Need help. Barrel leaking – I don’t know what to do.

[Rich82]

Can anyone advise me on what best to do? I have a barrel, well half a barrel full of Cooper’s draught (the rest went into bottles); it had been in there on secondary fermentation for about 5 or 6 days. I woke up this morning and noticed a puddle on the floor. It looks like the seal at the tap on the bottom has split and just started leaking. It was spraying a fair bit of gas and foam from the seal. I’d say maybe about half a pint. It’s my own fault its split, I think I over primed the barrel. Unsure of how much sugar to use when kegging as the instructions didn’t say, I put 80% the amount of sugar it recommended for bottling into the keg (worked out per litre), this was after reading various reports of people putting in half and getting flat beer and somebody recommending 200g per 5 gal. I thought it might be o.k. as the valve is supposed to have a pressure release valve on it anyway, and there is a lot of space to fill with Co2. I released some more of the pressure from the tap but it wouldn’t stop leaking however tight or loose I made it. I found the position where it leaks the least and as I was at this point running late for work wrapped tape around the base of the tap. I left it all day and it appears to have stopped leaking whilst the tape is on. I now don’t know what to do for the best. Do I take the tape and tap off, replace the rubber seal and fill the barrel with some Co2, replace the seal and leave it, put some more Co2 in as it stands with the tape on or just leave it completely alone to condition and see how that turns out.

 

[Wendy1971]

you could try and silicone around the tap etc for now. Also superglue is brill and would probably plug it temporarily. Or you could transfer the lot to another barrel and re gas.

 

[dizidave]

Sorry to hear that :cry:

However, dont the kegs have a pressure release to stop this?

 

[SE10PAT]

Are you sure that the seal has definitely split? I had a similar issue with a stout recently but that was because I hadn't tightened the seal up enough :mrgreen:

I would lay the keg on one side and take the tap off for a proper inspection. If the seal is broke, try replacing it and putting the tap back on. I wouldn't worry about the C02 just now, the beer will still be going through its secondary fermentation so it should still create the required pressure once the tap is fixed.

good luck

 

[eggman]

I would lay the keg on one side and take the tap off for a proper inspection. If the seal is broke, try replacing it and putting the tap back on. I wouldn't worry about the C02 just now, the beer will still be going through its secondary fermentation so it should still create the required pressure once the tap is fixed.

That's what i would do too, plus you could also try some plumbing tape round the thread of the tap. Hope ya get it sorted :

 

[brewster324956]

Hi, I've had tap seal leakage from a barrell and following a discussion with my local brew shop was informed that the tap lug must be at 10 to 2 and tight thus compressing the seal.
It solved the problem and I insure now that I follow the above instruction with thankfully no further hassle,by the way I had to empty the barrell reseal again, and then refill.

Good luck :thumb:

 

[brewster324956]

Errrrrrr just took a look at my barrell what I ment was 20 to 2 its full of stout at the mo, no leaks .

Sorry

 

[Edd]

Sorry to hear the news Rich.

Personally I would doubt that over priming in the cause of the leak, like you say there should be a valve to vent of excess pressure.

However if you have primed with 200g of sugar that seems like and awful lot to me. I usually use 75 to 80g for a 5 gallon brew.

Things I would check are:

1. Is the leak definitely from the seal or is it from the tap ?
I have heard of barrels with taps at the bottom leaking from the tap due to the tap not being closed properly. If leaking from the tap try adjusting the "Closed" position slightly to see if it stops.

2. If the leak is from the seal then I think the tap either has been over tightened or is not tight enough.
Either way your going to need to get access to the tap, I'm not sure of the construction of these barrels as I don't use this type, but I'm assuming there is a nut on the rear of the tap that holds it all in place. Personally I would remove the tap check the seal is okay and reinstall. However doing this with beer in the barrel may be difficult. If possible swap the beer back to the FV if you don't have another barrel and sort the tap out. I generally assemble my barrels and fill with water and pressurise with CO2 to check for leaks. I have also had taps that have worked fine when first assembled but have leaked after having a few brews in them.

Keep us posted and good luck :thumb:

 

[Simonr]

Hey there, if you find out that it is indeed a split seal causing this, and your barrel is one of these, then I've got a spare tap and seal that you can have - my barrel has split and is going to be thrown away so if you an use the tap / seal then you're welcome to it.

Cheers....

 

[shearclass]

Personally I would doubt that over priming in the cause of the leak, like you say there should be a valve to vent of excess pressure.

However, dont the kegs have a pressure release to stop this?

Yes, but the safety valve doesn't work on either of my budget barrels. it will sooner force beer out through tap than have gas escape from the safety valve. The barrell will swell up and deform and still CO2 does not come out of the valve.

 

[bomberns127]

Personally I would doubt that over priming in the cause of the leak, like you say there should be a valve to vent of excess pressure.

However, dont the kegs have a pressure release to stop this?

Yes, but the safety valve doesn't work on either of my budget barrels. it will sooner force beer out through tap than have gas escape from the safety valve. The barrell will swell up and deform and still CO2 does not come out of the valve.

why not get caps with s30 connections, you can get 2" caps for budget barrels with s30 fitted, then get a co2 gas cylinder and charge when needed and you know the safety valve will work ok, i will check to see if i have any, if so i will pm you

 

[shearclass]

why not get caps with s30 connections, you can get 2" caps for budget barrels with s30 fitted, then get a co2 gas cylinder and charge when needed and you know the safety valve will work ok, i will check to see if i have any, if so i will pm you

Cheers (if that was addressed to me, and not the original poster) I appreciate the offer but my barrels already have the valves for the CO2 cylinders, which i assume are the S30 you mentioned. I don't know why the safety valves don't seem to work. It's only tight elastic over a small hole. I've tried cleaning it etc, but it jsut doesn't seem to work.

 

[eggman]

my barrels already have the valves for the CO2 cylinders, which i assume are the S30 you mentioned.

The s30 valves are for the larger refillable co2 bottles. If you use 8gram co2 canister (the same as me) then it's not an s30.
My barrels do tend to bulge a bit but they do vent as well

:

 

[Hawks]

I have one old pressure barrel, that always would leak via the tap before the pressure relief valve would go

 

[Rich82]

Thanks all for the replies and helpful. Unfortunately about an hour after posting this I had to go away with work so had to leave it with tape on. It seemed to do the job for a bit but then started leaking again. I think it was a case of over tightening and buckling/forcing the o-ring out of place. I unscrewed the tap until the o-ring looked in place and then tightened gently. It has now stopped leaking I am glad to say. Just to add to the point about the pressure relief valves, I have an s30 top to my budget barrel that I bought separately and that is working If I listen carefully I can here gas escaping from it. Ironically it was letting pressure out the same time it was leaking from the tap, so I must have had a lot of pressure in there.