Leaking keg

[Triker]

A couple of days ago I transferred my first beer brew to my King keg. Yesterday (now that the pressure has built) it is leaking through the tap. I took off the top and tightened the tap but now that the pressure has built, it is still leaking.

Obviously every time I release pressure I am losing CO2 so..... How can I seal the tap and if I replace the 'gas' will I end up with the same result. In other words 'is it too late' to save my brew?

thanks guys.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Is this a top tap keg?
Is the beer below the tap level?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Can you see where its leaking from?

 

[Triker]

Hi Johnnyboy,

Yes it a 'top tap' keg and it appears to be leaking from the 'tap seal' and running down the keg. The beer level is just above the tap

 

[johnnyboy1965]

OK, Either the rubber washer is not seated properly or youve over-tightened.
Open the keg and syphon of enough beer so that you can get to the tap. undo the bolt fitting slightly, check the rubber washer is seated flat and re-tighten....just give it a pinch, not a wrist breaking tighten.
Do you have any CO2 ?

 

[Triker]

ok. It sounds like I have over tightened it. Is it worth putting a little petroleum jelly on the seal? I'm just on my way to get some gas.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

No need for petroleum jelly, let the washer do its job. Bung in a little more sugar to re-prime, move to somewhere warm for a few days,and check

 

[Triker]

Thanks Johnnyboy. I appreciate your help :thumb:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Thanks Johnnyboy. I appreciate your help :thumb:

Glad to be of some help

 

[Triker]

Found the problem. The keg has a 'moulding fault' on the outside where the seal is supposed to seat. Cant do much about that now so I've put the sealing ring on the inside of the keg where it should make a seal.

I went to buy some gas and I bought the co2 capsules. They don't fit! I obviously need the larger bottle? But hopefully at least I have a seal for now :hmm:

 

[Triker]

Update.

Seal on the inside didn't work at all. I took the keg back to my brew shop and he has exchanged it. On getting it home I can see that the 'seal seat' on this one is less than perfect so I may have to take this one back too :pray:

What has happened to our manufacturing quality control. For almost £50 I should at the very least expect it to be gas tight shouldn't I? Am I being too picky here :?

I tried to upload a pic of it but for some reason I don't have that option. I have to wonder how many more people have had a dodgy keg of this type or am I just unlucky ?

 

[EskiBrew]

Seal on the inside didn't work at all. I took the keg back to my brew shop and he has exchanged it. On getting it home I can see that the 'seal seat' on this one is less than perfect so I may have to take this one back too :pray:

I was just about to post to say putting the seal on the inside would not work but you beat me to it.
Regarding the quality - keep at it till you get a good one - alternatively, you might be able to use two washers to double up the thickness so they squash to fit a bit better - not deal

 

[oldstout]

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

:whistle:

Not without their faults then these kegs :hmm:

 

[Triker]

Ok one day on and it looks like the new keg is holding pressure, that is assuming there is some pressure there? So to my next question: Do I need to carbonate my keg to compensate and is it possible to get it wrong. Apparently the valve has an automatic pressure release!

 

[Triker]

Update on this bloody King keg. This is my second brew and the last one was ruined. Towards the end of the keg I had to carbonate it twice.

I put this brew in the keg 5 days ago and it tried it yesterday. It was flat as a witches tit. So I carbonated yesterday and did a soapy water test....no visible leaks, great! Today...flat again. Are these King kegs really this temperamental or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Triker]

I emailed Youngs to the other day regarding the Keg. They basically told me that they do not manufacture them but they are glad that I told them about it.

To cut a story short, even though its not their resposibility, they have very kindly offered me a replacement 'kit' for the brew I lost.

So well done Young's and thanks very much. :clap:

 

[Windy]

Are these King kegs really this temperamental or am I doing something wrong?

They are good kegs but they don't appear to do a preasure test before shipping them so if you are unlucky then you can get a bad one.

I bought a 3rd recently and there was a lump in the moulding under the tap washer, carved it away using a craft knife and now seals fine.

When starting with a new one, it is worth filling them almost full of water, then presurising them, then leaving them almost upside down with all the seals below water level for a few hours with some newspaper underneath. That will show you if there are any leaks and where they are.

It's also worth flating the top of the thread so that the cap only needs to be screwed on gently to make a seal, they all seem to have an uneven top in some way or other and if it is too uneven then it can be quite hard to seal the cap or know if it is sealed. To flat the top place a sheet of medium grit (600) sandpaper on top of the thread followed by a similar sized sheet of glass (eg from a photo frame) and then sand until there are no shiny areas left on the top surface, while sanding keep turning the barrel a little so that you sand it evenly all around. On my new one the areas closest to the handles where about 1mm lower than the areas furthest away which before flatting ment that the cap had to be tighted enough to squash parts of the o-ring an extra 1mm further than should have been necessary - that is quite a lot tighter and too tight will result in the o-ring binding, becoming uneven and thus not sealing. With a flat top they seal easily and reliably.

 

[Triker]

Yes I agree. Mine too had a small lump as you described on the tap seal. It did occur to me to do a repair job but for £50 a throw you shouldn't have to correct bad workmanship. After not everyone has the tools or the know how to take on a repair and if no one makes them aware of it, it doesn't improve. Hopefully now they will have someone (quality control) cast their beady eye over them before they go out of the factory.

Cheers Windy :thumb:

 

[Windy]

Indeed you shouldn't have to but then again it was easier than sending it back and hoping that the replacement would be better. Plus at £45 it was only £5 more than a cheapo Wilkinsons barrel + matching S30 CO2 cap and, except for a few imperfections, was much better quality.

 

[Sandimas]

If it's any consolation, I'm having keg (Rotokeg top tap) problems too and and have lost the end of 2 brews

Worked fine when I got it but now has got a slow leak somewhere, I've renewed all the seals, checked it all over with the soap test but cannot find the damn leak. Pressurises up OK but loses pressure over 1-2 days. Can't think of anything else to try as it has such a slow leak somewhere.

Now prefer my budget Wilko barrel with added CO2 injector cap - at least you can see it deforming when it's got a decent amount of pressure, unlike the more expensive kegs.