Pressure Barrels - More than you wanted to know!

[jondi11]

Absolutely! I of course went through all of this myself and gradually worked my way through all the issues. After seeing lots of people ask the same questions on this forum (and seeing some of the responses!) I put this together so folk can hopefully understand the issues and get working solutions for them.

I ended up trying a different valve (brass) instead of chrome with collar, which I struggled with. I lubed rings and used ptft tape on threads. Seems OK now. Tried several things you mentioned in your tips but failed for me, not knocking your tips BTW.
Still hope to sort it out, rubber rings would bend upwards when tightening.
Cheers again.

 

[Haversham]

It is an excellent thread, yes, and encouraged me to buy two King Kegs in the summer. They’ve been 100% reliable, without even the PTFE tape. PSI readings have stayed rock solid. I’ve obviously read a lot of complaints about PBs but the 6 I know of in service, including my two, all seem to work as designed.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I ended up trying a different valve (brass) instead of chrome with collar, which I struggled with. I lubed rings and used ptft tape on threads. Seems OK now. Tried several things you mentioned in your tips but failed for me, not knocking your tips BTW.
Still hope to sort it out, rubber rings would bend upwards when tightening.
Cheers again.

Hi Jondi. I’m not sure I understand - you said “seems ok now” but then later said “still hope to sort it out”. Do you still have a problem?

If by rubber ring you mean the seal that sits between the valve and the cap, it shouldn’t deform. This is over-tightened and will leak.

Did you replace the pressure relief band? As I noted in the article this is almost always the cause of any unexplained leak - even when it looks fine.

 

[Haversham]

Probably a stupid question but I have to ask it. I have a King Keg with a 4" cap with the built-in CO2 inlet valve (see pic), bought from Ballihoo. But I'm not sure how I actually use the CO2 bulbs! I've assembled it as shown, screwed it onto the barrel cap, and the bulb into the socket. I've then released the red knob a bit and get the sound of the CO2. But I can feel the liquid as well around the 'tap outlet knob'-- is this right? Just after I give it a blast the beer seems to come out much quicker so I presume that some CO2 is getting in. But should I be hearing/feeling liquid? And how long am I supposed to open the red knob valve for? 2 seconds? 20 seconds? There are no instructions or best practice guidelines. Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

These caps and the gas injection have come about after my King Keg days but I can take an educated guess…

You are using a Schrader valve to pressurise your keg and your pressure relief valve I’m assuming is that rubber band around the central post on the cap. You should therefore be able to open the valve on the gas bottle adapter and press the “outlet” from it onto the Schrader valve until you hear gas escaping from the pressure release valve.

Alternatively, if the above overcarbonates your beer, give the keg a quick blast of gas and test the pressure with your gauge. Repeat small injections of gas until you get the pressure you want and that you know gives the results you like.

 

[Haversham]

These caps and the gas injection have come about after my King Keg days but I can take an educated guess…

You are using a Schrader valve to pressurise your keg and your pressure relief valve I’m assuming is that rubber band around the central post on the cap. You should therefore be able to open the valve on the gas bottle adapter and press the “outlet” from it onto the Schrader valve until you hear gas escaping from the pressure release valve.

Alternatively, if the above overcarbonates your beer, give the keg a quick blast of gas and test the pressure with your gauge. Repeat small injections of gas until you get the pressure you want and that you know gives the results you like.

Thanks - that’s pretty much what I’ve done. I do think CO2 is getting in there as the beer pours well but only for a short while (about a pint) hence the question about how long I’m supposed to open the valve for, and whether it’s right that I should hear/feel the CO2. The bronze outlet nut screws on tightly but the whole mechanism spins round if I flick it. Can someone tell me if that’s right?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It should seal and you shouldn’t get any on your hands - it will give you a serious burn.

I haven’t seen these myself but I wouldn’t expect the bronze cap to screw on, just press on - the applied pressure opening the valve and allowing gas to flow into the keg. I’m simply basing this assumption on car tyre inflation at the garage. If it doesn’t seem to work this way it might be worth contacting the supplier for advice?

 

[mdd1967]

Thanks - that’s pretty much what I’ve done. I do think CO2 is getting in there as the beer pours well but only for a short while (about a pint) hence the question about how long I’m supposed to open the valve for, and whether it’s right that I should hear/feel the CO2. The bronze outlet nut screws on tightly but the whole mechanism spins round if I flick it. Can someone tell me if that’s right?

It spins around on mine. Says there's on/off but there isnt, just open and closed. I had to turn the red gauge a fair bit to get it going but heard the hissing of CO2 squirting in. I expected the main body to not spin round, but I think youre doing it right.

 

[tondy79]

Mine did this, I sent this video to the supplier and they replaced