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Author Topic: First kegging attempt, Explosion  (Read 9517 times)

Offline Delo

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #30 on: January 29, 2014, 10:51:49 am »
I didn’t have one explode, but I had an infection that pushed out the top and bottom and shot beer out the seal where the tap is. I liked using them, but I found them hard to clean around where the tap is unless you did it immediately and you have to be careful not to scratch the interior coating. Immediately and careful are not always my friends.

I dont know about all of other brands, but Hofbrauhouse minkegs are the same kegs. They cost about the same as new ones but they are filled with beer.  You just need to remove the vent that is in the bunghole. I got to say bunghole.

Edit for lack of proofreading
« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 10:53:29 am by Delo »
Mark

Offline vinnieb

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #31 on: January 29, 2014, 05:59:24 pm »

Thanks all for the help.  Seems the common issue here is attenuation.  I'll be chalking this 5 gallon batch up to a loss.

If not already asked for, could you post your complete recipe details/notes? This might further explain what transpired.

Sure will, once home from work, I'll post it, should be up by Friday.

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #32 on: January 30, 2014, 08:17:43 am »
There are more than a few threads around various homebrewing boards where those minikegs blow out, especially after a few uses. I don't think they are designed to be primed at all, which is part of the problem. From people I have talked to who have better luck priming they only carbonate up to 1.5 or so. That's basically just a gravity pour. I don't mind beer that way but not everybody does. If that's not your thing then you might want to find somebody who uses those minikegs and try to sell or trade them out to avoid repeating this problem.
Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing

Offline glenmoorebrewing

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #33 on: January 31, 2014, 11:33:58 am »
Damn!
Never tried mini kegs (less than 5 gal), and only had one bottle bomb so far. Have been at the hobby for 9 months and am wondering what kind of carnage a burst cornie might unleash on the other glass inhabitants of my conditioning room.
Your poor x mas brews, I feel for you brother.
-AK

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #34 on: January 31, 2014, 11:37:19 am »
Damn!
Never tried mini kegs (less than 5 gal), and only had one bottle bomb so far. Have been at the hobby for 9 months and am wondering what kind of carnage a burst cornie might unleash on the other glass inhabitants of my conditioning room.
Your poor x mas brews, I feel for you brother.

luckily this was not a corny but one of those mini tap-a-draft jobbies converted for homebrew use. a corny explosion is very very scary. they are rated for I think ~150 PSI so when one goes it goes.

A brewery worker was killed up at red hook a while back when a keg he was cleaning exploded.
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"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
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Offline vinnieb

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #35 on: January 31, 2014, 06:57:26 pm »
The Recipe was as follows. (It has changed since, but I have not brewed it yet, waiting on mats to arrive)
This was the first attempt at this recipe.  I have since changed out the Munich malt, with Dark malted wheat.

-8lbs Munich Malt
-2lbs Caramunich
-1lb  Cara-Pils
-1oz Hallertauer
-1pkg German Ale, WL #1007

-10Gal Mash Tun(rubbermaid homemade)7.5 Gal kettle (done on gas fired home stove)
-Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out, 168Degree Sparge temp
-Mash PH was 5.4

Fermentation;
-4 days Primary at 68-70 Degrees
-Secondary was about 12 days, same temps

Carbination
-4 (1) Gallon mini Kegs
-I used cone sugar, can't remember the original amount, but it was certainly 1/3'd of what it called for in bottling. 

Offline The Professor

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #36 on: January 31, 2014, 07:24:50 pm »
Damn ! Can you post a pick of the top ? Who is the manufacturer?  Glad your ok! That is not cool. Good reminder to make sure you know where the gravity is before you seal it up.

Glad that you weren't in the vicinity when it blew.
Highly doubtful  (but not impossible) that it was a manufacturing defect.
I'd vote for it being either a matter of infection or the beer simply not being really done fermenting.

It's vey  true that homebrewers are quite often simply in too much of a hurry.
AL
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Homebrewer since July 1971

Offline dzlater

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #37 on: February 01, 2014, 04:20:01 am »
Is it possible you added double the sugar to one keg and left the other unprimed?
The other day I was racking 2 fermenters into corny kegs.
I had to prime them because I had no room in the keg fridge.
I had boiled all the priming sugar in one pot so I could add half to each keg.
Filled the kegs sealed them up and put them away to carb up.
Walk back into the kitchen and see half of the priming sugar sitting on the table.
I forgot to prime one of the kegs , but couldn't remember which one.
So I took my best guess and added the rest to one of the kegs.
We shall see in a few weeks if I was correct.
Dan S. from NJ

Offline euge

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #38 on: February 01, 2014, 08:04:52 am »
I think a taste test might have helped.
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Offline vinnieb

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #39 on: February 03, 2014, 11:01:25 am »
A few more questions:

Should I do a secondary or just let it sit in the primary for the entire 30 days?

Is it better not to add any priming sugar and just transfer from carboy to mini-keg?


Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #40 on: February 03, 2014, 11:08:46 am »
I don't use secondaries unless I'm dry hopping or something like that. 30 days in primary is pretty standard for me.

You'll need some priming sugar to get carbonation in the beer.  If you stick with the 1/3 of what you need for bottling, you should be fine (assuming the beer is at a stable final gravity).  Best to weigh the sugar and not measure it by volume.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline vinnieb

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #41 on: February 03, 2014, 02:25:56 pm »
Thanks Joe Sr.  Much appreciated. 

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #42 on: February 03, 2014, 02:37:21 pm »
No worries. 

If you want to try force carbing them, there is a long thread on another forum regarding building taps.  IIRC a 1/2 inch hose barb fits perfectly in the rubber bung and you can attach a schraeder valve or even a cornie QD if you get the correct parts.  I made up a bunch of carbonators with schraeder valves.  They work pretty well, but you can get some leaks.  At the end of the day, you don't save much over moving to cornies, though.  Of course, cornies are not getting any cheaper.

It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline vinnieb

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #43 on: February 03, 2014, 03:01:15 pm »
The local brewery here offered to sell me used cornies, that need new fittings and gaskets.  I just might get them now and store them away until I am out of my 750sqft condo. 

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: First kegging attempt, Explosion
« Reply #44 on: February 03, 2014, 03:09:25 pm »
Gaskets are cheap.  You can buy them by the 100 from McMaster Carr (lid gaskets come in packs of 10).

If you need to replace posts, it gets a bit pricier and you'd want to consider if it's cost effective at that point to pay whatever they are charging.  Poppets are not too bad, but I think posts are about $15 each.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton