to the beer line, say over a couple of hours, so that it takes a good pull of the handle to get the beer flowing again. Is this normal, or do I need to look at my seals again?

yeah its the seals.
treat yourself to a recon kit that i mentions in another thread (from CFBS) i know you said they were expensive but paying £15-20 to totally recon your pump is well worth it. your pints will pull better, no leaking either way (air in or beer out) and it wont need doing again for ages.

another thing to look for is when you are pulling a pint and the nozzle is under the level of the liquid does the level in the pint glass go down when the handle is pushed back? i.e. is the pump sucking beer back into the lines. it sounds like it probably would do. this is obviously bad.
Dont be tight and get a recon kit! LOL

[Jim]

I ain't paying 20 quid for two o rings, that's for sure!

There's absolutely no detectable backflow when the pump is in use. The only seepage is under quiescent conditions, and even then it's quite slow.

Although softer o rings may help, to be honest the nylon seat that the o ring seals against isn't exactly smooth - it still has the toolmarks in it - so I doubt that it can be drastically improved. Frothy's (I think it was) experience in a pub environment tends to confirm that this situation is typical, unfortunately.

[Jim]

A oneway valve in the suction line sounds like your best bet then Jim (to prevent back flow and o2 ingress), if there's tool marks in the valve seats you will struggle to get a really good seal.
If you connect it to the barrel tap and shut it when not in use you wont even need oneway valve.

Aye. Turning off the tap'll be cheaper than a check valve as well.

[RabMaxwell]

Hello all just won my second beer engine according to the seller it's never been used. Paid a little more than was planning don't tell the wife
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0073447258

[RabMaxwell]

Should think i will be able to use two beer engines from one cask breather if i add a Y type push fitting. Cheers

[Jim]

Rab, I think you've got yourself a Worthside there! Judging by the pics it's almost a clone of mine. The only difference I can see is that yours has white plastic spacers on the end of the clamp-bolts.

[Andy]

Hey Rab - you outbid me!

[RabMaxwell]

Sorry Andy i missed out a couple of days ago my other one is a worthside also though slightly different.Cheers

[sparky Paul]

Hello all just won my second beer engine according to the seller it's never been used. Paid a little more than was planning don't tell the wife
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0073447258

Nice pump, mine hasn't got a cooling jacket like that one...

[RabMaxwell]

I will need to add on to my little beer tap cooling system. It's basically a small tank of water in my beer chest fridge with a little submersible pump. I designed it to cool the beer line too only use in hot weather. Cheers

[RabMaxwell]

Great i now get an exact pint from my Beer Engine with four pulls. My one-way valves & other bits & bobs arrived today. No back flow from beer engine back into the cornie.When pushing the handle back some beer was flowing back into the cornie and disturbing yeast sediment giving a cloudy pint sometimes. I ordered extra fittings for my new pump that beautiful one i outbid Andy for . Cheers

[Andy]

[Jim]

Another episode in my handpull experiments!

After finding the beer a little bland when pulled through the beer engine, I decided to dry hop a test gallon with a few East Kent Goldings:





A piece of muslin over the end of the tube is meant to keep the hops out of the beer line, but as I used hops from a compressed block there are tiny bits in it, smaller than tea leaves, that get through.

And the taste test? Bl**dy lovely!!