Barrel Taps and Barrel Pressure

1 year ago | Biggles (Member)

I did this years ago but am new back into it with brand new kit, I taste my first brew tomorrow. I have 2 brews (Werry and Great Eastern)conditioning in the standard barrels with gas inputs on the screw lids. I have Nog and St Peters IPA almost ready to barrel.

I found that once there is warm beer in a new barrels I need to tighten the tap, I cant move it dry but warm and wet the first two leaked a bit - tightening, gosh thats hard to do. I use a wrench but its an ugly business. Any tips on tap tightening most welcome as I have that to face twice very soon.

My main question is my first barrel (Werry) acted like the ones I remember from years ago but the second barrel (Great Eastern) expanded in 2 days of secondary fermentation so its bottom lifted the little feet half an inch off the table top.

Is this a warning sign? Should I do something? I just gave it an extra day in the warm and carried it to sit alongside the first barrel in the cool garage with a wait and see attitude. Should I expect the barrels to bulge up like this sometimes, is that within the bounds of 'normal'.

My wife is patient but I dare not explode a barrel in her utility room.

Cheers

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Responses

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Heya Biggles,

The standard barrels seem to bulge a bit (I should know ive had 2 leak over our laminate floor in the lounge :roll: )

When ever I saw the little feet start lifting a small amount I knew it was ok and I could move to somewhere cooler but when the bottom started to bulge a lot all I done was release some pressure from the barrel by tweaking the band at the top and hey presto - no leaks.

I think the problem is the band on the cap that is supposed to release excess pressure but it don't do a good job of it, this in turn makes the barrel swell which distorts the thread on the tap hole. Just keep an eye on it, release a bit of pressure when needed and as soon as you move it somewhere cooler and start drinking it the pressure wont be so much and all should be good.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

Biggles:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Thanks Nath,

I was thinking that maybe the rubber release valve (rubber band) because its new has dried and stuck fast and so isnt releasing pressure as it should, but that seems hard to believe - that the rubber band is stuck stronger than the plastic of the barrel, although that seems to the evidence before me.

Perhaps I should try rubbing warm soapy water on it? I think I will soak the next 2 caps in warm soapy water before filling those barrels for the first time.

Cheers

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

I've had the problem of leaking taps too. It's usually around the thread in the barrel but sometime from the tap itself where it swivels round. I always put a thin film of Vaseline on the tap seal and also on the cap seal. This seems to help but it's all down to pressure. When I fill the barrel now I only prime with 20 gms of sugar (or DME) for 5 gallons. Do the rest with gas pressure through the cap later on. Another trick I learned. I drive tankers sometimes that are filled with beer, and the brewery fills the tank with CO2, lets it settle as it's heavier than air, and when the beer goes in it displaces the CO2 and expels the air. Before I put my beer in the barrel I fill it with CO2, let it settle and get the same effect. Just another safeguard against the beer going bad.

If you're not living on the edge..... you're taking up too much space!!

Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!

E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com

Willboy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

I have a barrel problem....it's now empty!!! (The contents were Norfolk Nog, and I enjoyed every pint!)
I have thoroughly cleaned and sterilised the barrel, ready for its new contents later this week, but I'm having problems with the tap. It's a standard barrel, which comes with the microbrewery kit, and beer seems to have entered the body of the tap. I've tried flushing through with water, hot and cold, soaking the tap in sterilising solution, but the beer won't come out. Is there any way of dismantling the tap to remove the beer? I'm afraid that it might contaminate the next brew. Can anybody help please?
Cheers,
Will.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi Willboy. I imagine it's a Youngs 40 pt barrel. No, you can't dismantle the tap. You can, however, buy a new one for about £2.75. To clean it, make up a 20% solution of household bleach with hand hot water and drop the tap in for about 20 minutes. Open it first so the bleach can get right through it. You can help it along with a small bottle brush but wash it thoroughly afterwards so no bleach smell is left. Don't be tempted to drop the tap into boiling water. I did it once and it never did work again. I always wash my barrels out with dilute bleach and a pressure washer. If you hold the tap over the pressure washer nozzle and blast it (H&S note; DON'T blast your fingers away!) it will clean up like new.

