Beer engine reconditioning, part 1
If you follow
this thead you'll know that I recently purchased 2 beer engines off trademe.
Seeing as my brewing inclination is towards British styles - real ale, I've been after a beer engine for ages. Usually they get snapped up quick smart by Greig (who hasn't shared with me the highly secret search/RSS query that tweets him the instant anything remotely resembling "beer engine" comes up for sale on trademe). These looked like too much DIY for him so he passed them over - I hit "buy now" within the first minute.
Over the next 2 days I experienced a fair amount of buyers remorse. I scoured the internet for images/diagrams/information on the kind of unit I saw in the sellers photos, to no avail.
Most information I could find was on the ubiquitous Angram all-in-one clamp on units. Mine were clearly a different beast. Lots of angst before I'd even laid eyes on the things.
I picked them up and noticed some broken bits immediately. I considered my options and in the end paid the full price. On bringing them home I worked out how they must fit together and realised I'd need to rely on my long dormant cabinetmaking skills - all the various bits and pieces are obviously meant to be precisely configured and housed within a free standing cabinet.
But most importantly my excitement had returned. The brass handles and lever mechanism are solidly crafted and well used, everything a bit dusty and grimy but with a good dose of elbow grease should clean up a treat.
Then I stripped down one of the pump units. I chose the one that outwardly looked in the best nick - with the intact "beer in" barb (the others one was snapped off). Inadvertantly this turned out to be the shitty one.
Despite all the metal bits being stainless, several nuts and washers etc had quite a bit of rust damage which had spread through the plastic piston, valves, end caps, o-rings, chamber. Yuck. I tried to undo a stainless nut on the plastic non-return valve that was rusted tight. The whole plastic thread broke off. Broke. Off. ARGH!
Buyers remorse returned.
The next night I cleaned up the other one. Expecting to see rust and shit everywhere, this one was was MINT! I swapped the beer in barb from the rusty unit and got one fully working clean and sparkling pump.
I took some photos in an "exploded" view and annotated them with the bits that needed replacing. I sent an email to a chap at Colin Farrar Brewery Services in West Yorkshire. He replied the same day saying he had some similar units, and would strip some down and hopefully answer my questions. SO EXCITING.
I started polishing various bits of brass and as I expected they came up wonderful and shiny, not perfect but once proudly used in a real British pub.
I'm not under any illusion as to the pedigree of my pumps. There is no proud manufacturers stamp unlike those on the Angrams I've seen. The pump clips are for John Smith's Bitter and Ind Coope's Burton Ale - two breweries that have long since sold out to international mega-breweries. But both with massive regional historical significance. In fact these pumps may well be a similar vintage as myself. Proper honest hard working real ale beer engines.
I decided I would document the restoration here as my extensive internet search was ultimately fruitless, I couldn't find a single image of anything remotely similar, no mention of spares, no diagram or information at all on assembly of the full thing. Hopefully this serves as a resource for anyone else who happens upon such units.
I've a lot more brasso to use, a cabinet to design and build and hopefully some spare parts to order from the UK.
By the end of it all I should have two complete working beer engines and be able to draw a pint of something I've brewed through that which I have lovingly restored.
Wish me luck.
this thead you'll know that I recently purchased 2 beer engines off trademe.
Seeing as my brewing inclination is towards British styles - real ale, I've been after a beer engine for ages. Usually they get snapped up quick smart by Greig (who hasn't shared with me the highly secret search/RSS query that tweets him the instant anything remotely resembling "beer engine" comes up for sale on trademe). These looked like too much DIY for him so he passed them over - I hit "buy now" within the first minute.
Over the next 2 days I experienced a fair amount of buyers remorse. I scoured the internet for images/diagrams/information on the kind of unit I saw in the sellers photos, to no avail.
Most information I could find was on the ubiquitous Angram all-in-one clamp on units. Mine were clearly a different beast. Lots of angst before I'd even laid eyes on the things.
I picked them up and noticed some broken bits immediately. I considered my options and in the end paid the full price. On bringing them home I worked out how they must fit together and realised I'd need to rely on my long dormant cabinetmaking skills - all the various bits and pieces are obviously meant to be precisely configured and housed within a free standing cabinet.
But most importantly my excitement had returned. The brass handles and lever mechanism are solidly crafted and well used, everything a bit dusty and grimy but with a good dose of elbow grease should clean up a treat.
Then I stripped down one of the pump units. I chose the one that outwardly looked in the best nick - with the intact "beer in" barb (the others one was snapped off). Inadvertantly this turned out to be the shitty one.
