How do you clean yours? Fill with PBW/oxiclean?
How much headspace is needed when using a corny keg as a fermenter?
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Yes. I'll put about one gallon of hot water and 1/4 to half a scoop of PBW in there, throw the floating dip tube assembly in there after disconnecting it from the top and then just put the top on and violently shake it. If the krausen ring is hesitant to come off, I'll just leave the keg upside-down and shake it intermittently. It always comes off very easily. I can't stress how easy PET is to clean. I've been using Fermonsters for years for a reason. These are even smoother and easier to clean than my old fermonsters.
Some people take the post off and attach the blow off tube directly, then remove the tube and replace the post once things have calmed down. Using the ball lock post and a QD is fine as long as you have enough headspace so the poppet won't get clogged with krausen.
I want to like my two 8L Oxebar kegs, but no matter what I do they both seem to be leaking. I've tested them by filling them with water and 20psi of CO2, then soaking them underwater in my over-sized utility sink. While I don't see any air bubbles escaping, when I put them in my keezer they eventually go soft when not hooked up to gas. Keezer set at 35°, after a couple days they're no longer firm. I've tested this by hitting them with CO2 every couple days. They're just not holding pressure when the gas is disconnected. I've tried hand-tightening the tapping head, and also using pliers to tighten it a bit more, but no luck, leaks either way.
Where did you purchase them from? I've owned two of the 8 Liter and now eight of the 20 Liter and I've had to warranty one of each of them for the same problem. That said, I had one that was leaking, and I was able to get it to seal by doing the following:
Remove both the yellow and red posts. Using a 10 mm socket, remove the innards, inspect and clean and reassemble. Reattach the two posts in the opposite orientation and tighten by hand as tightly as you can.
Now carefully inspect the sealing edge of both the keg itself and the tapping head for defects. If they look fine and it still loses gas over time, then they should be warrantied.
Also, when you do your test where they "go soft", is that with already fully carbonated water in there to begin with? For example if I take still tap water and put it in a keg with 20 psi on the headspace, that small amount of CO2 is simply going to dissolve into the water and the keg will appear to be flat. It needs to be under pressure for a full week or better before you begin your "test" by removing the source of gas.
Also, if you leave a pressure gauge hooked up to them, then beware that the included orange o-rings are not the best. I have had to replace a few of mine with standard corny o-rings which are a touch thicker and frankly also probably more durable.
Or do your leak testing with air instead of CO2.
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I bought them online through Williams Brewing several months ago, so I assume they won't honor the warranty after all this time. Aside from my testing I've actually had a fully carbonated beer in one, of the Oxebars in my keezer, and with the gas shut off, and not pouring from it, it goes soft in a couple days. I'll try your suggestions, particularly swapping out the o-rings which I haven't tried yet. Thanks.
I have no way of pressurizing with air, only CO2.
fluketamer
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oxebars are the best and yes you can get a decent amount of beer in them. i just attach a blow off to the gas in port when i ferment in them..
for pressurized air testing a bike pumps well with a piece of tubing and a qd> or you can use this. :
its for line cleaning but can also be used to pressureize lines/ kegs with air instead of co2
for pressurized air testing a bike pumps well with a piece of tubing and a qd> or you can use this. :
its for line cleaning but can also be used to pressureize lines/ kegs with air instead of co2
Perhaps pressurize an empty keg? Then there's no liquid for gas to dissolve in.
One thing I have found with the Baby Oxebars I forgot to mention in my post above, is that even though they come with a PRV that's supposedly rated to like 30 psi, they start leaking very slightly at lower pressures than that. Not that I would ever suggest such a thing for safety reasons, but you could *ahem* potentially swap them for one of the green "60 psi" ones from the adult 20 Liter Oxebar kegs.
Try the stainless carbonation caps instead of the plastic ones. I have a friend who had a similar problem and switched to the stainless ones problem solved
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I just swapped out the o-rings as suggested by @VTMongoose so I'll let it pressurize and check for leaks. If I'm still not getting anywhere I'll look into the ss carb caps. Thanks.
