pressure relief

[clarkeuk]

hi all
just barrelled my first ever brew last night and today I can occasionally smell beer , it seems to be from the cap , my barrel is a cheap youngs one from a micro brewery kit, are these caps fit with a pressure relief value or is it escaping from the cap seal (which I lightly smeared with Vaseline)

 

[stevej]

Is it a normal cap with no fittings

 

[clarkeuk]

It has fittings for co2 bulb stevej

 

[Hoppyland]

Don't know your precise piece of kit, but every barrel I've had with a CO2 injection cap has also had a pressure relief valve incorporated. Mind you, I'm very surprised that this would be operating after less than 24hrs. Was the beer still fermenting strongly when you put it in the barrel??. You could try gently undoing the cap. If the barrel is up to pressure, then a lot of gas will escape, with a loud hiss, as soon as the O-ring seal begins to lift from the barrel neck. If the cap loosens without any obvious escape of gas, then there was little or no pressure inside and any escaping smells must be due to a poor seal. In this case, remove the cap, putting a piece of cling film over the neck to stop air getting in. Check the neck of the barrel - it should be perfectly smooth where the cap seal meets it. Check the O-ring, and where it seats within the cap. Also check the CO2 injection valve itself, and the seal where the valve passes through the cap.

 

[clarkeuk]

Cheers guys
Pretty sure it had stopped fermenting it had been in fv for 15 days and had a steady gravity reading for the last two but it is definitely pressurised as the barrel is swelling up

 

[Hoppyland]

the barrel is swelling up

Not quite sure what you mean by this - do you mean that the bottom is starting to bulge?
If so, it is over-pressure and either you don't have a pressure-relief valve or it ain't working. Try letting off some gas by loosening the cap & see what happens. Do it carefully, though, as if the beer is well over-pressure it's likely to fizz out of the top of the barrel! However, if it continues to ferment in a sealed barrel without a relief valve, then something is likely to give, and you may have a hell of a mess on your hands!