Despite all the metal bits being stainless, several nuts and washers etc had quite a bit of rust damage which had spread through the plastic piston, valves, end caps, o-rings, chamber. Yuck. I tried to undo a stainless nut on the plastic non-return valve that was rusted tight. The whole plastic thread broke off. Broke. Off. ARGH!
Buyers remorse returned.
The next night I cleaned up the other one. Expecting to see rust and shit everywhere, this one was was MINT! I swapped the beer in barb from the rusty unit and got one fully working clean and sparkling pump.
I took some photos in an "exploded" view and annotated them with the bits that needed replacing. I sent an email to a chap at Colin Farrar Brewery Services in West Yorkshire. He replied the same day saying he had some similar units, and would strip some down and hopefully answer my questions. SO EXCITING.
I started polishing various bits of brass and as I expected they came up wonderful and shiny, not perfect but once proudly used in a real British pub.
I'm not under any illusion as to the pedigree of my pumps. There is no proud manufacturers stamp unlike those on the Angrams I've seen. The pump clips are for John Smith's Bitter and Ind Coope's Burton Ale - two breweries that have long since sold out to international mega-breweries. But both with massive regional historical significance. In fact these pumps may well be a similar vintage as myself. Proper honest hard working real ale beer engines.
I decided I would document the restoration here as my extensive internet search was ultimately fruitless, I couldn't find a single image of anything remotely similar, no mention of spares, no diagram or information at all on assembly of the full thing. Hopefully this serves as a resource for anyone else who happens upon such units.
I've a lot more brasso to use, a cabinet to design and build and hopefully some spare parts to order from the UK.
By the end of it all I should have two complete working beer engines and be able to draw a pint of something I've brewed through that which I have lovingly restored.
Wish me luck.
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Comment by Tony on March 6, 2010 at 7:16pm
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Sorry that was in Birmingham not Nottingham
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Comment by Barry on March 6, 2010 at 7:17pm
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Mate, didn't realise at all. Maybe I'll come down and grab that keg and take a looksie at the same time, I need all the hints I can get.
Mine have absolutely no markings on them at all apart from the pump clips.
Do you mean holding the beer in a bag in a chilli bin under the pump? Interesting. Was planning running out of cornys myself.
I'd love to see how your stand is made up. I haven't started formulating a plan for the construction of that bad boy yet.
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Comment by MrC on March 6, 2010 at 9:17pm
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Nice blog Barry. I'll be following out of interest also. Looks like an interesting project.
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Comment by Pilgrim on March 6, 2010 at 11:27pm
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I like the idea of the bag in a chilli bin, I haven't used mine yet because I couldn't think of a way to keep the beer reasonably cool. I bought two complete refurbishment kits in the UK whilst I was doing Y2K work over there. Mine came from the Ark Royal pub in Plymouth when they were doing a refurbishment there. Mate of mine salvaged it for me and I brought it back through LA in a suitcase in 1997. Can just imagine trying to do that post 911 :-)
Will watch your progress with interest Barry.
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I have been informed, out of a corny is not good (unless you intend on tapping the side of the corny). But it takes too much for the pump to draught through the keg connector. Thats why the bag or bladder with a line and hose clip type arrangement onto the bag fitting. One of those camping water bladders from bunnings or auto parts, have them about $12. The less friction loss the better on the pump.
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Interesting take Tony. I'd never considered the drag from corny posts as a factor - because lots of people hook cornys up to beer engines.
I'll probably try a mix of 2 techniques - keg condition (add priming sugar to the keg and carbonate naturally); and use the gas bottle to get to the desired level of carbonation then top up the headspace for sanitary reasons. If I don't get satisfactory results I'll probably look at a cask breather.
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Comment by Reviled on March 8, 2010 at 9:12am
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Awesome stuff Barry!! Will definately be following this with great interest!
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Comment by Regional Wines and Spirits on March 12, 2010 at 10:48am
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Awesome. My 2 pence.
I serve all my beer from a corny via beer engine and I can tell you there is no problem with the drag! Yes the valve is small and this means you do get a decent head on your beer, which means there is seldom a need to use an evil sparkler.
When consumption is high I vent with air and purge with CO2 at the end of a session, I notice positive maturation from the oxidation over the short term, however with my bar being open less often these days, (and the kettles being fired less often!) I am now drip feeding CO2 as I serve.
As for how to condition I find that a handfull of sugar boiled with a little water along with the finings (agar) when I rack does the trick.
Kieran
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Kieran, personal question I know, but is your dip tube shortened?
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Two of my kegs have shortened dip tubes (shortened by a previous owner not me) but i dont really notice much difference between them when using them as casks. I ferment in my cornys as well and when usinf them for primary I noice that beer in the shortened vessels is ready to rack to condition much earlyer.
Kieran
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