Hand Pull Beer Engine advice

[The Baron]

Hi I have just purchased a 2nd hand techflo beer engine. It looks like a 1/4 or 1/3rd type and seems to pull well but it also seems to drip a little after the handle has been put back in the upright position. Is this to be expected or is it something that can be stopped.
Ps it is only pumping from a bowl of water as not fully installed yet and i wondered if a check valve would help with this

 

[The Baron]

Just thought on I am pulling Oxi through it me wonders if the gas released is causing it to drip?

 

[LeeH]

It will drip as there is liquid in the neck.

 

[The Baron]

Thanks what not sure, does make sense

 

[LeeH]

Beer engines are ace, shame they are ugly things so have to pop out to the garage for a pint.

 

[The Baron]

I have just got home from work and the last piece of the jigsaw is here a connector for the bag I am going to fill with beer as that is how I will initially serve it.
A bag of beer that I will bring into the conservatory which is quite cool at this time of the year and serve there it will actually save me going out to the Pub/Bar in the garden.
CHEERS

 

[AnimatedGIF]

...shame they are ugly things

Are they? I quite enjoy looking at mine.

 

[The Baron]

First pint tonight on the hand pull a Tribute style beer very similar using the same hops with a little First Gold added
My very quickly knocked up set up to serve it, will eventually go in the outside Pub/Bar

 

[LeeH]

Looks yum. I’ll pull a TT Landlord tomorrow

 

[The Baron]

I wish I had a bottle of Tribute as from memory it does taste like it and it should as the recipe is based on it but until you do a side by side you never know how close it is.
Ps I did use CML Beoir yeast

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Perfect setup. So you’ll fill bag from whatever you have on tap?

 

[The Baron]

The only problem I found last night was the bag did not collapse like I expected so I had to take off the filler and vent it out then reseal it as I will not be drinking the remainder for 4 days.
I did check for leaks but could not find any, drip weeping of beer and it has a demand valve on it so why is the bag not fully collapsing as I draw beer?
Any answers welcome

 

[LeeH]

Looks yum. I’ll pull a TT Landlord tomorrow

View attachment 81940

 

[LeeH]

 

[The Baron]

I am guessing that is the TT
None for me till Saturday
Ps any thoughts on the bag not collapsing but no obvious leaks as in my post above

 

[allotment_fox]

was the beer carbonated before going into the bag ? if you take the sparkler off could you fit a plastic cap of some sort

 

[The Baron]

No the beer was Lightly carbed so are you thinking it may be co2 being released in the bag?
I specifically did not carb that particular beer so it could go in the bag but you never know as it has been stored in a cold outside environment and maybe it has absorbed what little co2 that was in it. I have vented the bag and released any air/co2 and it is not filling back up as though it is not releasing any co2. I suppose when I connect the beer engine again on Saturday I will see if the bag does not collapse and slightly inflates again would mean it is drawing in somewhere but why no leakage?

 

[allotment_fox]

can't be co2 then

 

[The Baron]

can't be co2 then

No not discounting it as it could possibly be that or partly that as I did move the beer once bagged to a place 3 or 4 degrees warmer so the agitation of bagging and the warmer environment may have aided co2 release. I just wondered if anybody else had come across it with bagged beer. As I said I will find out on Saturday if it reacts the same again that it must be the set up?

 

[peebee]

If the beer in a bag contains just a sniff of CO2 over what it can hold at atmospheric pressure, the surplus CO2 will come out of solution. And it will collect in the bag. (Do remember: Atmospheric pressure changes with the weather too!). You can't stop it! It's why we have rigid bottles, casks, kegs, etc.

Put a heavy book on the bag, which will be enough pressure on the bag to hold some surplus CO2 in solution. (Plastic floppy bags aren't perfect, but they'll do the job for a while).

Footnote:
If you want to try beer with far less CO2 than can be dissolved to "saturation" level in a CO2 atmosphere at atmospheric pressure ( ... there must be an easier way of writing that!), try an unpopular "Real Ale" in an unpopular Pub. You will most likely not like it! Who would? Drinking truly "flat beer" is a myth put about by people who can't tolerate anything but fizzy beer, or, people who can't tolerate the existence of fizzy beer!