Here's my little tale of a first time kegger....
Well, it was late Sunday night in the middle of a double header first time AG brew session and I suddenly realized I was one stopper/bubbler short... I had planned on racking my Irish Ale to my first keg to begin my kegging experience, and had to up the schedule to free up a stopper.
Well, out of five kegs I picked a really old Firestone keg with the plastic poppet inserts and side pickup tube - no joy there since I need new inserts. The other one I thought was a corny was a new firestone or similar without the inserts, so I prepped it (was cleaned for days prior but not tested).
I did a brief pressure test with star san inside and all looked great. Then I racked the red ale - smelled great. When I went to seal and hit it with CO2, the lid began leaking gas. I spun it around and resealed (oval but a peculiar fit) and again I looked good... I hit it with 10lbs. and it began to settle - I thought I was in luck.
I came back in 15 or so to check it and saw amber liquid trailing down the side. The out post was leaking at the base of the post. Not tight enough with the wrench. I tightened the post further - it stopped for a second and then began leaking at the top of the poppet - slowly but leaking.
After some desperate moments, I depressurized and transferred back to my now clean and star-san'd carboy. I was going to cry... then I stumbled on a older orange carboy cap I had and luckily it fit.
I'm not 100% of the seal, but it's back in the fridge sitting while I figure out the kegs.
Turns out the poppet rubber had about 1/2 of it's circumference torn off - hard to spot - especially with my older eyes... But enough to cause havoc.
Lessons learned -
1) thoroughly test the kegs - days before - planning to use them! Now I'm on a desparate hunt for those little white plastic Firestone boogers and new poppets...
2) Check the used gear very closely before buying - know what you are getting...
3) Go buy cheap magnifying/reading glasses and check everything again...
Hope this helps someone else along the way...
Cheers
Well, it was late Sunday night in the middle of a double header first time AG brew session and I suddenly realized I was one stopper/bubbler short... I had planned on racking my Irish Ale to my first keg to begin my kegging experience, and had to up the schedule to free up a stopper.
Well, out of five kegs I picked a really old Firestone keg with the plastic poppet inserts and side pickup tube - no joy there since I need new inserts. The other one I thought was a corny was a new firestone or similar without the inserts, so I prepped it (was cleaned for days prior but not tested).
I did a brief pressure test with star san inside and all looked great. Then I racked the red ale - smelled great. When I went to seal and hit it with CO2, the lid began leaking gas. I spun it around and resealed (oval but a peculiar fit) and again I looked good... I hit it with 10lbs. and it began to settle - I thought I was in luck.
I came back in 15 or so to check it and saw amber liquid trailing down the side. The out post was leaking at the base of the post. Not tight enough with the wrench. I tightened the post further - it stopped for a second and then began leaking at the top of the poppet - slowly but leaking.
After some desperate moments, I depressurized and transferred back to my now clean and star-san'd carboy. I was going to cry... then I stumbled on a older orange carboy cap I had and luckily it fit.
I'm not 100% of the seal, but it's back in the fridge sitting while I figure out the kegs.
Turns out the poppet rubber had about 1/2 of it's circumference torn off - hard to spot - especially with my older eyes... But enough to cause havoc.
Lessons learned -
1) thoroughly test the kegs - days before - planning to use them! Now I'm on a desparate hunt for those little white plastic Firestone boogers and new poppets...
2) Check the used gear very closely before buying - know what you are getting...
3) Go buy cheap magnifying/reading glasses and check everything again...
Hope this helps someone else along the way...
Cheers
