HELP! beer leak!

[pickler555]

Hi all,

I'm quite new to this so please be gentle.

I have a leak from the seal around the tap on my keg. What can I do?

The beer should be ready in the next couple of weeks but I fear by that time I will have lost a few pints.

Will it upset the beer if I try to remove the tap and re-seal it? Should I just wait it out and hope for the best?

I tried tightening the tap but that seems to have made it worse (I think I have just squashed the rubber washer). I think a fair amount of ptfe tape should sort the problem before I brew my next lot.

Any suggestions are welcome but please help. Seeing beer dripping away is breaking my heart.

[Uncle Joshua]

I'd try to fix the seal, if you lay the keg on its side and remove the tap and maybe cover the hole in cling film while you do it. you may need to re-prime.

[rossa]

How about releasing some pressure from the keg. Sometimes mine leak because of the pressure.

[pickler555]

Good suggestions.

I think releasing some of the pressure has helped, I guess I can always re-gas if I need to.

If it continues to leak badly I will try removing the tap and putting ptfe tape on the threads. I guess I'll have to leave it for a good few days extra to let it settle again.

Uncle Joshua, what do you mean by re-prime?

[Swiller]

Hi pickler, Uncle Joshua is refering to the sugar
you added when you transfered the
beer from your fermenter to the barrel (I assume you did)?
As you will loose some of the fizz if you repair the
tap by re-priming and leaving it for a week or so will
re-fizz it.

[pickler555]

Lovely job, thanks for that. I put half a teaspoon per pint in to start with. Should I put the same in again? It has been in the leg for about 2 and a half weeks.

[Swiller]

I would say you should re-prime with the same amount.
I think I remember chucking in 80g of sugar for a 20 odd
liter brew when I used to use pressure barrels.
It may be worth drawing some of the beer to see what
level of carbonation you have after changing the tap before
you re-prime as it may be to your liking. It depends how much
of a fizz you like.


J

[Wezzel]

I had a similar problem once. I ended up buying a new barrel (as it was a good excuse to buy an extra one) but I could just as well have syphoned it into a sterallised FV, fixed the leak and then returned it to the repaired barrel.

But, this is the interesting thing. I asked the chap in my local homebrew shop if I should re-prime. He said that he wouldn't recommend it. He suggested that when I transfer the beer I give it a gentle stir in order to transfer as much of the sediment as possible at the same time (without getting too much air in). He said that the beer would settle again in a few days and there would be enough residual yeast active to keep the beer fresh.

I did exactly that. I stirred the brew, re-barrelled, and gave it a quick shot of CO2 and then bled most of it out again (to remove the layer of air).

After about 4 or 5 days it was clear again and good to go. I have only recently finished the brew and it was good to the last pint.

[Fil]

A brewing pal down the road had exactly this problem after restarting the hobby and leaving his kit in the loft too long, like wezzel we decanted his beer into a sterile fv, giving the bucket a squirt of co2 from a s30 bottle, fixed the tap with new washers n ptfe and resteralised it, and syphoned the beer back in again. we differed on re-priming i said yes he said no, so we didnt, his beer his call, and it had only been in the barrel a couple of days before the leak had been noticed..

the beer was great .... tho it was left for a good 6 weeks+ to mature..