LOSING CARBONATION FROM PRESSURE BARRELS

[Andy Hird]

Hi Folks,

I’ve got a couple of lagers on the go at the minute in those £19 Youngs pressure barrels from Wilkos.

They’ve been going for 6 weeks now, and have got absolutely no carbonation in them at all. I put the correct amount of priming sugar in them and second fermented them at the correct temperature, and haven’t vented them. The pressure barrels are fitted with the normal screw caps without the CO2 injector valves.

My questions are these:-

1. Are these Youngs pressure barrels any good at holding CO2 or would I be better off with a King Keg

2. Do Lagers generally condition and prime well in pressure barrels ?

Cheers

Andy

[garwatts]

Hi Folks,

I’ve got a couple of lagers on the go at the minute in those £19 Youngs pressure barrels from Wilkos.

They’ve been going for 6 weeks now, and have got absolutely no carbonation in them at all. I put the correct amount of priming sugar in them and second fermented them at the correct temperature, and haven’t vented them. The pressure barrels are fitted with the normal screw caps without the CO2 injector valves.

My questions are these:-

1. Are these Youngs pressure barrels any good at holding CO2 or would I be better off with a King Keg

2. Do Lagers generally condition and prime well in pressure barrels ?

Cheers

Andy

From my experience

1. Yes and yes

2. Yes

Just make sure that you have sealed the cap properly and add a smear of vaseline to the lid seal. The seals in the cheap kegs will move around more and are not as good as the KKs. The best container though in my opinion is the Cornelius keg.

[psychoactive]

Hi there - I'm sure lots of other people will help you out with these questions too, but here's my tuppence worth.

I've had three of the budget kegs from Wilkos - one of which works fantastically, and the other two which have been exactly like yours. If you have no carbonation at all, having added vaseline to the seals, and primed properly as you've described, you clearly have a leak. If you take off the cap and look underneath it, I'll bet you serious money that the rubber 'o' ring which ensures a pressure seal will be kinked or has slipped from it's housing slightly. It really is crap that they do this, but you're best either trying to re-house the 'o' ring, add plenty more vaseline to the threads/seals, then re-prime with sugar and gently apply the cap (don't overtighten as I think this makes the problem more likely). If you have no luck with this, take the barrel back to Wilkos (this is what I did with my first one which I could not get to seal), shout at them and get another one and cross your fingers that it's a goo 'un.

About your second point - I think most people here will agree that pressure barrels (excluding cornies) aren't great for lager as they can't withstand the pressures you'll need to get a nice fizzy lager. You're better off bottling, perhaps with litre/2 litre PET bottles (e.g. empty fizzy water bottles from Tesco etc). These can take mega pressures, won't leak, and unlike glass bottles, they will not turn into fragmentation grenades if you overprime. Somebody once told me glass bottles can withstand 10 psi, and plastic bottles 100 psi. I know which one i prefer, although your brew won't look as professional!

Good luck!

[EoinMag]

Next time the keg is empty, go around it with a fine grade sand paper and smooth out the kinks. Around the seals etc. I went over any surface that would have to make a seal and sanded it flat or as close as be damned. This helps immensely with the sealing. The king kegs need the same treatment too, so it's not just a budget keg problem you're facing. Vaseline is your friend, just don't let it contact the beer.
Kegs are not the best for lagers as it's hard to get them to carb up to the necessary amount for the style, but you will get a drinkable beer from it, just possibly not fizzy enough.

[Andy Hird]

Thanks for the replies Fellas.

I'll look at the seals, sand down the surfaces and put plenty of vaseline on there, and not overtighten them

To be honest, it's not really a problem, as I have the tap a draft system, so once the lager has conditioned and cleared in the barrel, I transfer it to the tap a draft bottles, then force carbonate it with the CO2 bulbs. It's just nicer when it has it's own natural carbonation.

I'd rather not go down the King Keg route, as I have 4 of the cheap Youngs pressure barrels, and it would get very costly to replace them with King Kegs.

[AlexCricket]

The KK's are not necessarily better - I have a Top Tap and find that because of the way the pick up tube is mounted I always get 50:50 Beer and head gas meaning get through loads of CO2.

I drink beer (rather than lager) and therefore find bottles work very well for me. I have yet to really find that I can get a keg working right.

[garwatts]

Andy, go careful with the Vaseline. Don't get any under the seal.

[mickhew]

I've had 2 of these barrels, and have had nothing but problems with both. Both regularly losing pressure, leaking tap seals, ruined brews, I now bottle all mine. I resorted to plumbers PTFE tape on the tap threads, and Fernox LSX sealant to try and stop the leaks. No end of hassle. But others swear by these barrels. Was thinking of getting a King Keg, but hear that loads of people have trouble with these too, loss of pressure, cracked caps, leaking\sticking taps. But again, others have no problems.

[Normski]

Hi Andy and welcome

I agree with the advice above, and would just add that. I have budget kegs with and without S30 connector and KK top and bottom taps. They are all ok but have there own quirks, that you need to learn and work with. But my favorites are the budget with a S30. When you have sorted your keg to hold the pressure, you have to watch the bottom of the budget kegs as they have been known to start to bulge underneath. The KK don’t have this problem as they are reinforced here. If this happens, just let out a bit of the pressure by squeezing or lifting the rubber band on the cap. Cheers Normski