No pressure in the barrel

[FrootShoot]

I have done a few All Grain brews now and most have been successful but on this occasion I seem to be having trouble getting any pressure build up in the barrel at all.

Unlike in other brews I ended up leaving the primary fermentation in the bucket for 14 days instead of my normal 9 or 10, and then racked the beer into the barrel - it did seem very clear when syphoning where normally I have bits of yeast flow through occasionally. As normal I added a little sugar (about 85g) to the barrel to prime it.

Now 6 days later there is no pressure in the barrel at all, I have checked the pressure cap and seal (as I have had problems before here) but it all seems to be in order and the Vaseline appears to be creating a seal.

Does anyone know if I have done something wrong or how to rescue the situation now? It would be a shame to fail now as the taste of the beer up to this point has probably been the best I have made so far

Thanks in advance.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Is the barrel somewhere warm. The outside temperatures have dropped a lot and unless your barrel is warm secondary fermentation will not happen.

Assuming the temps are correct then the only other likely option is you have a leak in the barrel. Vaseline will not create an airtight seal!!

The seal comes from the rubber being in contact with both the inside of the cap and the top of keg, too much vaseline will prevent that seal from happening.

[Rick_UK]

Check the tap and seal around the tap too. This is the most common place to get leaks. If it has a pressure valve make sure the seal has not failed.

What sort of barrel is it?

[Wezzel]

I fitted a car tyre valve into the top of one of my barrels today as suggested by Travis ( viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37389&hilit=tyre+valve#p398355 ). Works like a dream and now I can keep a close check on the pressure and know when to add CO2 etc. Just use a cheap digital tyre pressure gauge fron Hellfrauds!