Keg drama

[Timbo]

i bought 4 new kegs recently and two are working brilliantly. The other two I’m finding I’m getting co2 break out in the lines immediately after pouring and foam at tap. Initially I thought I had an overcarbed beer, but I set and forget so I was surprised. However I’ve ran plain tap (uncarbonated) water through them and I’m still getting co2 breakout in the lines. Big ugly bubbles and tap farts. This is regardless of what disconnects I’m using in my setup and with good kegs everything works perfectly. I transferred the suspect beer to a good keg and it’s fine, definitely not overcarbed.

I’ve tried replacing and lubing the diptube o rings, doubling the o rings up and adjusting the post torque. but I’m also thinking maybe it’s a production fault potentially on the grooves of the dip tubes, maybe they’re too steep and keeping the o ring from sealing against the dip properly? I’m sure co2 solution is entering the beer line from the headspace in the keg. I’ve got no liquid leaks and the kegs definitely hold pressure.

A bloke on a Facebook brewing group is having the same drama as me so I know I’m not the only one.

Anyone had a similar drama and resolved it? I’ll utilise the warranty these things came with if need be, but if there’s a simple fix, I’m all ears.

Cheers Timbo

 

[huez]

Same issue with 1 out of 4 new kegs. Sneaking suspicion it's a hole in the beer out dip tube. Beer poured fine for first half of the keg and then nothing but head. MHB mentioned a similar issue recently but not sure if that was on one of these new kegs.

I will throw out an assumption and say yours are also keg king? Maybe @Keg King can chime in on this one.....

 

[Timbo]

Yup!

Might have to look for a hole in the dip tubes!

It’s definitely gas bypassing the liquid in the keg and finding itself in the line.

That’s three people now.

 

[MHB]

Check the O-Ring under the post first, that's the most common cause.
Just take the post off, lift the dip-tube and have a look at the seal. Maybe worth taking a couple of turns of plumbing tape over the O-ring and tube. Then drop it back in and screw the post down.
Unless the manufacture is having a lot of QA problems, pin holes in the tube are pretty rare - rooted O-rings are much more common.
Mark

 

[Timbo]

Check the O-Ring under the post first, that's the most common cause.
Just take the post off, lift the dip-tube and have a look at the seal. Maybe worth taking a couple of turns of plumbing tape over the O-ring and tube. Then drop it back in and screw the post down.
Unless the manufacture is having a lot of QA problems, pin holes in the tube are pretty rare - rooted O-rings are much more common.
Mark

Thanks Mark. Already gone down that path, minus the Teflon tape. Changed o rings as I thought that’s the easiest and most obvious. The dip tube has ridges that slot into grooves on the keg itself to keep it aligned, it’s like they’re pressed. I’m thinking a machining problem to do with that on the dip tube potentially. The o rings looked fine, but have swapped and lubed twice. Maybe the ridges are fouling how the o ring seats or leak?

 

[Timbo]

Three of us that I know of that are having the same issue, we’ve all bought the same product recently from the same supplier so QA could be a thing. 5 kegs out of 10 when you combine it.

 

[MHB]

Sounding like a real possibility, my kegs are all old Australian or US made, may not be as pretty but are well made.
Odds on the pressing of the lip on the top of the dip-tube has distorted the pipe past the point of making a seal with just the O-ring, that being the case then yes a warranty issue.
PTFE tap might solve the problem in the short term.
Mark

 

[peteru]

Maybe worth taking a couple of turns of plumbing tape over the O-ring and tube. Then drop it back in and screw the post down

That may be the quick fix for the problem at hand and quite effective, but I would suggest a more in-depth investigation of the underlying cause. If there is a vendor/manufacturer of kegs with a common fault, they need to be made aware of the problem so that they can fix it.

 

[Brew Bama]

You could replace your rigid dip tube with a floating dip tube. I’ve seen some DIY projects using silicone tubing that reportedly work well.

 

[Timbo]

Thanks everyone. I’m definitely going to take it up. The kegs hold pressure but are only good for sanitiser at the moment! I don’t need three was out kegs!

I’ll let you all know but I’m hoping it’s the dip tube.might pull on from a keg filled with beer and swap it over.

 

[huez]

Definitely seems to be a manufacturing issue. I checked my oring but maybe ill swap out for a new one. Just seemed weird that the first half of the keg poured fine before I started getting issues .

 

[Timbo]

Update. Swapped dip tube from a good keg and no bubbles. 100% a dip tube issue. Folks buying new kegs, do a water test and watch for bubbles. Going to get them swapped over and make them aware. A bad batch of dip tubes. On comparison, the working ones seem smoother and the flare on top is flatter.

Thanks guys!

 

[huez]

Update. Swapped dip tube from a good keg and no bubbles. 100% a dip tube issue. Folks buying new kegs, do a water test and watch for bubbles. Going to get them swapped over and make them aware. A bad batch of dip tubes. On comparison, the working ones seem smoother and the flare on top is flatter.

Thanks guys!

Sweet, let us know how you get on with them and i will try and get a new dip tube off them as well.

 

[Timbo]

UPDATE!! PROBLEM SOLVED!!

Went in yesterday and explained problem with subject dip tubes. They were excellent and understanding and agreed that the machining on the dip tubes looked rough and were more than happy to swap them over. The difference in the flange finishing was obvious, the suspect flanges had ridges in spots and were not smooth. I made them aware that more people are having problems and they were appreciative of the heads up and now are expecting more people to contact them who are having dramas. This will be bought up with manufacturing as there’s obviously a machining issue.

Needless to say, changed the dip tubes over and kegs are now working perfectly. Excellent customer service.

 

[beer gut]

@Timbo I think I might have the same issue I’ll have to have a look at the dip tube flange, cheers for sharing the problem and solution

 

[Timbo]

@Timbo I think I might have the same issue I’ll have to have a look at the dip tube flange, cheers for sharing the problem and solution

No dramas. Flat water test with co2 break out in the beer line will be a give away if the dip seal is good. Look for irregularities in the flange on the tube.

 

[FatDrew]

I have the same problem on a new Keg King keg. I've contacted the retailer to seek their advice as it wasn't purchased directly from Keg King.

 

[FatDrew]

Update on this: I diagnosed the problem as a tiny hole in the dip tube by running gas through the tube (close to zero psi) while it was submerged and plugging the end with my finger. Sure enough, a stream of tiny bubbles from a hole about a centimetre below the flange.