Fed up with King Keg.

[Desmnd]

I am fed up now (putting it politely) with the King keg. I can not get either of these kegs to maintain pressure. I have been brewing for over 50 years and for 20 years I had a Hambleton Bard beer SPHERE. Never a problem. It is about time I looked elsewhere and Cornelius comes to mind. Any help on this or are their better ones. Looks like it is thin and you need very small hands to get in and clean it. What are the problems in sealing it. I have 2 S30 gas cylinders are they used here? Can't see the obviouse tap on it in the pictures.

https://www.beveragecraft.com/blog/.../#:~:text=9.,while retaining its fresh taste.
Acording to this website the beer is dispensed by a tube (probably plastic) that goes to the bottom where the sediment is.

Do I have to buy one of thouse industrial size gas bottles as shown or does the S30 work here.

Then there is the Ball lock and pin lock.

And 9. in the link says store at 600F which is 316C. Joking right?

Beer has to be clear first before putting it in in a presurised vessel. NOT A KING KEG surley.

 

[Rodcx500z]

They are American these are what you want, Keg kits | Corny Keg Kits, i have 4, there are plenty of videos on you tube, you will also need a fridge and gas to dispense you can carb in the normal way with sugar

 

[The Baron]

Cornies are reasonably easy to clean as long as you rinse them/clean them as soon as the keg has kicked.
I usually leave them pressured up until cleaning then rinse out with hot water from the tap then pour in a kettle of boiling water and seal then shake and leave for 30 mins or so then empty and rinse. I then make sure it is clean then add a couple of litres of Starsan and seal and shake to coat all the inside and store like that.
Now that is a very simple method to be used a few times but many will also strip down the connects and do a rigorous clean with say PBW Oxi etc which I do after a while it does depend on how you are as a brewer.
Ps I pour hot water down the dip tube by using a small screwdriver to push on the top and then pour down to rinse it out.
My method is ok if you have just finished a beer and all was well with it no infections etc but does not substitute a real clean down if the kegs have been left some time.
There are also plenty of keg cleaning videos on youtube etc

 

[Desmnd]

Okay Baron that is the first part.
1) Beer outlet tube (plastic?) goes down to the bottom where the sediment is.
2) Gas cylender has to be a large hospital style and not an S30.
3) The regulator and meters are on the Gas. No mesurment of the keg. If I remove the empty gas cylender or have to Corneys with one Gas cylinder the meter goes down to ZERO. Nice to have a meter on the keg.

Rodcx500z: I need a fridge? The link is just to an online shop.

 

[prog99]

i have 4, all of them have an s30 adaptor fitted to the lid.

 

[Desmnd]

The pictures show 2 meters on them.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I got mine from currys, but you can get them on gumtree

 

[MashBag]

Corny kegs run well on a s30 adaptor.
For about a tenner you can get a s30 valve with a post adapter connected.

 

[MashBag]

Acording to this website the beer is dispensed by a tube (probably plastic) that goes to the bottom where the sediment is.

Stainless

 

[Buffers brewery]

Just out of interest @Desmnd were you able to identify the leak on your King Kegs. The rubbers on the HB valve are the usual suspects.

 

[Twostage]

I've used cornies (about to use them again now I'm back into brewing). My arm just fits in so I can clean down to the bottom if I need to. The dispensing dip tubes are metal and go right to the bottom so if you put beer in before it clears it will settle and you can draw it off before you start serving. I use sodastream CO2 bottles for gassing.

 

[Desmnd]

Buffers brewery:
The leak on the keg was the top injection section. It has a black washer that you have to screw down with a metal cylinder and a nut on top. I even tried getting thicker washers from amazon with the wides centre and stainless steel washers to stop the original washer from bending upwards as it did when pressure was put on it by the steel tube. I could not get it sealed

What I tried to do was put a small amount of CO2 into the keg. Just enough for the tap to release beer. Came back about 2 hours later and the pressure had gone. Never had this problem before in over 20 years with the Hambleton bard beer sphere. After 2 kegs and a year, I gave up. People on the home-brew-on-line (UK) website told me about Cornelis keg then. Sadly here in the UK all the home brew shops on line have ceased trading as people buy from supermarkets who don’t know a dam thing about home brewing.

Not ansewred here yet. I beleive you have to clear the beer first before you put it in (sediment on botom maybe), What do you clear it in. A rudy King Keg?

 

[Twostage]

Buffers brewery:
The leak on the keg was the top injection section. It has a black washer that you have to screw down with a metal cylinder and a nut on top. I even tried getting thicker washers from amazon with the wides centre and stainless steel washers to stop the original washer from bending upwards as it did when pressure was put on it by the steel tube. I could not get it sealed

What I tried to do was <snip>

I thought I'd answered that, maybe not clearly. You can leave your beer to clear in your fermenter (cold crashing helps) or transfer to the cornie and leave it for a few days for the sediment to settle out and then draw a bit of the beer until it runs clear. As the dip tube is at the bottom it will draw any sediment out first.

