Gas escaping when adding to pressure barrel

[brierleyhillhomebrew]

I'm trying to add gas to my homebrew using 8g threaded bulbs. The gas is firing out the side rather than going into the barrel. I've had the gas escape through the cap before but this is escaping straight out the bulb, kind of like there is an issue with the valve or dodgy bulbs maybe?? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[crowcrow]

What kind of barrel is it? Can you share a pic of your set up and the offending connection?

 

[brierleyhillhomebrew]

Hi,
Thanks for your response. It is a King Keg, slight error in my original post, it is a non-threaded 8g bulb I am using through a 4inch cap with S30 valve, i've attached a photo, sorry it's not the best!
Cheers,
Paul

 

[crowcrow]

I've not used a king keg but sure someone will be along with an idea that may help

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Have a look at my guide on King Kegs

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/pressure-barrels-more-than-you-wanted-to-know.89344/
Clue: look at post on “Valve related issues”, image number 4

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I think that insidet the bit of valve that you are sticking the bulb into there is an O ring. These can crack and or get dry. Check it's there firstly. Lube it up with some vaseline, not silicone grease incase it is a silicone oring ( silicone grease deteriorates silicone orings).
Try again. Also make sure bulb is long enough to be seated in firmly when you screw down the adapter.

 

[Clint]

Does the bulb/holder seem like they don't fit together..like the holder is too big?
I've had this where a batch of bulbs seemed slightly smaller and a tight seal at where the bulb fitted wasn't possible. To remedy I jammed a bit of card into the bulb holder above the bulb. It was slightly tighter when screwing the holder down but it made the seal.
Otherwise look inside where the bulb sits and see if the seal is perished. Also check the pressure relief band isn't perished.
This is all relevant to my cheap plastic kegs. King kegs sometimes have a top tap where the beer comes through a tube on a float. If this is your type and the beer isn't dispensing then your pipe may be the problem and the gas is venting as the keg is already pressurised.

 

[jof]

Clint might be onto something.
In the world of cycling, we use the cylinders for inflating tyres when you get a puncture out on a ride.
And the cartridges come in 2 sizes, standard ones are used on road bikes, but you can get slightly bigger ones for mountain bikes that need more air in the tyres.
But I think that only applies to the treaded type bulbs.
Only ever seen one size of plain ones.

 

[Clint]

I've only had this happen once. The only other thing I think it could have been was a variation in the thread length on the valve stopping the bulb holder from bedding the bulb in to the pin. Yes...this with the bit of card to push the bulb down...I remember now as shortly afterwards I replaced the lid/valve assembly.

 

[TonyT]

Hi,
Thanks for your response. It is a King Keg, slight error in my original post, it is a non-threaded 8g bulb I am using through a 4inch cap with S30 valve, i've attached a photo, sorry it's not the best!
Cheers,
Paul

I had that with an S30. I subsequently discovered that the particular type that I had was a dual purpose valve that you could use for a bulb or a Hambleton Bard style CO2 S30 cylinder. To change it, there’s a little ‘o’ ring inside the top of the valve which you have to pluck out with a needle. Then you turn the cap upside down and a little metal thing falls out which you replace the other way up. Replace the ‘o’ ring and you can use the other type. Not all S30 valves are like that but it’s worth checking.

 

[AlBrew]

There are 3 rubber seals to check on the S30 valve (both pin type and non pin type I think). I've had all 3 cause problems in just the past few months.

1. The o ring for the bulb connection as previously mentioned above, needs to be seated correctly.

2. The overpressure band, this one is on the outside below the threads for the bulb holder and blocks a hole through the body of the valve to the inside of the barrel. If it's perished or not seated correctly it'll empty your gas.

3. The one way filler band, this one is internal so accessing it means taking the cap off. It's smaller than the band above and lets gas in while filling but not out. This one can get blown off it's seat while filling especially if burst filling too quickly and can also get iced up and leak.

Good luck.

 

[Stevieboy]

Also ditch that plastic holder - they are rubbish. Get a decent metal one.

 

[Sym]

I have had this in the past and it was because of a plastic holder, well not so much the holder being plastic but the thread and it was worn so did not seal the bulb in tight. I now have a plastic holder with a metal thread and that worked fine. The best solution tho is to get a soda stream bottle with the special s30 adaptor.

 

[jondi11]

I started getting this same issue tonight, did original poster sort the problem out?