| Author |
Message |
    
Fred S
New Member
Username: Beerrat
Post Number: 24
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 71.82.48.255
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:28 am: | 
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Just brewed the best English Pale Ale I've ever made, hit all my temps and just the right ammount of fuggles and EKG additions to perfectly balance it. Three weeks pass, I carb it, hook up the faucet and taste it and am blown away. Tonight I go to pour me another (or 4), get nothing but a gurgle and air, open the lid and theres 2 inches of prime swampland on the bottom of the freezer. Turns out there was a big gash on the liquid-out post o-ring, and over 24 hours the CO2 pressure slowly trickled 5 gallons of beer down the side of the keg. Well, at least I have an excuse to clean my fridge now. |
Astro
Member
Username: Astro
Post Number: 140
Registered: 07-2004
Posted From: 68.225.57.63
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:49 am: |
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I feel your pain, Fred. I had the same thing happen, although it was luckily just a 3 gallon corny. It still took forever to bail out/sop up the mess.
Since this debacle I've always pressure tested my kegs after cleaning them. If I'm on my game, they sit cleaned and pressurized for a week or so before I need to use them. I just check the relief valve and can instantly tell if they leaked out.
Sorry about your beer, that sucks. |
Master B
New Member
Username: Cwixon
Post Number: 21
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 67.149.67.117
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 05:11 am: |
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what is the best way to "pressure test" the kegs? Compress w/ co2 then listen for leaks?
"Sometimes the most intelligent drink beer to deal with the fools that surround him"
•••• Bush!!
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Astro
Member
Username: Astro
Post Number: 141
Registered: 07-2004
Posted From: 68.225.57.63
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 05:37 am: |
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Probably the easiest way is to spray soapy water around any connections and look for bubbles.
My method isn't too complex - I just figure if they've held pressure for a week or so they are probably good to go. Not quick, and not always used, but effective. |
jeff wright
Member
Username: Barly
Post Number: 126
Registered: 07-2003
Posted From: 67.186.13.180
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 11:45 am: |
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Being a duct tape kinda guy...No not really!!!
I tape around the handle and poppet opening and fill the top of the keg with water. Even the hard to spot preassure relief valve leaks are very apparant.
brew on,
jeff |
Paul Edwards
Advanced Member
Username: Pedwards
Post Number: 909
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 70.236.67.116
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 01:25 pm: |
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But as Fred says, the o-ring on the liquid-out post was the culprit in this case. Not the poppet valve or the lid o-ring.
Even a keg that is holding pressure will leak once the lines are hooked up if there's a bad o-ring on the keg liquid-out post. Keep a bunch of extra o-rings on hand (they're cheap) and inspect & replace defective/damaged ones. Or connect your faucet line and then look for leaks around the connector. |
Jonathan Henderson
Member
Username: Henderson1966
Post Number: 203
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 68.67.96.38
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:31 pm: |
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Funny how this always seems to happen to one of your best brews. I feel your pain.
Jonathan |
Wayne Faris
Junior Member
Username: Wayne
Post Number: 50
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 68.113.177.79
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 03:04 am: |
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I have been on a mission to replace all my post O-rings. Picked up a bag of blue ones. All my old ones are either red or black. Whenever I use a keg with a red or black ring I replace it. Once I get to all blue rings, I suppose I will get a bag of another color. It will take awhile to get to all my kegs, I'm up to 15 now. It takes a while to drink that much beer, but I guess I will suffer through it 
Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company
http://www.lincolnlagers.com/
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Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1226
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.225.248.227
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 02:15 pm: |
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I had a mismatch poppet/post on one of my cornies. I took it to the LHBS which had a CO2 sniffer. I was shocked at how many leaks there were, not only on both posts, but the opening O-ring and the pressure relief valve.
I used to use o-ring grease when I felt like it, now I use it religiously. |
Todd Metcalf
Member
Username: Todd_emt
Post Number: 120
Registered: 05-2002
Posted From: 129.33.1.37
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 02:40 pm: |
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I feel your pain. I had something similar happen where I had a kegged imperial IPA but the beer out plug assembly had a small dent in it. It was only 3 gallons too, but I lost all of it. It went out of my fridge and under it, so I had to move every thing in my basement to clean it up. I did bottle about a 12 pack before kegging. |
Vance Barnes
Senior Member
Username: Vancebarnes
Post Number: 2086
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 208.49.148.10
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 07:09 pm: |
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Another good reason to turn off your CO2 when you're not dispensing. Sorry to hear of your loss though. RIP
Oh, the other good reason is an empty CO2 tank  |
Drew Pattison
Junior Member
Username: Droopy
Post Number: 88
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 143.115.159.53
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 08:26 pm: |
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I lost 5 gallons of stout from a loose line on the beer QD. Not only lost the stout but it emptied the CO2 tank before I realized it. Bummer. I resisted the temptation to taste the beer from the bottom of the freezer... |
George
Junior Member
Username: Ggenovez
Post Number: 44
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 151.193.220.27
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 08:58 pm: |
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Drew,
You're a stronger man than me. It's not too bad if you strain it out of the carpet though ;)
Is the LHBS the only source for the o-rings? It's a descent trek for me and there is a hobo depot around the corner.
Thx
G |
Steve Funk
Member
Username: Tundra45
Post Number: 142
Registered: 06-2004
Posted From: 209.216.181.40
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 12:08 am: |
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George, the post and dip tube have o-rings available off the shelf. I don't know the sizes off the top of my head, but you should be able to take your old ones and match them up. The keg lid o-ring is likely a LHBS or mail order only item.
Steve
Stevenson, WA |
ELK
Senior Member
Username: Elkski
Post Number: 1367
Registered: 01-2003
Posted From: 67.177.25.240
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 12:46 am: |
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When I lost 5 gals of Brown ale because a picnic tap got between the door and the keg. I will avoid the long carpet cleaning saga but I did think about a taste from the defrost drip tray that was full under the fridge.. for a second or two |
Fred S
New Member
Username: Beerrat
Post Number: 25
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 71.82.48.255
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 01:29 am: |
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Just ordered some bulk on McMasters-Carr, parts were:
Diptubes: 5/16" ID x 1/2"OD x 3/32" width
Pack 9452K172
Buna-N O-Ring AS568A Dash Number 109, Packs of 100 (Same as 9452K342) $2.24
Post: 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD x 3/32" width
Pack 9452K23
Buna-N O-Ring AS568A Dash Number 111, Packs of 100 (Same as 9452K342) $2.77
Lid: 3 1/2" ID x 4" OD x 1/4" width
Pack 9452K218
Buna-N O-Ring AS568A Dash Number 417, Packs of 10 (Same as 9452K342) $12.50
got the sizes from the green board faq
(Message edited by beerrat on January 25, 2006) |
Paul Edwards
Advanced Member
Username: Pedwards
Post Number: 913
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 70.236.6.5
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 01:38 pm: |
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Fred,
The old Foxx Equipment catalog I have lists different O-rings for ball lock posts and pin-lock posts.
I assume that they're slightly different sizes. Which kind of keg are you getting those o-rings for? |
Fred S
Junior Member
Username: Beerrat
Post Number: 26
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 71.82.48.255
| | Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 12:28 am: |
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Those were for ball locks. I've never used pin-locks so I don't know how or if they are different. |
Brews and Views Archive 2006 
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