Kegging disaster!!!

[radtek]

I was kegging after work tonight. Long overdue I should have done it last week.

I kegged up a Texas Brown that really could pass for an IPA. Went for the next bucket. Seven gallons of Mild. It was sitting in the guest bathroom tub. As I lifted the bucket up to waist height I noticed dried beer residue snaking its way to the drain. Leaking?

At that same moment the spigot shot out and a thumb-sized stream of beer gushed from the bucket!

Quickly I slipped a finger over the hole... like the proverbial Dutch- boy and his dyke...

What would you do in this situation?

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

drop the stopper into the tub and get ready for a nasty beer bath

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Scream for help.

Duct tape?

 

[nutcase]

I dont get it- Are you on the computer with one hand and the other hand is still on the hole?

 

[kirscp]

I dont get it- Are you on the computer with one hand and the other hand is still on the hole?

Sounds like it to me!

That's my luck. Don't know what I'd do. Jam the spigot back into the bucket and brace it against the tub wall.

 

[KevinP]

I dont get it- Are you on the computer with one hand and the other hand is still on the hole?

Now THAT is funny!

I am going to use that as my sig

 

[EvilTOJ]

Switch, uh, 'appendages' plugging up the hole so you can carry the bucket with both hands to find a suitable stopper.

 

[radtek]

I had to think quickly!

 

[Schlenkerla]

What did you do? Give it a lip lock for your biggest shotgun ever?

I hope that never happens to me. What happened did the back nut pop off the spigot?

 

[ProvRIGuy]

If I was in plastic, I suppose you could have put the plastic cover on, flipped the container, then racked out through the spigot hole.

 

[radtek]

I waddled across the house with my thumb over the hole. Hefted the bucket up to the kitchen counter and with my other hand grabbed a sanitized keg. I waited and even purged it with co2! LOL Actually I felt it was critical considering what I had in mind.

I let her rip right into the keg and then a gallon water jug. I managed to lose a gallon or so in the process and it was messy. The beer foamed up but I had little options...

At first I considered letting the beer go down the drain but I just couldn't do it. I'm hoping it didn't get infected! I think this'll get drunk up quickly.

I've always been a fan of spigots and using gravity instead of siphoning. If I ever buy any more buckets I'll get an auto siphon. I don't like siphons but I've learned my lesson.

The spigot sheared off where it freely rotates. I guess it was pointing downwards when I rested it in the tub. All it took was being lifted up to let go.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

You might want to invest in some corks. <snicker>

 

[radtek]

I drank up all that Mild. Turned out pretty good. I think since the transfer was so violent and it foamed up so much I lost the head for the rest of the keg.

Oh well, it tasted great and loss of a little head is worth saving the beer.

I invested in some nifty new fermentation taps so I guess the auto-siphon is being shelved for the time being.

Just goes to show if you brew long enough- you'll experience a few situations requiring quick thinking along the way!

 

[Clayton]

you need a big brewing funnel i have a huge one that fits just right in a carboy neck and has a backsplash

 

[radtek]

You are correct sir! LOL. I've forgot to grab one the last time I was at the LHBS.

I wonder what that batch would have tasted like if I hadn't purged the keg with co2 first? I've heard of the cardboard flavors but never experienced it myself. I wasn't in the mood to experiment at the time LOL!

 

[lombard]

Hmm, I never purge the keg before filling it up. Just do the purge after filling, then throw it in the kegerator, cool it down, and force carb it. Of course, I siphon into the keg, so I don't get any splashing or anything that would allow excessive amounts of O2 to get pulled in to solution.

 

[radtek]

To be honest I don't fully purge. I connect to the "out" and blast co2 in for 20-30 seconds. I figure it'll settle to the bottom and will rise as the brew does, pushing the remainder of the o2 out the top.