*Apologies to @psehorne for taking this so far off topic.
I put a full 5 gallons into a corny to ferment. A corny holds about 5.5 gal.
I never have any issues with krausen blowing out...EXCEPT HEFE...
I will remove the gas post and dip tube completely and a 1/2 silicone tubing fits and seals nicely for a blow off tube for ale yeasts. After a couple/few days I'll replace the gas post and us a red/25psi PRV.
If it's a lager yeast I do not use a blow off but use a Blue/10psi PRV as the spunding valve. No krausen blow outs thru the PRV. The PRV gets changed out to red/25psi after about a week.
I never have any issues with krausen blowing out...EXCEPT HEFE...
I will remove the gas post and dip tube completely and a 1/2 silicone tubing fits and seals nicely for a blow off tube for ale yeasts. After a couple/few days I'll replace the gas post and us a red/25psi PRV.
If it's a lager yeast I do not use a blow off but use a Blue/10psi PRV as the spunding valve. No krausen blow outs thru the PRV. The PRV gets changed out to red/25psi after about a week.
Thanks for the info....
I have received a lot of good info from you all.... Thanks so much to ALL of you.
Did you catch the advice on the Fermcap addition to your fermentation? Fermcap S, I believe -a few drops in your keg while you’re fermenting and the krausen will be minimal and you’ll get to use more of that capacity in the keg. As was also said-the true physical capacity of a corny is near 5.5 gal so you can put in very nearly 5 gal with Fermcap S and ferment most beers without a problem.
I use a Blichmann cornical keg , which has a bit more headroom (5.7 gal) than a standard corny, so with Fermcap S I routinely ferment a full 5+ gallon batch to yield 5 gal after transferring.
Yes, I did catch the advice about Fermcap..... Thanks for reminding me.
And thanks for the info on the Blichman conical keg. I will look into it.
Been meaning to get back here. I replaced the orange o-rings with Buna-N O-Rings I had previously bought online from McMaster Carr. This seems to have solved the leaking issue. Both my 8L Oxebar kegs have now held pressure for over 3 weeks. Thanks for the tip.
Glad the o rings worked. Much cheaper than a stainless carbonation cap. However I recently tried a plastic carbonation cap on a pet bottle and it leak through the poppet. Good to keep that in the back of my mind
What part number or size?
Thanks
Here's what I have in my notes for corny keg gaskets. Prices were as of July 2021.
1. Dip Tube: X-Profile, Oil-Resistant, Buna-N O-Ring, Black, 1 pack of 100, 3/32" Fractional Width, Dash Number 109, 90025K368. $7.78
2. Liquid/Gas Post: Oil-Resistant, Buna-N O-Ring, Black, 1 pack of 100, 3/32" Fractional Width, Dash Number 111, 9452K23. $2.78
3. Corny Lid: Oil-Resistant, Buna-N O-Ring, Black, 1 pack of 10, 1/4" Fractional Width, Dash Number 417, 9452K218. $14.23
**Here's the original thread where I got the information.
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Thank you, I will look for them.
I bought the Number 111 o-rings. They are too thick...very hard to remove QD...and probably damaging to the o-ring.
Are these from Amazon or McMaster Carr? The o-rings I bought from MC have been working fine for me.
From McMaster-Carr
That's very strange. Below is taken right off my order confirmation email from MC back on July 3rd 2021.
When I grab a new one I always use keg lube on them before installing, and also when cleaning between keg changes. Because they're such cheap insurance I swap them out every 2 or 3 kegs. I don't recall ever having the issue you're describing.
| Oil-Resistant Buna-N O-Ring 3/32 Fractional Width, Dash Number 111 9452K23 | 1 pack of 100 | 2.78 pack | $2.78 |
I have not applied keg lube, but will. Thanks for your suggestion. (I bought the exact same item from McMaster-Carr.
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