Heater for SS Brew Bucket

[Uncle Albert]

Roscoe. Can you generate enough CO2 to extract all the beer from the keg and to keep it fresh using your secondary fermentation.?... Is there a pressure relief valve on the crusader kegs..?

[Belter]

I see on the Ss Brewtech website they have a fermentation temp controller they're producing.

[Fil]

No prv's on the crusader kegs, you can get US style keg couplers with a prv they generally carry about a £10 premium above the standard coupler but are much more useful to the home kegger, otherwise u can use a second coupler to vent sticking a valve on the co2 side and plugging/capping the beer out, so u can engage the coupler, then open the valve to vent the keg. Or u can experiment depressing the spear inner my hand or tool and avoiding a beer shower

sankey kegs can give u a beer shower, u release the coupler THEN twist NOT the other way round everyone does it wrong once

the basic co2 set up is a bottle a regulator (primary regulator) and gasline to your keg/s , you can simply T off to feed 2 or more kegs all at the same pressure. if you want 2 or more different pressures concurrently then you want to start looking at adding secondary regulators so u can set the primary to the highest level u want and feed that thru the 2ndarys to reduce it for use.

[Uncle Albert]

Oh yes belter, does look like they are going to release something..... Have to wait and see what price it comes out at...... Girlfriend might be getting a bed warmer and green house propagator if the price is right

Looking on the kegcoolers website, still very confused. just read Fils post as I write this, I want a US Sankey with PRV.. I'll start looking now. Cheers fellas

[Uncle Albert]

fil, don't suppose you could be so kind as to provide a link to a prv coupler...... Am I best off getting Sankey as Euro?

[roscoe]

Roscoe. Can you generate enough CO2 to extract all the beer from the keg and to keep it fresh using your secondary fermentation.?... Is there a pressure relief valve on the crusader kegs..?

The natural sugar carbonation is for getting CO2 in the beer and avoiding all the headspace calculation nonsense answer is no, you then need a smaller amount of C02 to maintain condition (ie pressure) and subsequent dispensing to tap/bottles.

Not sure why you are looking for PRV. Are worried about overpressure OR just want a way to vent O2 for forced carb.

I went to the ends of the earth to treat myself to sankey S with PRV, mainly cos' I though I needed more couplers, in reality I didn't and I can easily swap couplers from keg to keg and then isolate C02 (I don't have any fixed taps at the moment). Mainly cos' I had a minor leak when away working and tank was empty = expense.

Once you understand the NRV non-return valves in a coupler its easy enough to add a stub of beer line and a simple John Guest Valve, bingo - just the same as a PRV (without gas NRV function) Good enough for me.

BTW. take care if you manage to track down a sankey S with PRV, its likely its a USA thing and they use different thread connections 9/8" if my memory serves me right, aye then you need to track down a right funny sized connection, all possible but no bargain $$$

[roscoe]

I see on the Ss Brewtech website they have a fermentation temp controller they're producing.

Looks interesting http://www.ssbrewtech.com/apps/answerse ... -fall-2014

Looks to me like some neoprene insulation and new lid with temperature sensor and a suspended cooling/heating coil that dips in the beer. However, I suspect a s/h wee fridge with a temp controller and heater/lamp will do the trick as well as be multi-functional.

[Uncle Albert]

Roscoe. I have just ordered 4 slimline 20L kegs. My worry over PRVs is due to the fact that I have to work overseas for 6 weeks at a time and just a little worried that the kit ales and wheat beers I am attempting as a newbie would over pressurise the keg

I have no experience yet, this is all based on bored night shift Internet research.

My plan when I get home 10 days is to do a batch of Woodford Admiral Reserve, then keg it for 2-3 weeks. Then do a batch of brupaks West riding wheat and keg that for 8 weeks. If I have time, also use 2 x brupaks beers of world Belgian Witbier. The keg that for 8 weeks before drinking.

Hopefully after filling 3 kegs I might know slightly more than naff all.. And then start trying to be more authentic and move away from kits.

i guess what I should really be asking is........... To get the best out of my 3 initial brews do I need a CO2 primary regulator? Will I blow my garage up if kegs have no release valves? How many S type couples should I buy? Do I need PRV in couples.?

I hope to drink/enjoy them one keg at a time, drunk at whatever my garage temperature is... (not too warm for sure).

Sorry for the endless questions........

I think I have bought good kit for a good price, unfortunately I have no idea how to get the best out of it..... Yet

Cheers

James

[Fil]

ebay US search pulled up this with a pic u can see the prv with the pull ring attached..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/beer-COUPLER-S- ... 3ce312a75e

im not 100% but i think the yanks call sankey S sankey Euro ??

a us import on ebay uk ??
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-Tap-sank ... 258ee8eb88
buying more than one from a us seller to cut postage may increase the value of the purchase to incur vat at an extra 20% on importing.. so be carefull..

i imported a few from the US for my polykegs, the thread onto which we would attach a JG connector for beer and gas is iirc 5/8" bsp , and the 5/8" bsp to jg3/8" connector is discontinued i think..?? so check u can get some before you commit to a US purchase, and confirm the thread size needed, the US brewers use pvc tube for beerline with hosetails too big for our 3/8" ldpe line, and if buying from the UK ensure it includes the jg fittings as some bargains are sold naked needing further investment in one way valves and the beer/gas line fittings.

