Gas but no Pressure

[ADDLED]

Hi all, I've got a wired little dilemma that I can't understand.
I barrelled a strong pale ale last week with 200g white sugar. 2 days later there is a nice gush of pressure and the beers foamy but a week later the beers flat and lifeless. I punched the runner band on the valve and there's gas escaping so there's definitely CO2 in there.
What dyou think could be the matter with it?

[Jim]

Could be that there is enough pressure to make a hiss when you pinch the rubber, but not enough to carbonate the beer sufficiently. Since it was OK a week ago, that suggests a leak.

[ADDLED]

Thanks Jim. Its a Beer Sphere with the 4" red cap with 2 valves on it.
I was thinking of recarbing then submerging it to test where the leak might be. I dont have gas so I would have to resugar and wait till tomorrow if i do it.
Is there a better way?

[Horden Hillbilly]

barrelled a strong pale ale last week with 200g white sugar

200g seems excessive to me. I normally use aroung 80g - 100g myself. This may have caused excessive pressure to build up causing the pressure relief rubber on your valve to have streched & become weak, therefore making it unable to hold normal pressure.

Also, did you give your cap & large O ring a smear of vaseline or petroleum gel? This can help to ensure a tight seal & make the cap easier to remove when your barell is empty.

[ADDLED]

Hi Horden, it was a little excessive i know
The rubbers were new but i havent replaced the washers. I also vaselined the ring and the thread .
It wierd cos theres enough pressure to dispense beer via the float system, but there not enough to give it life.
I guess it will be ok in there until I can think of a remedy?

[maxashton]

Is it even possible to force carbonate with a standard S30 valve in a KK?

[ADDLED]

Oh, usually i remove all the rubbers and grease the posts, but Ive just remembered that I forgot to do it this time. Might that make a massive difference?
I might remove the cap, sort the rubbers, make sure the valves are tightened, re-prime and pop the cap back on and see what happens over the next 2-3 days.

Thanks for your answers Jim and Horden and will let you know how I get on, but if you see a Beer Sphere on fleabay this week best avoid it; it could be mine!

[Russ]

Hi maxashton.

I force carb all my bitters in KK's through S30 valves, I just remove the inlet rubber (little one inside) from the S30. You wouldn't get enough pressure in one though for say a lager.

[ADDLED]

Righto! I unbolted the valves and the washers were in poor shape; the escape valve is a litte o-ring seated in a groove so I just flipped it over and it was good the other side. the inlet valve I luckily had a spare washer for so changed it.
I greased the washers before i tightened them and hopefully didnt overtighten. Its hard to overtighten the escape valve as its knurled on one side and hard to get a good grip on.

When all reassembled I boiled the cap and rubber o-ring for 5 mins, regreased thread and rubber and screwed back on after adding half a pint of boiled water and 100gms sugar.

The cap was still quite warm when I screwed it down and so will be nice and tight when it cools down.

How long should I wait before CO2 starts to build up again?

[Horden Hillbilly]

As you used sugar for priming you should see the pressure build up in the next 24-48 hours.

Hope this has worked for you.

[ADDLED]

Cheers HH it seems to have worked out ok

[Horden Hillbilly]

Cheers HH it seems to have worked out ok

Pleased that you have sorted it out.