hi, some of you may be aware of my little problem last night with a leaking barrel. i use the basic budget barrels with a 2inch cap with an injector fitted. there always seems to be a very small leak where the tap goes in to the barrel but this always stops after a while.
one barrel last night just kept leaking and it got worse , the pressure relief valve seems to be okay and i didnt bung any extra sugar in so the pressure should have been normal. i tried tightening the tap but no joy there and even smeared a bit of plumbers paste around it.
in the end i just drank a fair chunk of it and the leak stopped as the pressure dropped. obviously the pressure will probably build up again but hopefully not too much.
anyone had this before? any ideas on how to stop it ? what about using plumbers tape? or would that risk infection do you think?
i know i use cheap barrels but the taps are the same as used in many others and i dont think this is the problem. its got to be the pressure , i may just use the original plain cap with relief valve next time as there was no problem with pressure and it doesnt look likely to need any co2 .
cheers
colin
leaky barrel
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ColinKeb
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PieOPah
My very first BB sprung a leak. In a panic I rushed out and bought a new one.
Having played around with the original barrel I though I had fixed the problem. I was wrong and my next batch leaked. I rushed out and bough a bunch of bottles and in a fit of rage threw away the BB.
I have since discovered that you need to tighten the tap as much as humanely possible, then you need to get the towel out (as a grip) and tighten it even more.
If your hands aren't bleeding then it isn't tight enough!!!
Now, I don't remove the tap. After cleaning the barrel and flushing through the tap, I use a tiny bottle brush (and I mean tiny - a couple mil) to scrub the inside of the tap. I then run my sanitizer solution through. I have had no problems yet and more than enough batches to know I'm not being lucky!
I am gutted that I threw away the barrel, especially as I now know what was wrong with it....
Having played around with the original barrel I though I had fixed the problem. I was wrong and my next batch leaked. I rushed out and bough a bunch of bottles and in a fit of rage threw away the BB.
I have since discovered that you need to tighten the tap as much as humanely possible, then you need to get the towel out (as a grip) and tighten it even more.
If your hands aren't bleeding then it isn't tight enough!!!
Now, I don't remove the tap. After cleaning the barrel and flushing through the tap, I use a tiny bottle brush (and I mean tiny - a couple mil) to scrub the inside of the tap. I then run my sanitizer solution through. I have had no problems yet and more than enough batches to know I'm not being lucky!
I am gutted that I threw away the barrel, especially as I now know what was wrong with it....
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Matt
I was thinking of buying a BB or two and appreciate reading up on the info in this thread re the tap issues. This forum rocks.
Does anyone use the small 2 gallon BB's. Any difference in performance with those? I'm hoping to get two small ones so I can give one to a mate.
(Apologies for the hi-jack - I didn't think it was worth a whole thread)
Cheers,
Matt
Does anyone use the small 2 gallon BB's. Any difference in performance with those? I'm hoping to get two small ones so I can give one to a mate.
(Apologies for the hi-jack - I didn't think it was worth a whole thread)
Cheers,
Matt
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ColinKeb
ive never used the small ones but find the larger 5 gallon ones fine and see no reason to splash out more on king keg etc. (ignoring the leaks of course 
) the only problem with a 2 inch cap is cleaning though, if you get a bit of a tidemark the only way to get this off is to steam it off by putting some boiling water in and leaving it closed for a while. dont pick it up for a while as i think it may soften the plastic a bit and you could misshape the barrel. then sterilise as normal that usually shifts it. its quite good exercise as well waving a half full barrel around you head sloshing the solution around, you need a good grip tho or it could be a bit dodgy.
cheers
colin
) the only problem with a 2 inch cap is cleaning though, if you get a bit of a tidemark the only way to get this off is to steam it off by putting some boiling water in and leaving it closed for a while. dont pick it up for a while as i think it may soften the plastic a bit and you could misshape the barrel. then sterilise as normal that usually shifts it. its quite good exercise as well waving a half full barrel around you head sloshing the solution around, you need a good grip tho or it could be a bit dodgy. cheers
colin
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ColinKeb
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ColinKeb
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Bigster
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ColinKeb
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Bigster
Have had a problem with my WD tap on my last brew - got to the stage near the end where I needed 3 hands ( 1 to hold the barrel, 1 to turn the tap and 1 to hold the pint). Sure there must be a joke in here somewhere....WD tap The only reason I use them is because they can be dismantled and they shut off better, they are no better for serving beer.
Anyway really difficult to turn - now barrel empty will give the tap a good clean. Anyone had this problem - guess you cant add anything to tap to ease it as will encourage infections etc
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Bigster
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Bigster
spot on daab. 
Gave tap a good clean - there was beer in thread - reassembled and it works smooth as anything.
I didnt realise you could clean this type of tap until recently so this tap is as supplied with King Keg which housed the courage directors for its short life.
May explain why there was pressure loss - i usually have the over pressured problem.
Cheers
Gave tap a good clean - there was beer in thread - reassembled and it works smooth as anything.
I didnt realise you could clean this type of tap until recently so this tap is as supplied with King Keg which housed the courage directors for its short life.
May explain why there was pressure loss - i usually have the over pressured problem.
Cheers