 

[Desmnd]

If I left it in my fermentation bucket for 6 days it would be flat. How about putting it in the Corn and with a small amout of pressure let it clear. Then syphone it into another corn or back into the fermening bucket. Wash out the corn and put it back in nice and clear.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Buffers brewery:
The leak on the keg was the top injection section. It has a black washer that you have to screw down with a metal cylinder and a nut on top. I even tried getting thicker washers from amazon with the wides centre and stainless steel washers to stop the original washer from bending upwards as it did when pressure was put on it by the steel tube. I could not get it sealed

What I tried to do was put a small amount of CO2 into the keg. Just enough for the tap to release beer. Came back about 2 hours later and the pressure had gone. Never had this problem before in over 20 years with the Hambleton bard beer sphere. After 2 kegs and a year, I gave up. People on the home-brew-on-line (UK) website told me about Cornelis keg then. Sadly here in the UK all the home brew shops on line have ceased trading as people buy from supermarkets who don’t know a dam thing about home brewing.

Not ansewred here yet. I beleive you have to clear the beer first before you put it in (sediment on botom maybe), What do you clear it in. A rudy King Keg?

Sorry to hear about your problems. So just before you explore the world of corny kegs you might want to try this out. If your valve looks like this...

You might want to check the position of the black washer. Should be under the cap between the cap and the disc face of the valve...

With regards to pressure testing using beer and CO2 or water and CO2, CO2 will dissolve in both and reduce the pressure which will appear to be a leak but not. Best way to pressure test with water is with air, not easy on a King Keg unless you drill and fit a Schrader type valve (car/bicycle type valve).
I use sugar solution to carbonate my fermented beer in a King Keg. After fermentation in a bucket I cold crash for 3 days to clear the beer then transfer to my KK and add the priming solution. Leave for 2 weeks at 20C to carbonate and pressurise the KK. Another 2 weeks at 10C ish and it's ready to serve. You can do exactly the same in a corny keg rather than a KK. You will get a bit of sediment with both. With a corny the first glass will be cloudy but once the sediment is cleared from the dip tube you should be ok. I use a float tube in my KK and get clear beer right from the off. The sediment gets sucked up with the last glass.
Hope that helps

 

[Desmnd]

Okay. Now we are talking. 1: I put the black washer on top. 2: never heard of cold crash. 3: does the steel tube go right to the very bottom? 4: can I use the float from the corny keg in the Corny?

Seems like I could get the KK to work and not bother with the Corny.

What you are saying is that, putting a small amount of CO2 in the KK is not a good test, just tighten it down and leave it.

I was told by a shop on line to put vasaline around the black washer. If I had the washer inside it would have killed or tasted the beer.

I use I wine fermeter 4 inch top for both the wine and beer fermenting.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Okay. Now we are talking. 1: I put the black washer on top. 2: never heard of cold crash. 3: does the steel tube go right to the very bottom? 4: can I use the float from the corny keg in the Corny?

Seems like I could get the KK to work and not bother with the Corny.

What you are saying is that, putting a small amount of CO2 in the KK is not a good test, just tighten it down and leave it.

Check the cross sectional drawing in my post and you can see where the black washer goes. Post a photo of your cap with the valve fitted so I can check it.
Cold crash - modern brewing term - it relates to reducing the temperature of your fermentation bucket and it's contents to between 1C and 4C after fermentation is complete. This helps clear the beer before transferring to KK.
The steel dip tube in a corny does go to the bottom and the end sits in a small well in the bottom.
You can fit a flexible (plastic) dip tube to a corny.
I advise against using CO2 over water for a pressure test...unless you are spraying joints with soapy water and looking for bubbles.

 

[Desmnd]

So I can use the KK float. That sounds good. As for the black washer. I tried to get replacment washers for the KK but you could only get the black washer if you got the lot. not individual like the others.
I got thick washers simiular to this below in the UK. like the link below. I thought they would be firmer and they do fit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26550886...80qmEM/3utErajx7ko/N0JZuE=|tkp:BlBMUKDmwqqiYg

 

[parpot]

You can buy a complete valve washer kit on eBay for around £3/4.00, it has all the washers apart from the large lid washer (4")

 

[Desmnd]

Hi. Thanks for everyone here who have helped. I am going to do this again with the KK with the black washer under the lid as Buffers brewery states. I never saw this in the instructions (what instructions). I have a collection of beer kits as I am getting to old to go down the grain root. I have Brupacks Scammonden dark which is gorgeous but only available now from the company and Si. Peters Ruby red ale. I will need your help with this as I go through. For example how long can I keep it in the KK before there is actual evidence of the secondary fermentation going? How tight to screw the valve down? Too tight might be bad and if there was a leek around the sides of the cap, how would you know. You can't dunk it in a bowl of water like you could a bicycle tire.

I have heard of people using Kegerators. (small fridges with the keg inside. I got some years ago a Jokey box on sold by home-brew-on-line which has ceased trading like most of the others.

50' Stainless Steel Coil ,Jockey box coil,For homebrew with 5/8G stainless steel connector(Only Coil, Not include box and tap)

Mine has plastic tubes and I can take it into the garden on a summers day unlike a fridge. Only problem was the plastic tube did not fit well on the KK tap but I got some plastiv tube on ebay slightly larger and managed to convert it.