Kegs - Are they worth it?

[WobblyTone]

Hi all,

I tend to bottle a lot of beers but have a keg that I seem to have nothing but trouble with.

Firstly it never seemed to hold pressure, so I bought those co2 bulbs (and new cap) but they didn`t also seem to work so well and the cap (I suspected) was leaking so I bought a Hambleton Bard (yet another new cap) and all seemed fine.

I have some stout in the keg (kegged with 100g sugar) but it`s pretty flat and needs a bit of co2 so a 1/2 second squirt has been all it has been getting.

Tonight, again needed a bit of co2, so again a little squirt and now the bloody cylinder won`t shut off, tried warm warter, bringing it indoors.

Shut the door to the shed and came indoors with my beer!

Beginning to think that the keg is too much of a pain, but do love pulling a pint from it, how do you guys deal with it?

[GavH]

I'm struggling with my KK too, although I think the application of some PTFE tape around the neck and/or a replacement seal for the valve may have done the trick. There's no doubt though that 'bottling' day is a lot easier with a keg and as you mentioned, pulling a pint with a good head and no sediment is, on balance, probably worth the effort

[Fil]

A PB is an all in one solution or a jack of all trades and master of none.. using one is an art as when pouring your changing the conditions inside(Pressure and volume) which effects the pour, so no 2 pours are the same. All in All however its a pretty good trade off as the alternative is buying into a proper kegging system where regulated gas maintains a constant pressure for serving and that comes with a much higher price tag than the PBs sell for..

[Martin G]

I mostly fill a casks and a few bottles at a time, but have some bottom tap king kegs. Find it easier than bottling and all that cleaning and steralising. Agree that pouring is an art though, one trick is to fit a couple of meters of pipe to the tap so the presure drop is less (have intended to try fitting a coil of pipe to the tap inside the king keg, but have not got around to it). Make sure there are no burrs and smear a little vaseline on the threads.

[daddies-beer-factory]

Hi Wobblytone,
I found them a pain in the backside personally, leaking & not holding pressure - I am bottling all my beer now until I can afford a proper keg system ( hundreds of pounds ).
However I think I now prefer the taste of bottle conditioned ale !

[TC2642]

I've used kegs for about 14 years, have two old boots ones and one bottom tap king keg. They work perfectly for me, use Vaseline around the threads to help seal the cap and I would invest in a Hambleton bard cylinder to avoid the over costly Co2 bulbs.

[WobblyTone]

Thanks all for the replies,

I have a Hamblton Bard but last night it wouldnt shut off when used...............empty this morning

I have 40 or so Grolsch type bottles which are excellent and a neighbour who likes his Badger beers so an endless supply of bottles too.

The first brew I did was a lovely IPA and that sat in the keg superbly, every pint except the last 1/4 of the keg (I had no co2 at the time) was spot on, thats why it`s so frustrating now.

Guess I will go get the Hambleton refilled and see if it is knackered, time to see how the stout is

[Cpt.Frederickson]

The secret to the King Keg...
LOTS OF VASELINE.
Shame about the cylinder though. May need a service.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

The secret to the King Keg...
LOTS OF VASELINE.
Shame about the cylinder though. May need a service.

I would have said the opposite. The less vaseline the better. A tiny smear on the washer and definitely none on the threads.

I found an increase in vaseline l lead to an increase in the likelihood of a leak on all mine.

[TC2642]

Thanks all for the replies,

I have a Hamblton Bard but last night it wouldnt shut off when used...............empty this morning

Sometimes happens with mine, give it a sharp tap or put it under water for a minute or two, usually sorts it out.

[TC2642]

The secret to the King Keg...
LOTS OF VASELINE.
Shame about the cylinder though. May need a service.

I would have said the opposite. The less vaseline the better. A tiny smear on the washer and definitely none on the threads.

I found an increase in vaseline l lead to an increase in the likelihood of a leak on all mine.

Strange, I usually find that it sorts out leaks if I smear it around the threads.

[Dave S]

The secret to the King Keg...
LOTS OF VASELINE.
Shame about the cylinder though. May need a service.

If it's the normal S30 type cylinder, you don't service them, you just get it swapped for a full one, (around £5-£6)

[Dave S]

The secret to the King Keg...
LOTS OF VASELINE.
Shame about the cylinder though. May need a service.

I would have said the opposite. The less vaseline the better. A tiny smear on the washer and definitely none on the threads.

I found an increase in vaseline l lead to an increase in the likelihood of a leak on all mine.

Strange, I usually find that it sorts out leaks if I smear it around the threads.

I've got one BT King Keg and two budget kegs and I've never applied vaseline to anything but the cap washers, and apart from routine tap/CO2 valve maintenance I've never had a problem with them, (the two PBs are over 40 years old btw).

[robbarwell]

My top tap KKs are a nightmare but when they work they are brilliant

[boingy]

When the cylinder won't shut off, give the little pin in the cap a sharp tap on the corner of a table.