Spunding Valve

[Hpal]

Anyone tried one of these on a tyre valve? T
hey are an adjustable pressure relief, no gauge though.

 

[pirateagenda]

Sorry to bring up an old thread.

Is there any reason I couldn't just use a non adjustable 25psi relief valve. That would put a beer fermented at 18C at 2.46 volumes of C02 without having to worry about it.

I guess wouldn't be able to utilise it for lagers as they would overcarb, but i mostly do ales anyway.

 

[malt junkie]

Sorry to bring up an old thread.

Is there any reason I couldn't just use a non adjustable 25psi relief valve. That would put a beer fermented at 18C at 2.46 volumes of C02 without having to worry about it.

I guess wouldn't be able to utilise it for lagers as they would overcarb, but i mostly do ales anyway.

You wouldn't be overcarbing lagers, Your 25psi is at ferment temp say 16°c your required carbonation is around 4°c, you'd most likely be close or just under for carb.

 

[klangers]

The problem with pressure relief valves is that they're designed to open up to full bore suddenly. If you use these for spunding, then you're likely to release more CO2 than necessary and the pressure will drop more than you want.

The industrial equivalent would be something akin to a back pressure regulator.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Sorry to bring up an old thread.

Is there any reason I couldn't just use a non adjustable 25psi relief valve. That would put a beer fermented at 18C at 2.46 volumes of C02 without having to worry about it.

I guess wouldn't be able to utilise it for lagers as they would overcarb, but i mostly do ales anyway.

25 psi is probably too high for the early stages of fermentation. Good for carbonation though, so if you could work out how to run at a lower pressure for the first few days, then bung that on, you should be right.

 

[pirateagenda]

good points! will continue the search for an adjustable one!

 

[Mardoo]

Keg King sells reasonably functional spunding valves.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Keg King sells reasonably somewhat functional spunding valves.

Hope you don't mind, I edited your response.

I still struggle to get a consistent value that I want, it's all or nothing at the moment. I find that the valve can wobble a little in the housing, so depending on how I bump this while you adjust the spring tension, I get wild swings in the set pressure. The tiniest winding in or out well give me 1 psi or 25+ psi.

I might try a bit of thread tape or something next time to reduce the wriggle room in the valve so that the only adjustment is to the spring tension, see if that helps.

I'm doing an IPA at the moment and have managed to get it to settle on 10psi for the initial stages. I'll dry hop tomorrow, purge the keg, re pressurise to 10psi, close the valve, then ramp it up to 21 degrees for the d-rest.

 

[Mardoo]

I can go with somewhat. I'm going to order in a couple others off Amazon and see whether they're any better. They're the ones Takai mentioned, maybe in another thread.

 

[Crusty]

I have used one like this in other applications: http://www.amazon.com/Control-Devices-Pressure-Relief-Adjustable/dp/B007GDY3CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458626761&sr=8-1&keywords=spunding+valve

But depending on the scale it could be difficult at lower pressures.

I'm about to get the components from Amazon for my setup. Anyone that's gone down this route care to share some pics & tell me how it performs with pressure setting adjustment & reliability etc.
Cheers

 

[Mardoo]

I'll be getting a couple of those valves Takai mentioned by tomorrow. I should be able to give you my initial experiences by next week.

 

[Crusty]

I'll be getting a couple of those valves Takai mentioned by tomorrow. I should be able to give you my initial experiences by next week.

Thanks buddy but I'm ordering tonight.
A few of the boys over on one of the US forums use these & are very happy with them.
I'll just bite the bullet & take my chances I think. What fitting are you using to go from the gas QD to the T-Piece?

 

[Mardoo]

I'm actually retrofitting my two KK spunding valves with new valves and gauges.

 

[pcqypcqy]

I've done my last ferment using the normal KK valve, but with a small amount of thread tape on the adjustment screw/knob thread.

This has reduce the wobble significantly and makes the adjustment much less sensitive.

Good enough for what I want, which is to grossly set the pressure somewhere around 6psi for the primary ferment, and then let it ramp up to 20ish psi during the d-rest so that it settles around 12psi when cold crashed.

 

[Mardoo]

Derr, never occurred to me. By less sensitive do you mean more controllable? The thing I hate with the KK ones is the random jumps from a limit of 6 PSI to a limit of 12 PSI, for example.

 

[AJS2154]

Derr, never occurred to me. By les sensitive do you mean more controllable? The thing I hate with the KK ones is the random jumps from a limit of 6 PSI to a limit of 12 PSI, for example.

I have that problem too, mate.

I have yet to try it but have read on one of the US sites that substituting the existing spring with one that isn't as strong also works.

Last time I brewed with the KK valve I spent way too much time trying to get it right. Mission impossible was my final conclusion.

Next brew I will try and report back. Cheers, Anthony.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Derr, never occurred to me. By less sensitive do you mean more controllable? The thing I hate with the KK ones is the random jumps from a limit of 6 PSI to a limit of 12 PSI, for example.

I have that problem too, mate.

I have yet to try it but have read on one of the US sites that substituting the existing spring with one that isn't as strong also works.

Last time I brewed with the KK valve I spent way too much time trying to get it right. Mission impossible was my final conclusion.

Next brew I will try and report back. Cheers, Anthony.

Yes, much more controllable. I was getting worse swings than you, either 0 psi or 25 sometimes I swear.

I think the main issue is that the threads are coarse, and there is too much play between the male and female threads. As such, the knob wobbles around a bit and this appears to dramatically adjust the compression force in the spring.

The thread tape appears to calm this down some, though I haven't done too many adjustments with it yet. Will see how it goes. I've already bought the the thing so I want to make it work, rather then rebuild the whole valve.

 

[Mardoo]

I've already bought the the thing so I want to make it work, rather then rebuild the whole valve.

I hear ya there. My Mum was coming over so I thought what the hell. Take out shipping and it's not as bad.

Just got the Control Devices pressure release valves. Damn, these things are SOLID! And chunky. Feels like a quality piece of kit, for sure.

 

[Crusty]

In my haste & lack of sleep following build links, I ended up ordering the wrong fitting that connects to the gas disconnect. I ordered the 1-1/4" male npt to 1-1/4" female flare ( ******** ) instead of the 1/4". I got the 60psi gauge & the same pressure release valve as Mardoo above.
Where the hell can I get that fitting from the gas disconnect to the T-Piece? Amazon doesn't seem to have that smaller size anymore.

 

[Mardoo]

This guy has a more basic, if perhaps less desirable, solution. Might be easier to find. Would KK carry what you're looking for?