Leaking Barrel Cap

[terrym]

@Steeley
Try this for some of the dodges with a Youngs type PB.
If you suspect you have a leak you need to pressurise the PB and go round everything, body, joints, seams above the 'water line' with soapy water which usually finds the leaks. If its leaking below the water line that will be obvious.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/guide-to-a-standard-home-brew-pressure-barrel.67042/And a smear of vaseline on the cap gasket and tighten to just engaging then one quarter turn should seal the joint without distorting the gasket.

 

[Steeley]

I see you’ve had some responses already. I‘m no expert on Young’s kegs but I have a lot of experience with King Kegs. The bubbling back sounds like you’re sucking air into the keg as noted by CD. This is not a problem with the tap. The use of PTFE tape on King Keg taps is two-fold; to seal the thread and eliminate any seepage under pressure along the threads, and to enable you to further tighten the nut on the back of the tap without it jumping the threads - this is to eliminate the issue of beer squeezing past the tap seal under pressure. This has happened to many people and some have even reported beer literally spraying out.

The issue you have is the gas leaking out of the keg. When you inject CO2 does it immediately rush back out or does the gas leak over several minutes/hours?

It’s instant, with the Young’s , I have wrapped the PTFE tape round the tap threads,, and smeared the the tap seal with Vaseline, filled barrel with water, pressurised with Co2 and fluid came directly out of the cap.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Can you take a photo of the top of the cap please, making sure you get the valve in the picture.

 

[Steeley]

@Steeley
Try this for some of the dodges with a Youngs type PB.
If you suspect you have a leak you need to pressurise the PB and go round everything, body, joints, seams above the 'water line' with soapy water which usually finds the leaks. If its leaking below the water line that will be obvious.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/guide-to-a-standard-home-brew-pressure-barrel.67042/And a smear of vaseline on the cap gasket and tighten to just engaging then one quarter turn should seal the joint without distorting the gasket.

That’s what I think I have done terrym, I may have tightened it to tight previously and maybe have distorted it, but you guys are really well up on this subject, but I have replaced the gasket

 

[Steeley]

Can you take a photo of the top of the cap please, making sure you get the valve in the picture.

Yeh give me about 5 mins

 

[Steeley]

Yeh give me about 5 mins

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Can you get a picture showing the side of the valve, it looks to me like you have a missing seal!

 

[Steeley]

I have looked at the valve at the side, there is a seal there, but it doesn’t look to good.

Can you get a picture showing the side of the valve, it looks to me like you have a missing seal!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Ah yes, a clear seal! In the last picture the gas escape hole looks very close to the edge of the seal? If that’s right you could try moving the seal to better cover the hole.

In almost all cases of gas leaks that are not obvious it’s actually this seal. It can look fine when it’s completely shot. See the picture below, the seal on the left come off a brand new S30 valve, the rubber on the right is a new one for comparison.

 

[Steeley]

Ah yes, a clear seal! In the last picture the gas escape hole looks very close to the edge of the seal? If that’s right you could try moving the seal to better cover the hole.

In almost all cases of gas leaks that are not obvious it’s actually this seal. It can look fine when it’s completely shot. See the picture below, the seal on the left come off a brand new S30 valve, the rubber on the right is a new one for comparison.

View attachment 30373

It looks like on close inspection, that the seal has ridden up towards the hole, do you think screwing the bulb holder on for the Co2 might have disturbed it?, so if I try to move the seal round, to get more coverage over the hole, that should hopefully do it, can you tell me again what the significance of this hole and seal is.

 

[Buffers brewery]

This S30/Hambleton Bard thing is the Achilles heal of all pressure barrels that use them IMHO. Looks like a bit of neat value engineering when you first look at it, but in use it’s a nightmare. A proper non-return/check valve and pressure relief/vent valve would be more expensive but SO much more reliable.
Apologies that this post may not help with your current predicament.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

can you tell me again what the significance of this hole and seal is.

Here’s a sneak peak at a thread I’m putting together on all this stuff covering, I hope, your question.

 

[Steeley]

This S30/Hambleton Bard thing is the Achilles heal of all pressure barrels that use them IMHO. Looks like a bit of neat value engineering when you first look at it, but in use it’s a nightmare. A proper non-return/check valve and pressure relief/vent valve would be more expensive but SO much more reliable.
Apologies that this post may not help with your current predicament.

If I get the Young’s barrel fettled I can transfer my beer out of the KK into the Young’s and then concentrate on theKK

 

[Steeley]

I hav

Here’s a sneak peak at a thread I’m putting together on all this stuff covering, I hope, your question.


View attachment 30374

i have moved the seal around a bit to give more cover over the seal, to see how that goes

 

[Buffers brewery]

If I get the Young’s barrel fettled I can transfer my beer out of the KK into the Young’s and then concentrate on theKK

I think you’re not far off. @Hazelwood Brewery will sort you out if anybody can. I’ve binned the whole cap assembly of my KKs and replaced with something more reliable.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Ihave moved the seal around a bit to give more cover over the seal, to see how that goes

That looks much better!

 

[Steeley]

That looks much better!

I will give it a try and hopefully I will get no bubbles blown back in my beer, and I will be able to transfer my beer, then get this bloody KK fettled, but your help as been very much appreciated, really has.

 

[Steeley]

I think you’re not far off. @Hazelwood Brewery will sort you out if anybody can. I’ve binned the whole cap assembly of my KKs and replaced with something more reliable.

You guys as I said before are a god send thanks so much

 

[cushyno]

Hazelwood spotted the problem with the seal. It's not just the hole that must be adequately covered, the whole groove must be adequately covered as the gas can escape anywhere that the groove is not fully covered. Try to position the centre line of the seal along the groove so that the overlap each side of the groove is equal all round.

 

[Steeley]

Hazelwood spotted the problem with the seal. It's not just the hole that must be adequately covered, the whole groove must be adequately covered as the gas can escape anywhere that the groove is not fully covered. Try to position the centre line of the seal along the groove so that the overlap each side of the groove is equal all round.

I have just tried it with the seal as it was after I moved it, I put some Co2 in left it for a bit but no good , when I tried to pour it , it gave me about half pint of water then died, I think we are in the right area, I just think I might purchase a new cap assembly