Kegerator Blowout

[Bubba Q]

Maybe not as dramatic as the thread title but not good none the less.

So I swapped out both kegs in my kegerator last night as I have friends coming over next week and it would be poor form to have both kegs run out unexpectly. Hooked up the gas and beer lines this afternoon so i could at least get a taste of it to see if they were alright.

The keg of Golden ale was brilliant, however I ran into a problem when I hooked up my keg of Apple Raspberry Cider.

As soon as I hooked up the beer line, cider started shooting out from the disconnect. I could see that the cobra clamp had come loose so I figured I would just replace it with a hose clamp tommorow, problem solved, or so I thought.

After cleaning the top of the keg I noticed that cider was leaking down the line from the font. I also had cider seeping out from the top front panel of the fridge. Oh Bother.

I dissasembled the top of the fridge and found that there was a rather large puddle of cider on top of the insulation. I cleaned it up and reassembled the fridge. I took the lining of the font out and gave it a quick wash and then I noticed that the left hand tap was a bit wobbly. So it seems that due to a loose tap I had cider coming out the back of the tap due to a poor seal.

I took the cider out to the backyard and released the pressure valve. Holy Moly! this this was way overcarbed, seems I may have kegged it a bit early and it just went right on fermenting.

My question is, do you think that replacing the cobra clamp on the disconnect with a hose clamp and my tightening of the tap will have solved this problem? I would hate to hook up the keg again only for it to happen again.

A pic of my font for illistration purposes.

 

[tdack]

Looks pretty similar to the inside of my font that I got from someone on evilBay.

I managed to wiggle a couple of small worm drive clips (the type you use a screwdriver to tighten) around the hose connection on the back of the tap. Having liquid/gas at 80+ Kpa being held at bay by not a great deal concerned me a little.

 

[Screwtop]

Similar to mine from Caraftbrewer, but it has hose clamps fitted. Contact your ebay seller and complain they must have forgotten to fit the clamps.

Screwy

 

[Bubba Q]

I dont think that the clamps behind the tap were the problem, however i will be adding some tommorow for peace of mind

 

[Dunno]

One of the inherent problems of trying to save a few dollars on evilbay as opposed to purchasing your investment from a reputable supplier. I had a small problem with the electronic temp control on a similar unit purchased from Craftbrewer. A quick call to craftbrewer and I had replacement parts under warranty in a short timeframe and was up and running again in no time. The service and advice keeps steering me away from evilbay. Not much help to you now I know but this is just one of my experiences. Had a look before posting and mine is like Screwy's, has hose clamps fitted.
Dunno

 

[paul]

The problem that I can see in your photo is that your using vinyl line. This is not beer line.

Go to your home brew shop and buy some beer line. 3 metres of 5mm ID per tap. Proper beer line is made from a hard plastic and will stick onto the barbs even without a clamp.

 

[Bubba Q]

I have now placed hose clamps on the disconnect barbs and on the barbs in the font. Seems to be holding now. I will probably replace the lines in the next few weeks now just to be sure, but for the time being its working.

 

[BungalowBill]

Hi , I am just browsing through some old files that I havent opened as yet, came across this one and thought I would have a peek at mine, after buying a Kegerator off "evilbay" within the last month, mine has a hex shape pressed brass cover over the line going over barb that goes on the tap end, I cant see if it ribbed or what so I hope it holds out. Cheers