Klarstein Beer Dispensers

[Leon103]

Are you an inch when filling and what level did you carb to?

 

[DoctorMick]

Are you an inch when filling and what level did you carb to?

Probably half an inch, I'll try a bit more headroom.
Carving with 20g sugar usually, never really looked at the volume of co2 that'd give tho.

 

[Fore]

I had a keg bulge and have decided to switch to the safety release bungs, for peace of mind. I had no problem pushing in the wand though, with no lost beer while doing so. And the connections, tubing and tap all held firm. Not a single drip. Still, every last drop of beer from that keg started life as foam in a jug. The empty deformed keg is now binned.

I'm not experienced enough using these yet, but I imagine carbonation on the higher end would produce foam because there is no way to balance the line to bring down the serving pressure. It's just a very very short stretch from the top of the keg to the tap.

 

[Soton]

I already had some 16g CO2 bottles but they leak CO2 in my new Klarstein, where do you get your CO2 from for your machines?

 

[MickDundee]

I already had some 16g CO2 bottles but they leak CO2 in my new Klarstein, where do you get your CO2 from for your machines?

I usually just get the standard 16g unthreaded from https://www.co2cartridges.co.uk/ and they work perfectly. I see they don't have any in stock at the moment though.

 

[DoctorMick]

I'm less than impressed with this now. The last 2 kegs have been ruined by gas leaking from somewhere. Not sure whether to try new bungs or just send it back.

 

[MickDundee]

I'm less than impressed with this now. The last 2 kegs have been ruined by gas leaking from somewhere. Not sure whether to try new bungs or just send it back.

Disappointed to hear this. Mine has been spot on, kegs can last weeks in it and (other that when I accidentally removed a half full cartridge thinking it was empty and dislodged the piercing disc) I've had no issues at all with the gas. What kind of bungs are you using?

 

[DoctorMick]

Disappointed to hear this. Mine has been spot on, kegs can last weeks in it and (other that when I accidentally removed a half full cartridge thinking it was empty and dislodged the piercing disc) I've had no issues at all with the gas. What kind of bungs are you using?

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/easy-keg-bung.html

The first 2 kegs worked a treat but the last 2 have went flat really quickly. There are a few connections on the piercing rod that I've tightened up so hopefully that'll have been all it was.

 

[Soton]

I'm very happy with mine now I have different co2 bulbs. I can't wait to get some of my home brewed beer in use it
I'm sure it will come in handy a Christmas time to take homebrew with me to relatives houses etc

 

[MickDundee]

https://www.brewuk.co.uk/easy-keg-bung.html

The first 2 kegs worked a treat but the last 2 have went flat really quickly. There are a few connections on the piercing rod that I've tightened up so hopefully that'll have been all it was.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but I've always used these ones:
https://www.brewuk.co.uk/minikeg-bung.html

 

[Fore]

I've noticed recently that the kegs have a rudimentary pressure gauge. A day after you have kegged, the plastic stopper in the bung recedes back into the bung a bit. Not much, maybe less than a mm, but enough to feel it when you rub your finger over. Then at some point during the carbing process, it pops back out again, more or less flush with the bung. My last brew took two weeks for the plastic stopper to pop back into place for example. On my brew which was over-carbed, the plastic stopper had started protruding out beyond the bung. Again not by much, but enough to feel when you rub your finger over it. So I start to be able to roughly judge the keg pressure/state using that plastic stopper.

 

[Braufather]

Like everything that happens no with brewing you think you have found a solution, only to find maybe not. So I went away on holiday looking foward to getting back and getting one of these.

Now I am back, catching up on the thread I now worry about getting the right bungs. I am worrying about getting the right co2 cartridges. And will it leak? The hassle I find with bottling now seems the Easy option again!

So for someone, who wants to keep it simple, is not a fan ( or has any talent!) with diy or mechanical tinkering, - is this the way to go?

 

[MickDundee]

Like everything that happens no with brewing you think you have found a solution, only to find maybe not. So I went away on holiday looking foward to getting back and getting one of these.

Now I am back, catching up on the thread I now worry about getting the right bungs. I am worrying about getting the right co2 cartridges. And will it leak? The hassle I find with bottling now seems the Easy option again!

So for someone, who wants to keep it simple, is not a fan ( or has any talent!) with diy or mechanical tinkering, - is this the way to go?

I'm the least DIY minded person on the planet and I love mine. I've had no issues with cartridges or bungs, and have managed to keep beer fresh for 3+ weeks.

 

[Braufather]

Ok, will give it a go. :

 

[Braufather]

They are £157 now. 37% off, what were the Last month?

 

[MickDundee]

They are £157 now. 37% off, what were the Last month?

About £120 I think. I paid £144 back in May.

 

[Ben034]

A very old thread I know but just wanted to check if anyone was still using these dispensers? Any thoughts on the gas leaking? I inserted a new 16g gas bulb towards the end of a keg so only used to serve a couple of pints. It was turned off whilst the machine was empty for a few weeks. I've gone back to check there is gas before putting in a new keg and there's nothing there. Seems to leak. I had tightened the gas in securely. Is this common? The first bulb I used also didn't last a keg, so seems to be something wrong or that I am doing incorrectly? Thanks

 

[RichardM]

A very old thread I know but just wanted to check if anyone was still using these dispensers? Any thoughts on the gas leaking? I inserted a new 16g gas bulb towards the end of a keg so only used to serve a couple of pints. It was turned off whilst the machine was empty for a few weeks. I've gone back to check there is gas before putting in a new keg and there's nothing there. Seems to leak. I had tightened the gas in securely. Is this common? The first bulb I used also didn't last a keg, so seems to be something wrong or that I am doing incorrectly? Thanks

I used some heat shrink tubing over the connection where the pipe comes out of the part that the bulb fits in to. It solved the problem for me.

 

[Ben034]

I used some heat shrink tubing over the connection where the pipe comes out of the part that the bulb fits in to. It solved the problem for me.

Thanks for the reply Richard. That's interesting. Irritating that it needs modification out of the box to work correctly. Could you explain how you fitted the heat shrink tubing?

I just had a look at the tube from the bulb and noticed it can be loosened and tightened. I just tightened it up a little to see if this might help.

I assume you would remove the tube and then do as you described. Any particular size of heat shrink tubing? Thanks

 

[RichardM]

Thanks for the reply Richard. That's interesting. Irritating that it needs modification out of the box to work correctly. Could you explain how you fitted the heat shrink tubing?

I just had a look at the tube from the bulb and noticed it can be loosened and tightened. I just tightened it up a little to see if this might help.

I assume you would remove the tube and then do as you described. Any particular size of heat shrink tubing? Thanks

It's a while since I did it, but I think I just simply pulled the pipe off, slipped a bit of the heat shrink over, reassembled it and pushed the heat shrink over the connection and used a heat gun to shrink it in place.