20 litre Franke Kegs (traditional)

[barneey]

Out of the 7 spears I have 5 are square & 2 are tapered.

I`ve tried both with a gas test, the square one act as any other coupler would fairly tight to put on and clip BUT as with all connection your can push back with a hand and get a beer shower.

The tapered one are a lot looser due to the profile and easier to push off again. BUT still hold pressure.

Out of the two types the square ones are better IMHO.

Cheers

[alexlark]

Same as what I thought. Good job I didnt have 2 tapered spears. I would have been in hell of a pickle. The DSi couplers are very slack on the tapered ones.

[bobsbeer]

I've yet to test mine, but hopefully as I have 2 types of couplers I can sort out which to use for the tapered spears. As these are used commercially I'm sure they would have withdrawn them if there were major problems. Or are they palming these off one or two at a time to us homebrewers hoping we wouldn't notice.

[barneey]

It was quite strange speaking with Matt from Crusader today, my kegs arrived with the spears fitted so I questioned why, then I produced the socket and 5p etc, got the opinion he was taken aback - then I showed him the rest of the brewing gear I`ve been building etc + suggested JBK to look at, to at lest see what homebrewers are up to, I hope they will join the forum.

I`m not sure if the brewing industry / related industries are ready to take on the homebrew force or is the indstry like the majority of people you tell about homebrew still expect something for the 70`s to early 90`s and tastes of a sugary twang & involves a can opener? or something with no taste like fizzy lagers?

I applaud the commercial brewers out there that join this forums, even last year I ask the brewer at The Old Dairy Brewery for a recipe and was given it without question with other breweries I`ve encounted the door in the face approach and they are only interested in selling you a bottle of something?

Back on subject I`ve sent an email regarding the spears with the taper and wait a reply.

[bobsbeer]

I was going to send an email, but I'll hold off till you have had a reply.

[alexlark]

Keep us updated Clive. At least we've got a mixture of keg couplers and have identified any potential issues early on. My plans for tomorrow are to swap the spear over on my filled keg, connect gas and get a few pints sampled ... Sunday will be, rince the keg and refill

[alexlark]

Found an interesting document here regarding keg design and spec: http://siba.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/20 ... s9.121.pdf

And if you want some detailed info regarding S type spears: http://dispensegroup.com/Bilder/pdf/29. ... SI__GB.pdf
Torque settings in this one.

[barneey]

Some good info on those site, especially with the spring removal side of things. I`ve also managed to find my torque rench so will test to see what tightness I have.

Cheers