Willboy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Many thanks for your advice saracen. I tried soaking the tap as you suggested but no joy. The beer seems to be in there for good....but I bet it will escape if I use the tap in a barrel of new brew! Decided to buy a couple of new taps to avoid any mishaps.
Cheers, Will.

Willboy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Bought two Young's quick-serve taps as I explained in my last post. Before risking them on barrels that will be filled with precious brew I decided to test each of them first. Filled up the barrel almost to the top with cold water, not under any pressure.....and tap 1 leaked! Did the same for tap 2....it leaked as well!!! They are not leaking from the thread, where the tap goes into the barrel, but from the nozzle of the tap. Each tap was turned off at 90 degrees, and not fully turned to hit the barrel. Any suggestions please, other than bunging a cork in the tap? Thanks, Will.

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

How weird, any chance of some piccys? Also really make sure the twisty tap part is tight in there, it should "click" in place, if not a small gap will occour and that could be a reason for it to drip.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Of all the taps I've ever used I've never seen this with a new tap. Sometimes it happens with an old tap under pressure, but unlesss the tap is faulty, there is absolutely nothing to make it behave like this. The taps are poorly designed, as is the whole barrel venting system, but they shouldn't leak in these circumstances. I would try this. Take the tap out of the barrel. Holding it under warm water in 2 hands, rotate the tap in the body a couple of times and swing the tap itself throught 180° a few times. Re-fit it to the barrel using vaseline on both sides of the rubber seal and test again. It shouldn't leak with no pressure, even if you don't fit it very tightly. There is one other possibility. It just might be a leak from the barrel thread that is running down and making it look like the tap. Check there is no crack, scratch or flaw in the seat. If it still leaks, an e-mail to Youngs might be in order. This is the address; enquiries@youngshomebrew.co.uk

Willboy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

Hi Nat and saracen. Thank you both for your prompt replies. I'm almost 100% certain the leak is not coming from the thread or sealing washer. Gee...I must be a mind reader! I tried exactly what you suggest this morning saracen....before I read your reply! I steeped one of the taps in warm water and rotated the tap in the body several times,through 180 degrees, the thought behind the process being that there might be grit or foreign matter between the tap and its body causing a gap there and consquential leakage. I fitted the tap back into the barrel using vaseline on the rubber seal, as I usually do. The barrel was filled up with cold water and left for 2 hours....no leakage anywhere!!! I then turned the tap on and off a few times to simulate actual usage....still no leakage after another hour. I still only turn the tap exactly 90 degrees in each direction and no more. Fingers crossed I now have at least one good tap. I'll try the other later. Thanks again for your help. Cheers, Will.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Glad something's gone right for you. In addition to the tap handle moving through 180° to turn the flow on and off, the tap also rotates through 360° in the body. I'm not sure from your post whether you twisted the tap round in the body or just turned it on and off a few times. Still. Doesn't matter, as the problem seems to have gone away. Troublesome things. The whole issue of beer storage has always seemed a bit agricultural to me, especially when it comes to barrels, what with spiles and bungs and socking great mallets. I'm toying with the idea of converting a barrel with a proper ball valve tap and a proper pressure relief valve. I suspect it's more hassle than it's worth, but it would be interesting to try.

Willboy:

Posted 1 year ago by Member

I guess, by the law of averages, that something must go right eventually! I turned the tap on and off lots of times to try and remove what I thought might be some sort of debris causing the leakage. Anyway, as you say, all is well now....until something else goes wrong! I'm going to fill the barrel with the "precious stuff" tomorrow, so fingers crossed the tap works when exposed to beer!! These "budget" barrels are a great idea in essence but they seem to be riddled with problems. The quality is somewhat questionable.What with leaking taps, bad sealing of the tap in the barrel body, bad sealing of the tops, barrel bulging, etc., etc., the list is endless. I think your idea of converting a barrel to a ball-valve tap and adding a decent relief valve is a great one. Do let us know how you get on, and if I can be of any assistance. It's well worth a try! Cheers, Will.

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