Problem w/ mini-kegs! Leaks air

[Keith R Strang]

I just purchased one of the 5L mini keg systems, and put my batch of IPA into
the mini kegs. The type of tap that I bought is made in Germany, and is a
metal tap with CO2 cartridges. The problem that I have is that whenever I
put a little pressure into the keg after I am finished drinking, it just
leaks out. I'm not sure where it is leaking out, but I think it is from
the valve. Is this just a defective tap, or something I am doing wrong, or
are mini-kegs meant to be like this? (I hope not) I would appreciate the
help. Thanks.

Keith

[Jeff Kane]

Three areas leak in these.
1). When you insert the dip tube, get it wet with water so the rubber on
the bung makes a good seal.

2). There is a plastic part to the dip tube that gets screwed onto the
tapper. It has a rubber seal at the top of it. Moisten this seal (How
about vasoline? Iv'e been thinking about this.) and make sure it is
tightend. Be careful not to strip the plastic threads, but it MUST be
tight. This is where the most leaking occurs.

3). Finally, inside of the tap itsself, are a couple fo valves. One that
works with the turning adjustment. The other is a check valve type of
thing inside. Take it apart to clean these. I find that the check valve
gets beer in it and needs to be cleaned. The top one, does not get beer,
but I have found rust particles in there. They must have come from the
CO2, since it is all stainless inside and was not pitted.

Finally, I had to adjust the turning adjustment. Mine leaked from day
one! I finally took it apart, and found that the valve never really
turned all of the way off. With a little trial and error, I figured out
how it worked, and used a screw driver and a pin nose pliers (should be a
spanner wrench) to adjust that from the front. Now, it takes about a
half a turn before I even hear any gas moving, but it no longer leaks!

--
Jeff Kane jk...@execpc.com
Owner / Network Consultant - Perfect Computer Solutions 414-238-9075
Sysop - Home Brew University BBS Brew City Campus 414-238-9074

[Craig Woodruff]

Jeff Kane (jk...@earth.execpc.com) wrote:

<snip snip>

: 3). Finally, inside of the tap itsself, are a couple fo valves. One that

: works with the turning adjustment. The other is a check valve type of
: thing inside. Take it apart to clean these. I find that the check valve
: gets beer in it and needs to be cleaned. The top one, does not get beer,
: but I have found rust particles in there. They must have come from the
: CO2, since it is all stainless inside and was not pit

How did you get in to the valves inside? I've had mine for about a year
now and wanted to do the same thing, but was afraid of breaking something.

Craig

[Doug Wronka]

AR>leaks out. I'm not sure where it is leaking out, but I think it is from
AR>the valve. Is this just a defective tap, or something I am doing wrong, or
AR>are mini-kegs meant to be like this? (I hope not) I would appreciate the
AR>help. Thanks.

Keith,
I'm not too familliar with the CO2 tap, but I do have
the the pump type tap and can tell you that my kegs hold
pressure from day to day. In fact if I pressurize my keg, it
has lasted over 5 days. If you suspect the tap, fill a keg with
water and pressurize it with CO2 and see what happens, if it
loses pressure you might want to take the tap back. One
suggestion though is to coat the bung (the rim where it meets
the metal) with food grade grease or cooking oil. The bungs
can leak a bit and the oil or grease will seal the rubber to
metal connection.
Good luck,
Doug

---
ş OLX 2.1 TD ş 24 hours in a day ...&...24 beers in a case ????

[Nicole Krol]

I think I own the same kind of German keg. The brand is 'Fass Frisch'.
As I bought the thing at a garage sale, I do not have the operating
instructions. I noticed a rather strange behaviour in the control:
when I turn it fully towards zero, it produces a constant hissing
sound, but when it is fully open (?) it does NOT make a sound.
So now I turn it to zero when I take a glas of beer, and after a
few seconds I turn it to maximum again.
In the past two weeks, I managed to drink 2 kegs on 1 CO2 cartridge,
so it appears not to be leaking.
Im I operating this thing correctly?

--
Feddo Wouters
Nijmegen
The Netherlands

[Jeff Kane]

Craig Woodruff (cwoo...@csc.com) wrote:
: How did you get in to the valves inside? I've had mine for about a year

: now and wanted to do the same thing, but was afraid of breaking something.

There is a hex nut on the back that you remove to start. From there
start pulling it apart. On the bottom, there are two different brands.
Mine has a screw that you remove and pull rather hard on the dip tube
piece that is left sitting there. It will pull straight out. Haven't
taken the other brand apart. It looks like a tab holds the bottom on and
needs to be pushed so you acan turn it a half trun and start the same
process.