Quick picnic tap question

I always carbonate my beer before attaching the picnic tap. but i’ve heard of leaks via the tap… will i get a leak if i have the keg at carbing pressure (20-30psi) while the picnic tap is attached?

noob question, i know… :cheers:

[quote=“S.Scoggin”]I always carbonate my beer before attaching the picnic tap. but i’ve heard of leaks via the tap… will i get a leak if i have the keg at carbing pressure (20-30psi) while the picnic tap is attached?

noob question, i know… :cheers: [/quote]

While I’ll never say never, I have done what you’re asking and have not experienced any leaks.

You can’t dispense at 20-30 psi so take off the dispensing line (or don’t even hook it up). I’ve lost most of a keg because I tried carbonating at 30psi for 3 days with the beer line attached. Just the other night I hooked up a new tank and thought I set it to 10psi for serving. I noticed lots of foam and checked the gauge to find out it was at 20 and I was getting a drip every few seconds from the tap.

I’m surprised to hear that, did you look into replacing the tap that leaked, maybe a bad seal? How much line do you have on the tap that leaked? I’ve routinely carb’d between 20-30 psi with the liquid line attached and never seen a problem.

I’ve heard horror stories where people lose an entire batch via the picnic tap, which is why i asked. Right now i have both taps attached and my CO2 at 25psi.

the taps don’t seem to be leaking or dripping. which is good… i don’t plan to dispense at that pressure, but for now, i think i am safe.

I’m keeping a close eye on them

[quote=“S.Scoggin”]
I’m keeping a close eye on them[/quote]

Ya probably a good idea I guess, I’d never heard of anyone having that problem, wonder if it’s a matter of the taps getting worn out or something. But like my first post said, I’d never tell you it won’t happen, just that I’ve never experienced it. Good Luck!

[quote=“BPBCo”]
Ya probably a good idea I guess, I’d never heard of anyone having that problem, wonder if it’s a matter of the taps getting worn out or something. But like my first post said, I’d never tell you it won’t happen, just that I’ve never experienced it. Good Luck![/quote]

the horror stories seem to be few and far between. but i’m glad to hear it’s not guaranteed to happen! Ill keep my eyes open

-thanks :cheers:

I have a new picnic tap that leaks so i just rotate to my perlic tap. I will need to get another one to try it again.

DO NOT keep a picnic tap attached if you are carbonating at higher PSI. I once came back to an entire keg at the bottom of my keezer. The only good thing that came from it was an entire rehab of my keezer including rust removal, painting, and then adding the collar and 6 perlick taps.

I would typically carb at 35-40 psi for about 20-24hrs at 38 degrees.

The spring inside picnic taps generally aren’t strong enough to hold against more than 15-20 psi or so, in my experience. The taps can be modified to hold more pressure by sanding the threaded part of the tap body down to effectively shorten it, therefore putting more tension on the spring. I’ve done this with a couple of picnic taps with good results. I suppose shimming the spring would work just as well.
It’s still a good idea to not carbonate with a picnic tap connected, though.

What’s the point of having the tap hooked up before your ready to pour? That’s just silly.