leaking king keg

BIGTRACTOR · Post by **BIGTRACTOR** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:12 pm

Hi all, have got a coopers lager in my top tap king keg, have left it for a good 6 weeks now but have noticed that i am losing pressure over a couple of days. i have filled the keg up with co2 from a sodastream cannister, but after leaving it a couple of days all the pressure has gone. (even when i'm not pouring beer from it) i'm not too worried about the lager as there is only about 20 pints left and its no problem to keep squirting in co2 when i pour a pint, but i dont want any leaks from it when i put a new ale in it. is it likely to be the rubber ring? (i've only used the keg for 3 previous brews and i have used plenty of vaseline on it in the past) or could it be the valve itself? any suggestions would be welcome, many thanks,

TheBigEasy · Post by **TheBigEasy** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:14 pm

BT,
I have had problems before with the relief valve leaking.

bitter_dave · Post by **bitter_dave** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:20 pm

You need to replace the rubber band thing on your valve occaisionally - could this be it?

BIGTRACTOR · Post by **BIGTRACTOR** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:44 am

cheers, :

Dave: i'm hoping it is that cos they sell them for a couple quid in my local HB shop.

Bigeasy: i was hoping it wasn't that. i did put a little soapy water on top of the valve and didnt seem to be leaking, i didnt check around the valve seal though, will do that later. if it is leaking, is there anything that can be done?

bitter_dave · Post by **bitter_dave** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:10 am

BIGTRACTOR wrote:Dave: i'm hoping it is that cos they sell them for a couple quid in my local HB shop.

a couple of quid

All you need are 'pressure relief rubbers' (like elastic bands); they should cost no more than 40p each

Post by **Andy** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:32 am

Did you put some vaseline on the cap threads ?

Having said that, the only time I've had pressure leak from a KK was down to old rubber seals as discussed above. They're so cheap that it makes sense to rpelace them frequently.

BIGTRACTOR · Post by **BIGTRACTOR** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:25 pm

aha, daab, i think you may have cracked it! i do store it outside in a garage and it gets bloody cold !! i guess that a good way to test is, once the barrel is empty to bring it indoors and fill up with water and squirt some co2 and leave it a couple days then try the tap, would this work?

PieOPah · Post by **PieOPah** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:26 pm

The first time I used my KK I was getting pressure loss. I think that the problem was that the tap was either on too loose or the lid was.

I have since bought a lid spanner to put the lid on and I have tightened up the tap as much as humanly possible (a tea towel as a grip really helped). My latest beer doesn't appear to be suffering the same problem and I am now able to dispense a great pint quite quickly.

BIGTRACTOR · Post by **BIGTRACTOR** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:31 pm

bit late a reply i know, but i did give it a really good tighten witha towel, i think before i brew again i wil replace the big rubber ring. (bringing it inside didnt really help unfortunately).

i've only brewed twice with it, so i guess the chances of it leaking around the co2 valve are quite remote. can you check this by smearing soapy water around it, or can it leak so slowly that you wouldn't really see it using this method?? i know its not a bycycle inner tube!!

Horden Hillbilly · Post by **Horden Hillbilly** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 7:27 pm

I once got caught out with a new king keg losing pressure a few years ago, tried giving it a squirt with an S30 cylinder, wetting the valve & seals to see if that would locate it, all to no avail. It turned out that it was the brown seal on the valve, when I took it off and compared it to another unused seal I noticed quite a difference in the size, the one on the valve had obviously been on quite a while.

I believe it is recommended to change the valve seals every 6 months or so as they do strech over a period of time and are not as good at holding pressure, this may be the problem as there is no way of knowing how long the seals have been on the valve when you buy a new barrel, it may have been standing in a factory/warehouse/home brew shop for many months before it is sold and used.

I bought a new king keg myself last year & the first thing I did was change the brown seal & I had no problems loosing pressure , also it is a good idea to give the large O ring & screwthreads on the cap a smear of vaseline or petroleum gel, it does help give a better seal & makes the cap easier to remove when your barrel is empty.

SteveD · Post by **SteveD** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:16 pm

That's all bases covered then.

(1) obtain a Kingkeg type cap spanner, called a bumpicker in this house and try a light smear of vaseline on the sealing ring, for the seal, and on the barrel thread for ease of doing up/undoing...be careful not to drop any in the beer

Then give it a good tighten, and then some more. If the leak was the round internal cap seal, that should do it. Make sure the seal is properly seated in the groove and not distorted in any way. If it doesn't look normal, change it. I groove will become imprinted in the seal over time where it 'folds' over the edge of the cap rim.. that's normal.

(2) If it's from the brown S30 valve pressure seal (external) or the black valve to cap washer, change them, making sure the valve locking nut is good and tight afterwards. The brown seal hardens over time and then it won't hold pressure. If you listen carefully after applying a burst of gas you might hear a gentle hissing if it's leaking. The brown seal is a bit of a sod to change, just persevere. The small grey or black gas inlet seal on the internal side of the valve could I suppose leak, but it's much rarer.

(3) Check the barrel tap locking nut is tight enough. Position the tap outlet at 3 O'clock, then fully hand tighten the nut. Then, making sure the locking nut doesn't move, move the tap a quarter turn clockwise. Then, the nut will be tight enough, and the tap will point down.

As to cold weather pressure drop, I agree that if it's very cold you do get a noticeable drop, but I bet that some of that will be due to general gas contraction rather than extra absorption by the cold beer. That said, I've never had the pressure reduce to zero because of it...and my beer has got seriously cold in the shed before.

I suspect the leak hypothesis

Best way to avoid that is to change all the valve seals once or twice a year. The big round cap seals last much longer....years.

Cheers

Steve

kt88man · Post by **kt88man** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:55 pm

Just saw this on the Hop Shop site.

DUE TO THE POOR QUALITY OF THE KING KEG BARRELS CURRENTLY BEING SUPPLIED WE HAVE TAKEN THE DECISION THAT, ALTHOUGH WE HOLD STOCKS, IT WOULD NOT BE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF ANYONE FOR US TO DISTRIBUTE THEM. WE WILL NOT DO SO UNTIL WE RECEIVE NEW STOCKS OF GREATLY IMPROVED QUALITY WHICH HOLD PRESSURE AND ARE FIT FOR PURPOSE.

prolix · Post by **prolix** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:56 am

niether of my king kegs keep pressure well. And both are recent last 3 months hope that annoucement from the hop shop is about seals. Will order some new seals as I put the top on with a strap wrench and it takes days to remove.

PieOPah · Post by **PieOPah** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:04 am

I have recently bought a King Keg. The first beer didn't keep pressure very well at all. For my second beer, I tightened the lid (bought a spanner) and really tightened the tap. It has now held pressure all the way to the bottom. I would guess I have 4 or 5 pints left. Used priming sugar all the way and haven't had to top up at all............

BIGTRACTOR · Post by **BIGTRACTOR** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:05 pm

thanks all for your advice, i think i'll get one of those spanners and try that first, then if its still holding no pressure, i'll change the brown and black seals, i take it by these you mean, the brown one that is wrapped round the brass valve, and the black one, the one sealing the valve to the lid (on top of the lid). is there a seal on the underside of the lid between the big brass nut and the underside of the lid?

also, just another quickie, i've seen one of those brown boots barrels at the dump, can you get lids for these?

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leaking king keg

leaking king keg