Problems with Young's 5 gallon kegs leaking. Advice please?

[Nick_593]

Hello everyone,

I've got a Young's keg that's leaking. This is the second one I've used now as the first one was leaking badly, and was replaced.

I'm just wondering if this is a common problem(?), and if there is any way I can fix it?

I have 15 litres home brew in the keg now and its still leaking.. Is there anything I can do to stop it?

Warm regards,

Nick

 

[BBandW]

Hi Nick,

I don't know the Young's keg but suspect its the standard heavy duty polythene design with a screw in tap. If so, and assuming its leaking where the tap screws into the barrel, then I had the same problem a couple of weeks back.

I found that just turning the tap didn't do any good because the nut on the inside (now submerged under 40 pts of brew) just turns as well - but if I gave it the tap a sharp turn then it did seem to tighten and the leak stopped. It took a couple of theses sharp twists before the leak stopped completely. Of course your tap may now be pointing at a an angle but if you keep turning it then the nut inside and tap both revolve together round to the right position.

The instructions for my barrel warn against over tightening ( something I think would be impossible without tools), but if you're built like a gorilla and use a couple of wrenches I suppose it might be possible.

Good luck :thumb:

 

[IPA]

If you have a standard Budget Barrel and it's leaking from the tap where it screws into the barrel this is what to do.
When empty look inside through the cap hole and you should be able to see clearly the end of the tap thread. If you can't unscrew the tap and quite often there is a piece of plastic moulding that has not been removed and is preventing you screwing the tap all the way in. Remove this obstruction with a scalpel or sharp knife. Then smear some vaseline on the thread and washer screw in the tap and you should see the washer visibly compress if not there is still a bit of moulding stopping it. If so repeat the above proceedure until it screws all the way in. Sometimes after considerable use the tap leaks from between the body of the tap and the tap pipe if this happens just replace it they only cost a couple of quid. I have had to do this with all the barrels that I have bought since they started being made in China. Also the caps that have the white washer should be lubricated and only lightly tightened otherwise the washer distorts resulting in a loss of pressure. The caps with a round blue washer do not have this problem but they are patented and no longer available. Because of this patent our oriental friends cannot manufacture them. Hope this helps

 

[droche]

You can still do it with beer in the keg by venting any pressure out then laying the barrel on its side with the tap at the top. My Young's barrel does not have a nut inside, the hole is threaded. To fix my leak I removed the tap, put a few turns of PTFE tape on the thread and a smear of Vaseline on the barrel thread then re-tightened the tap and so far no more leaks.

 

[Nick_593]

You can still do it with beer in the keg by venting any pressure out then laying the barrel on its side with the tap at the top. My Young's barrel does not have a nut inside, the hole is threaded. To fix my leak I removed the tap, put a few turns of PTFE tape on the thread and a smear of Vaseline on the barrel thread then re-tightened the tap and so far no more leaks.

Is it safe to put Vaseline in the barrel without contaminating the beer?.

Thanks!

 

[droche]

I just smeared a very thin layer around the thread. Just put some on the first centimetre of the thread and it should do the job. I think the PTFE did more than the Vaseline so give it a try without if you prefer, after all the PTFE tape is self lubricating. Hope it works, I hate to see beer go to waste.

 

[IPA]

I just smeared a very thin layer around the thread. Just put some on the first centimetre of the thread and it should do the job. I think the PTFE did more than the Vaseline so give it a try without if you prefer, after all the PTFE tape is self lubricating. Hope it works, I hate to see beer go to waste.

If the washer fully compresses the barrel cannot leak. The tap threads are only for tightening the tap not for preventing leaks.
Your problem is most certainly that the tap is not screwing all the way in. Also clean vaseline will not affect your beer.