the sankey fitting well accepts the coupler which pushes down on 2 rings the outer ring opens the gas port and the inner ring opens the beer spear, so its theoretically feasable to push one down manualy, tho ive not tried it, if u do be prepared for a beer shower

simply adding a valve/tap to the gas port on a dedicated venting coupler is simple n easy, A D coupler i think is a shorter version of the S with a shallower push into the spear so it only opens the gas and not the beer so is a good choice for a venting coupler.. (still plug the beer out tho as its not fool proof and guaranteed to give u a beer shower if u dont.)

the above is based on limited use of sankey S polykegs, so check anything i seem sketchy about and dont take it as gospel.. try pm-ing barneey for a spear removal tool he has made a couple of batches in the past and sold them on to other brewers iirc. he sold me a d coupler to venting too

[Fil]

do u need to vent your kegs? maybe not a lot.. u should vent the air after filling and initially pressurising after a while letting the air float to the top, but if u then keg in a temp controlled fridge and set the co2 pressure and temp to optimum for the level of condition u want then after about a week or so they should be at optimum condition without the need to vent.. If your kegs are not temp controlled or porly temp controlled then you may need to vent more often to stabalise the serving pressure as if kegs get warmer they hit a new internal equilibrium with less co2 absorbed and more pressure in the headroom above the level set on the reg so a vent to remove the excess is neccessary quite frequently.

as temp and pressure readings are at best aproximations use a keg chart as a guide only
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 7178,d.ZG4

and remember they are compiled by US brewers in the main and they tend to like their beer with a bit more fizz...

you may find yourself venting a lot more to start with while you zero in on the sweet temp and pressure levels that work with your setup, but once sorted venting may be a rare need beyond the initial feed.

and if u just knock off the gas at the bottle and then unscrew the gas line fitting on the coupler u will can vent that way too

[Uncle Albert]

Aye this making my head hurt! So when I store the beer I have to store it with a coupler connect?

Fil the second eBay link you provided.... That was a standard S type with no pressure vent? So theoretically I could blow my garage up if I left the keg for 6 weeks unattended?

[Fil]

Once you have conditioned the beer you dont need it connected upto gas to store.
and even if u did it wouldnt blow up.. if set at 5 psi it will supply co2 at 5psi no more, if the keg temp drops it may absorb more gas and when the temp rises the pressure in the keg will rise above 5psi but nothing significant enough to create worry about kegs expolding
cornys are rated at 90psi?? and the crusaders are a bit more sturdy than cornys


u will need to sus out the relationship between pressure,temperature and condition (fiz)

when it comes to serving if you dont have temperature control you are looking at an uphill struggle. a keg fridge or keezer is the ideal, failing the room for that a shelf chiller will work but with kegs maintained at close to ambient temps the beers condition is a dynamic thing. its doable i use a shelf chiller with kegs sat in the corner of a small cupboard behind insulation..

[roscoe]

the prv on the sankey is manual finger pull to release pressure, it is not an over pressure protection device.

normal brewing carb pressures are well within the rating of kegs you have bought, under normal and most abnormal situation you wouldn't generate a blow up your garage situation........

[Uncle Albert]

Cheers Fil and Roscoe. So no chance of catastrophic failure... Good to know. Kegs will be stored next to my 12L 300bar air tanks so probably a good thing.

So am I right in assume that the PRV is just used to reduce pressure to give a nicer pour.... I think I should reread this thread now I understand a little more & I am sure you have told me what the best solution would be without getting a PRV coupler.

[Uncle Albert]

Roscoe. Can you generate enough CO2 to extract all the beer from the keg and to keep it fresh using your secondary fermentation.?... Is there a pressure relief valve on the crusader kegs..?

The natural sugar carbonation is for getting CO2 in the beer and avoiding all the headspace calculation nonsense answer is no, you then need a smaller amount of C02 to maintain condition (ie pressure) and subsequent dispensing to tap/bottles.

Not sure why you are looking for PRV. Are worried about overpressure OR just want a way to vent O2 for forced carb.

I went to the ends of the earth to treat myself to sankey S with PRV, mainly cos' I though I needed more couplers, in reality I didn't and I can easily swap couplers from keg to keg and then isolate C02 (I don't have any fixed taps at the moment). Mainly cos' I had a minor leak when away working and tank was empty = expense.

Once you understand the NRV non-return valves in a coupler its easy enough to add a stub of beer line and a simple John Guest Valve, bingo - just the same as a PRV (without gas NRV function) Good enough for me.

BTW. take care if you manage to track down a sankey S with PRV, its likely its a USA thing and they use different thread connections 9/8" if my memory serves me right, aye then you need to track down a right funny sized connection, all possible but no bargain $$$

Roscoe, I have just redigested thread and it is starting to all make sense now.... Except when you mentioned a beer line and John guest valve.... Is that an easy solution to venting off?

If I am right, which is probably not the case, then I can buy a decent stainless steel UK S type coupler and then buy a cheapo D type coupler to just use to remove gas - is there considered a beer way to block off the beer hole? Screw caps...

Cheers

James