Easy Keg 5L

[Leon103]

I popped over to Leyland home brew today and picked up the Party Star Deluxe system. I got a can of Old Speckled Hen on the way home for something to test with as I read I could use the tap setup on one of these. Anyway, after drawing just over half a pint the OSH started to slow to a dribble. Rather than open the top to let air in as the tin says I pulled to red tab off and fitted the Party Star tap quite easily, then fitted a CO2 cartridge. I got the slight hiss as expected. I had the adjuster turned fully anti clockwise to off. Then introduced a quick burst of CO2 and got a nice smooth delivery of another half pint, leaving the adjuster off. After returning for a top up about half hour later (slow drinker ), the CO2 was empty. So was an expensive half pint. There was no sign of leaks and the regulator was definitely turned to off. The bulb felt very cold as if it had been feeding CO2. Even if I had left it turned on a bit it shouldnt have used the bulb so soon. Has anyone else had anything similar?

Yes I did. I had the co2 on whilst pouring a pint.

 

[Dutto]

The same thing happened to me when I was testing my new set-up. i.e. The CO2 disappeared after a few minutes! (It's not a Party Star but as its out in the garage at the moment I can't check the make.)

I agree on the expensive bit because the one I have uses the 16gram capsules and they ain't cheap!

I intend to get an air pump for the simple reason that usually 5 Litres = 5 Days so I don't expect any beer to go off! :thumb: :thumb:

The tap I have is a German made "Flexi Tap".

I stripped it down and think I might have discovered (and cured) why it wasn't working properly.

1. The seal for the CO2 capsule was too far away from the capsule and therefore leaked slightly all the time. I fitted an extra "O" ring underneath the securing screw.

2. The seal on the spigot where the low-pressure CO2 enters the mini-keg was perished and leaked all the time so again I added an extra "O" ring.

3. The grease on the balance piston was very old and I could well imagine it leaking and sticking so I removed the piston, cleaned the barrel, re-greased it with Vaseline and screwed it back together.

4. I reassembled everything and tested the whole system by screwing a new capsule into place and immersing the whole assembly in water. No leaks were apparent.

5. I then opened up the pressure control and checked that it controlled at variable pressures; again with no leaks.

6. I then disassembled everything (excluding the capsule that was screwed into place), dried it out and then ran a bit of CO2 through the system before turning it off.

It is now sat on the workbench overnight to see if it still has some pressure available tomorrow. If it does then "Success!" if it doesn't then an order for the air-pump will be in the Post by mid-day! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

Further to the above, there was still some CO2 in the capsule this afternoon so "Success" ... :thumb:

... but the valve was so wet that when I let some of the CO2 out it froze open and dumped the CO2!

 

[Wrongway]

Still getting used to mine. I don't think I have a leak as it seemed to hold pressure overnight fine. But still about halfway through the OSH and cartridge number 2 is empty. I think once I get a proper primed brew in a keg I wont see this sort of CO2 use. For now the air pump has come into use. I don't expect the OSH to last more than a few more days.

Sounds like you solved your leak though.

 

[Dutto]

Hopefully solved, says the pessimist!

Another problem I ran into was the instructions "Only fill to within an inch of the top."

I virtually did hand-stands over the barrel with a torch trying to see through the little hole so I've spent today thinking about a solution and tomorrow I will make a "Self Cocking Float" out of some fishing gear I have. It will be:

o Made from plastic so that it can be sterilised.

o Over 325mm long so that it can sit in the keg from empty without fear of losing it inside the keg.

o Marked at 1" (2.5cm) above the surface of water so that in beer it will sink slightly.

I figure that I can drop the float into the keg before starting to fill and when the mark appears at the hole in the keg it will be time to stop filling, retrieve the float and stick in the bung.

No torch, no hand-stands and no overfills!

Improvements to the idea will be gratefully received. :thumb:

 

[JapanBrew]

Dutto, that's a great idea. I got a few 3.7 liter stainless growlers with gas and beer attachments coming. When I fill them I'll give that a shot.

 

[Dutto]

Today was a busy day because I went to Wilco's to get a couple of FV's and noticed their Hoppy Copper Bitter on offer at £8 ... :thumb:

... so one of them is now in one of the FVs! :lol: :lol:

Anyway, after getting the brew on I set to and made the float. The first thing I noticed was that the projected length was too long because with the gear I have it kept falling over so it finished up at 260mm.

