A suitable gauge for my pressure barrel?

[jezbrews]

I'm trying to find a pressure gauge for my barrel. The only thing is I don't know how to figure out if whatever I buy will fit or be suitable for my barrel, I got it a while ago and don't know the brand. I've also never owned a pressure gauge so I don't really know how I'm meant to know if one screws into or onto or whatever it does, my barrel lid. What do I need to know? My beer feels flat, even when fairly cool (outside in November all day and all night!) and the fact it has a foamy head. I'm hoping a pressure gauge will tell me if I need to force carbonation.

 

[Buffers brewery]

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Keg-H....m2749.l2649&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true

 

[jezbrews]

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Keg-H....m2749.l2649&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true

Is this universal?

 

[Buffers brewery]

If you have a 4” top barrel. If you have a 2” cap, it’s a bit more of a challenge...

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/s30-hambleton-bard-connector-alternative.89178/

 

[terrym]

@JGHunter
Nobody actually needs a pressure gauge on a PB. It's a nice to have. If your beer barely makes it out of the tap, you need more gas. If its foam dispensed or the RV vents there's too much pressure. With a little experience you will get to match your internal pressure with how you like your beers dispensed and how you add CO2, whether by one shot bulb or from an S30 type cylinder, or even from priming sugar. And whether its 9.0 psig or 9.55 psig will matter not one jot.
So my suggestion is to save yourself the angst of knowing what to buy, and how to fit it, and don't bother with one.

 

[Buffers brewery]

There’s an echo on this forum

You don't need pressure gauges on simple PBs. It's something else to go wrong and the hole in the cap/gauge itself is a source of leaks.
What you need is common sense, which, as my old maths teacher used to say many years ago ago, 'is a rare commodity'.
1. If you prime using sugar you don't put too much in or it will take forever to dispense your beer through the foam blanket. If you don't put enough in you will quickly lose the pressure driving force as you draw beer from the PB. And if you overprime you will lose CO2 through the PRV.
2. If you use bulbs you top up as required. Same as cylinders only you have more control.
3. And if you don't get pressure when you expect it you have a leak somewhere.
4. And of course if you do have a gauge and it says zero and the barrel is obviously pressurised there's something wrong with the gauge. So what, you can dispense beer.
So, common sense coupled with what you see and expect, what could be simpler?

My personal view on some of the bits and bobs on the King Kegs like a pressure gauge is that they are are unnecessary and add to the cost, but others may disagree.
So in the end you pays your money and you makes your choice.

You don't really need a pressure gauge on a plastic PB, they are more 'a nice to have'. You can manage the pressure in your PB without one, and provided you don't overprime or add too much gas the upper pressure will be what it is and by experience you will know not to add too much of either since it will take forever to dispense a pint. And in any case the PB relief valve should vent overpressure to protect the PB. And at the bottom end when the pressure gets to the point where the dispensing beer flow has almost dropped off it's time to reprime or regas.
But if you do buy one I suggest you buy a gauge that has a range of at least the pressure limit of the PB.

Sorry, I answered the wrong question!

 

[terrym]

It good to know my message is clear then and apparently more or less consistent in these old posts all of which I had forgotten
Its worrying though that I have someone keeping a log of what I have said.

 

[Buffers brewery]

It good to know my message is clear then and apparently more or less consistent in these old posts all of which I had forgotten
Its worrying though that I have someone keeping a log of what I have said.

You know I'm a fan @terrym

 

[jezbrews]

@JGHunter
Nobody actually needs a pressure gauge on a PB. It's a nice to have. If your beer barely makes it out of the tap, you need more gas. If its foam dispensed or the RV vents there's too much pressure. With a little experience you will get to match your internal pressure with how you like your beers dispensed and how you add CO2, whether by one shot bulb or from an S30 type cylinder, or even from priming sugar. And whether its 9.0 psig or 9.55 psig will matter not one jot.
So my suggestion is to save yourself the angst of knowing what to buy, and how to fit it, and don't bother with one.

Oh it doesn't struggle, it rushes out, I just don't understand why the carbonation doesn't stay in the beer. Maybe as the nights drop closer to ~5 it will behave and that's just the problem.

 

[terrym]

Oh it doesn't struggle, it rushes out, I just don't understand why the carbonation doesn't stay in the beer. Maybe as the nights drop closer to ~5 it will behave and that's just the problem.

My take... as beer is forced through the constriction of the dispensing tap the pressure drop instantly and that allows CO2 to come out of solution. So the carbonation effect is in part lost. That's why you get mostly foam when the back pressure is high. Low temperature will however keep more CO2 in solution although this may not be significantly more.
Assuming they don't leak (thats another story!) PBs are fine for low carb beers like ales and stouts but if you like highly carbed beers stay with bottles.

 

[jezbrews]

My take... as beer is forced through the constriction of the dispensing tap the pressure drop instantly and that allows CO2 to come out of solution. So the carbonation effect is in part lost. That's why you get mostly foam when the back pressure is high. Low temperature will however keep more CO2 in solution although this may not be significantly more.
Assuming they don't leak (thats another story!) PBs are fine for low carb beers like ales and stouts but if you like highly carbed beers stay with bottles.

Yeah I'll be bottling in future, it's also the only real way to get a cold beer, I can't afford the leccy for a third fridge just for a barrel 24/7 just in case I want a beer in the evening.

Funny that, though. High carbonation ends up resulting in less carbonation overall.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Notwithstanding what @terrym says about pressure gauges not being necessary I find when I charge my King Kegs up to 9 psi on my gauge, the beer is unsurprisingly “lively” with a full head. As the pressure drops down to the 3 psi mark, again, unsurprisingly, the beer is easier to pour without creating a huge head. N.B. my kegs are stored in a fridge (a.k.a. Barrelator). So I would suggest that a pressure gauge can help identify the optimum pressure for serving your beer, assuming you’re not using gas bulbs but S30 cylinders etc.

 

[BridgeBrew]

Just fit a Schrader valve, and use a digital tyre pressure gauge to check your pressure. That way you have another input for CO2 as well via a tyre inflator, and a way to relieve excess pressure. And it's a way to get pressurized air into the barrel for testing for leaks..

 

[jezbrews]

Thanks all!

Food for thought... Or should that be drink for thought?