Pressuer release valve

[adban]

Morning, I have two questions if that's alright. Firstly I have 5 gallons of Geordie mild in the fermenter made up with malt extract and some goldings, It's been fermenting for 8 days and for the past 2 days the hydrometer reading has stayed at 1010. Is this ready for the barrel or should I wait awhile. Secondly I have acquired a second-hand Hambleton Bard pressure barrel and I was wondering how to check if the pressure release valve is working or do they never fail? I don't have any CO2 to pressurize the barrel and I was wondering if there was another way to check before I fill it with beer. Also it's got one of those beer floats and when I cleaning it I noticed that the flow from the tap stopped above the tap leaving a lot of water and so beer behind, is that right? Sorry that's now 3 questions, this is only my second batch so I am a little unsure about a few things. Hope someone can help.
Regards
Adam

[Tequilla6]

Sound ready for moving ready for conditioning in the barrel.

You can take the valve apart and I would normally do so during the sanitisation of the barrel anyway to check the rubber bands (Sorry pressure release valve) for any damage and to confirm they haven't stuck to the brass fitting.

If the HB Pressure Barrel is a top tap with a float then you will need Co2 to allow you to dispense the beer as the Co2 pressure is used to push the beer out of the tap. If it's a bottom tap then it may just be you had the lid on too tight creating a vacuum in the barrel and so stopped the beer from coming out.

Cheers

[Tequilla6]

You always seem to have the pictures Chris-x Nice one

[adban]

Thanks for the info I'll check the valve, sanitise the barrel and fill it with beer, cheers.