This is long enough to stick out of the top of the keg when I start filling but I will probably deploy it when the keg has a decent level. i.e. about half full.

It's not completely finished as tomorrow I will paint it with some enamel paint and mark it so that when the mark appears at the edge of the top hole the level in the keg will be one inch below the rim.

At the moment, the bottom of the orange paint is at 1.25cm above the flotation level so it will be higher by the same again.

BTW tomorrows project will be to convert an old bike pump to pressurise the kegs when the CO2 is exhausted so ...

... does anyone know the maximum allowable pressure of an Easy Keg please?

 

[stephenmanuel]

Nice idea, but is this a solution looking for a problem? I have filled about 20 mini-kegs and basically use the mini-bottler until I'm near the top, then top up with a jug. What about using a hydrometer if you want to use a "floater"?

 

[Dutto]

Nice idea, but is this a solution looking for a problem? I have filled about 20 mini-kegs and basically use the mini-bottler until I'm near the top, then top up with a jug. What about using a hydrometer if you want to use a "floater"?

I use a sterilised syphon for all bottling, hence the acrobatics to see into the keg.

A hydrometer could work but I reckon it's easier to make something specific for the job (ditto the recycled bike pump). :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

Nice idea, but is this a solution looking for a problem? I have filled about 20 mini-kegs and basically use the mini-bottler until I'm near the top, then top up with a jug. What about using a hydrometer if you want to use a "floater"?

I sort of agree with you here as I've never had a problem seeing the level of beer as it gets near the 1" from the top mark. I dont even need the jug to top up. The mini bottler seems adequate enough for me.
But having said that, Dutto is clearly struggling to be able to see/judge the correct level to fill his MK's to so more power to him if his solution makes it easier for him.

 

[MyQul]

Today was a busy day because I went to Wilco's to get a couple of FV's and noticed their Hoppy Copper Bitter on offer at �£8 ... :thumb:

... so one of them is now in one of the FVs! :lol: :lol:

Anyway, after getting the brew on I set to and made the float. The first thing I noticed was that the projected length was too long because with the gear I have it kept falling over so it finished up at 260mm.

This is long enough to stick out of the top of the keg when I start filling but I will probably deploy it when the keg has a decent level. i.e. about half full.

It's not completely finished as tomorrow I will paint it with some enamel paint and mark it so that when the mark appears at the edge of the top hole the level in the keg will be one inch below the rim.

At the moment, the bottom of the orange paint is at 1.25cm above the flotation level so it will be higher by the same again.

BTW tomorrows project will be to convert an old bike pump to pressurise the kegs when the CO2 is exhausted so ...

... does anyone know the maximum allowable pressure of an Easy Keg please?

I'll definatle be interested in what you come up with for the 'old bike pump keg pressuriser' :thumb:

 

[MyQul]

I was looking at these from leyland http://www.leyland-home-brew.co.uk/beer-protector-for-easy-kegs-1494-p.asp. How do you guys reckon they work? By pumping all the air out to create a vacuum like those things you can get for wine bottles that do the same thing.So prolonging the life of the beer in the MK?

I emailed leyland to find out a bit more about these

I have a couple of questions about the beer protector for easy kegs.
* How exactly do they work? I take it they somehow pump the air out when you've opened an easy keg to create a vacuum to prolong the life of the beer
*Normally when you open an easy keg you have to consume the beer within a few days. How long can you make the beer last with the beer protector
*Is the beer protector compatable with the regular black and red easy keg bugs


a. The air pump is for use with beers that are already carbonated. The protector is inserted into the bung and is pumped two or three times before the first drink is dispensed. The air compresses the C02 ( Co2 is heavier) keeping the beer fresh. When the first beer has been dispensed, the process is repeated.
A fizz keeper works in the same way on a bottle of pop.


b. The beer will stay fresh for about a week. We also sell a Co2 version if you wish to keep the beer for longer.


c. The device is compatible.

 

[Wrongway]

I have one of these and used it on my Old Speckled Hen keg I bought at the beginning of the week. It is basically just an air pump. In my case I fitted one of Leylands CO2 driven Party Stars first. But after it gobbled up two 18gm CO2 capsules I resorted to the air pump. There would be a CO2 blanket on the beer which was only destined to be in the keg for a few more days so wasn't worried about spoiling.

My experience with bought 5L kegs full of beer like OSH that I have bought in the past has been they seem to run out of pressure well before the keg is empty. This air pump at least gives you chance to get all the beer out. I doubt I would resort to using it when I have my own brew in one of the kegs as I am sure a properly primed keg will need minimum CO2 help in comparison to the Old Speckled Hen.

