Fed up with King Keg

Desmond

Since I bought a King Keg I have had nothing but problems. When the beer goes down about half way (below tap. It's a top tab keg) I get gas with the beer. I Was told that the plastic tube is too long by another home brew supplier. I took 4 inches of it and it did make a slight difference. I have it a 1/4 full with water and the float is floating squarely on the surface. Air is still coming out. I am TOTALLY fed up with these rubbish barrels.

HBO_Staff

Hi Desmond, sorry to hear you are having issues with a barrel, it's likely to be something fairly simple but it can be very frustrating if you can't find the cause and stop it from drawing air through when you dispense your brew. With the barrel under pressure so the beer should flow as normal, if air is being drawn in then with the Top Tap version it is likely to be tap related. If the float is sitting the correct way on the surface then it should be drawing beer in and forcing it down the pipe, if it is letting air in though then it may be the pipe itself that either has a tiny hole in it or is not quite fully sealed to the float or tap. There are a couple of different styles of float, these ones tend to be quite reliable:

http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipment-c40/king-keg-float-system-p668

If you happen to have more than one barrel or are able to borrow one then the float could be borrowed for the other barrel to try it in the problem barrel and this will then prove either way whether it is the float system or not. We have heard of just one before that had a pinhole in the tube and it was this letting the air in when the tap was used, if you can't find anything obviously wrong with the float or pipe to it then it may be worth swapping the float system over

Desmond

I also have an issue with the float. At hi and low levels it sits on an angle. This should not happen.

Desmond

I don't want to over tighten the tap. I hand tighten it from the inside with the tap on the outside at a 45 degree angle and use that to tighten it further. Thank god I adapted this for an S30 gas cylinder otherwise it could have been very expensive. I do have another King keg but both of these are only 1 year old. I used to have a Hamilton Bard sphere (1980s) never had problems like this. I am testing with water. In the next few days I will have to put the beer into it.

HBO_Staff

The best thing to do is try a new float, this should solve the issue

Desmond

I have got the barrel with the float from hambelton. It is sitting on the bottom. well below water line. the tube is still a tight fit to the insert on the inside of the barel tap ( a white mold with black thin washer). Still splutters when I open the tap. Could it be the washer on the white insert of the king keg tap?

HBO_Staff

The float should be on the surface and not sat on the bottom, it must be drawing air from the tube somewhere, a new float will fix this, if it is from us just pop us a message and we will send a new float for you

Desmond

No. It is a design fault. Check it out. There is a white plastic insert behind the tap with a ridiculously small washer. When you open the valve, air gets past this through the tap. When the level of the beer is above the tap: no problem.

"The float should be on the surface and not sat on the bottom"

This is from an old barrel so it sits on the bottom. Don't ask me why but: It has to be the plastic tube, the fitting of the plastic tube to the wight insert or the very thin tuber washer. Why does the problem only happen when the level of the beer goes below the tap???

Desmond

Shirlock Homes once said…

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. The barrel (yes, it is a keg really) holds its pressure over night. This rule out the 4-inch top cap and the outer extremities of the tap. I say the tap because if there were to be a problem with the tap’s outer washer and the outer parts of the tap including the nut then it would lose pressure if it was only partially full.

This leaves us with the inner workings of the barrel. I have used different tubes and floats. One from an old barrel doesn’t float well and lies on the bottom, so we can rule out the float issue. I have used different tubes including one known to be good so that rules out the tubes.

Air is only heard when the valve is open suggesting that the air is coming from within the tap not outside of it. This leaves the inner insert and the ridiculously thin washer.

sherlock Holmes would deduce that this is the problem.

HBO_Staff

Excellent, if you think the issue is with the tap then that is easily solved by swapping the tap over, if it is a recent purchase it should be under warranty so would be worth contacting the supplier, if it was from us if you email us your details, either order number or address etc to: sales@home-brew-online.co.uk and we will find your order and send a new tap for you.

If it is an older barrel then a drum tap such as this is ideal:

http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipment-c40/drum-tap-with-backnut-for-bucket-or-barrel-p611

Desmond

I have had a replacement float system and I have noticed the very thin rubber washer that is on the end of the white bung. The other one was not sitting well on the white bung. I have asked home brew on line and it looks like you have to replace the entire float system. You can't get replacement washers. This is daft as it is a very thin vulnerable rubber ring.

I was told from another on line brewing supply that the tube in the king key is too long. I have noticed that my replacement is shorter.