 

[MyQul]

I've never had a problem getting the beer out of my MK's. The last pint needs the the keg tipping forward but thats about it.

 

[Wrongway]

Usually does. But OSH seems to run out of pressure earlier than others I have had. With the air pump pushing it out rather than relying on dribbling out seemed to give a bit of a head to the beer.

It was thrown in when I got the Party Star setup otherwise I probably wouldnt have bothered.

Incidentally I have just washed out the OSH keg ready for re-use and the red part of the stopper that drops inside seemed to have disappeared despite rinsing and shaking. I couldn't understand where it had gone! Shining a torch and peering down the hole revealed the stopper wedged under the tap assembly. Got it loose with a long kebab stick :).

 

[MyQul]

Incidentally I have just washed out the OSH keg ready for re-use and the red part of the stopper that drops inside seemed to have disappeared despite rinsing and shaking. I couldn't understand where it had gone! Shining a torch and peering down the hole revealed the stopper wedged under the tap assembly. Got it loose with a long kebab stick :).

The first time I washed out a MK I couldn't get the little red stopper out for ages. In then end I stuck some chewing gum on the end of my finger then fished around for it in the MK until I managed to stick it to the gum and then get it out. It was only a bit later (when I read on this thread) that all you need to do is fill it with water, open the tap and tip it upside down to get the red stopper out. I hadn't opened the tap when tipping the water out :lol:

 

[Dutto]

Great to know that the pump is to keep pressure on a carbonated brew! :thumb:

Here's the converted bike pump:

1. Disassembled, cleaned and dried. (Amazing how much black stuff I got out of the threads etc!) The tiny "O" ring on the left is to seal the pump against the Flexi-Tap. It's needed because the hole at the end of the pump is slightly larger than the inlet to the tap.

2. Assembled alongside the CO2 Flexi-Tap that I will be using.

BTW I have cracked the leaking CO2 cartridge for the Flexi-Tap.

I dried everything out, removed all of the lubrication, fitted a new cartridge and then weighed everything.

A check yesterday morning showed that no CO2 had escaped (the weight was the same) so I let a couple of grams escape as I checked that the pressure control would work and then re-weighed the assembly. As of now (24 hours later) again there is no change in the weight so the CO2 is not escaping.

Now all I have to do is to have the patience to wait a few days/weeks for everything to carbonate and condition. Here's hoping!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

PS The reason I would like to know the maximum pressure for the keg is that the pump will happily put up 7bar (i.e. over 100psi) with an idiot like me pumping it!

 

[MyQul]

Is it only me or does anyone else think think beer poured from a MK on the second or third day tastes much better than te first day (kind of like a curry that you make and re-heat the next day)? I opened a MK of bitter yesterday and had a pint. It was nice but I wasn't blown away by it or anything. I'm on my second pint of the eve from the same MK and its fanastic. It looks, tastes and (mouth) feels like a pint from a pub but pub where the landlord really knows how to keep the beer.

I dont have a party star tap and just let the beer pour from the MK's gravity tap from a few inches without tilting the pint glass. To give it a nice head that while doesnt stay for the whole pint has a nice lacing. Something that I definately dont achieve with bottles unless I have much higher carbing levels

 

[Halfacrem]

I'm attempting my second batch of mini kegged beer tomorrow! GH's Summer Ale is ready for kegging. My first attempt wasn't brilliant as I didn't think the beer tasted very good (compared with the bottled batch). But I'm hopeful it was just a blip and this time it will be better.

 

[Leon103]

Is it only me or does anyone else think think beer poured from a MK on the second or third day tastes much better than te first day (kind of like a curry that you make and re-heat the next day)? I opened a MK of bitter yesterday and had a pint. It was nice but I wasn't blown away by it or anything. I'm on my second pint of the eve from the same MK and its fanastic. It looks, tastes and (mouth) feels like a pint from a pub but pub where the landlord really knows how to keep the beer.

I dont have a party star tap and just let the beer pour from the MK's gravity tap from a few inches without tilting the pint glass. To give it a nice head that while doesnt stay for the whole pint has a nice lacing. Something that I definately dont achieve with bottles unless I have much higher carbing levels

Thinking back yes. I have only actually opened two kegs so far. The first one went down in one sitting. The second I kept over two weeks and I guess they did taste nicer after the first couple.