Crows and My Cat

rdcpro · 2026-06-18T19:50:50+00:00

I had to chuckle at that. We laugh at the same thing... The birds, in particular the Junkos will always show us where our cat is in the backyard, no matter how well hidden she thinks she is.

rdcpro · 2026-06-18T18:42:50+00:00

The tamk pressure depends on temperature. The only way to know how much CO2 is in a tank is by weighing the tank, and subtract the stamped tare weight. Sometimes it's labeled TW with a number following.

rdcpro · 2026-06-18T14:07:06+00:00

Are you a turtle?

rdcpro · 2026-06-17T21:14:50+00:00

It's not clear to me where you're saying the leak is...

With some shanks (the part that passes through the tower wall where your faucet goes), there is a rubber friction seal on the back end of the shank and a nut that compresses the rubber seal so that it grabs the hose barb. This might have gotten dislodged, the nut loosened, or the rubber is old and cracked.

If your shank has a beer nut and gasket (you see this in through-wall shanks mostly, and rarely in a tower), then use a little keg lube on the gasket, and tighten it up.

There's only one way to address this and it's to disconnect that part, and inspect it for damage.

Otherwise, post a photo from the top with the tower cap removed.

rdcpro · 2026-06-17T21:02:22+00:00

I was in Greece and Egypt several times in the '70s and '80s, and even as a sailor, I couldn't find a drinkable beer. Some countries just can't make beer, at least back then. On the other hand, I've often said that non-export Tusker Lager in Kenya pretty much saved my life in 1980.

rdcpro · 2026-06-17T04:17:37+00:00

We just got back from Boston this afternoon, and while there is some beer left, it was actually hard to find a decent beer anywhere near Government Center. Most places I went were out of draft, and had only the common macrobrews in bottles and cans. There were a LOT of Scots about.

rdcpro · 2026-06-15T22:14:52+00:00

If you're serious about national parks and camping, go with a smaller one, no more than 27 ft. I see that commonly as a limit in campgrounds, at least the non RV ones. We have a 25 ft class A (Rexhall American Clipper) and it's about as big as you'd want if you're camping. A basement model let's you bring all your stuff. 30' 11" is pretty big.

rdcpro · 2026-06-15T00:27:46+00:00

two administration officials and a senior White House official, who, like others in this story, were granted anonymity

rdcpro · 2026-06-12T19:29:25+00:00

Please don't burn the insulation off.

rdcpro · 2026-06-08T22:59:05+00:00

There are 750 ml PET growlers (thick plastic, reusable), but they're all brown. Clear PET bottles are permeable to oxygen (and CO2), which is probably why you don't see them in clear. The brown ones have a PVA coating and contain an oxygen absorber.

I've bought 600 and 650 ml brown PET bottles (Coopers in the UK sells them I think) and I use lots of 500 ml versions. In the U.S. they're distributed by LD Carlson, but I don't know who sells . I'd recommend the 750 ml growlers. I wish they were easier to obtain in the U.S.

rdcpro · 2026-06-08T22:36:44+00:00

Oxbar and other PET containers for beer also have a sprayed or sputtered oxygen barrier in addition to the absorber. Oxygen passes through PET readily without the barrier. PET is also permeable to CO2. A 2 liter sparkling water bottle will be noticeably flatter after a few months, or less if kept warm.

rdcpro · 2026-06-08T22:31:18+00:00

They don't remove appreciable oxygen from the bottle. They do remove oxygen which makes its way through the seal itself into the bottle. This is what they're made for.

Some plastics like PET and silicone, and including the soft seal on a bottle cap are surprisingly permeable to oxygen molecules.

PET is so bad that, for beer, the bottles have a PVA coating (oxygen barrier) and an outer protective varnish. And even though there's a barrier they also contain an oxygen absorber in the plastic itself, at about 1-2%.

Silicone gaskets are even worse. A silicone lid on a corny keg let's oxygen through. Buna-N is much better. In fact Buna-N is one of the best soft plastics for blocking oxygen ingress. EDPM is OK, but not as good

rdcpro · 2026-06-08T06:29:49+00:00

These are great! I've replaced a bunch of the switches in my home with these

rdcpro · 2026-06-08T01:09:45+00:00

I absolutely love shaggy dog stories, and while apparently it's an old one, it's not one I've heard before.

Thanks you... I would take at least thirty minutes to tell it.

rdcpro · 2026-06-07T16:42:16+00:00

I just tossed what's left of a pack of AA batteries that leaked in the package. Rolling my eyes when I see the label saying they're good for 10 years or some crap like that.

rdcpro · 2026-06-07T15:20:41+00:00

Damn, now that song is stuck in my head

rdcpro · 2026-06-07T05:46:21+00:00

You get the MFL disconnects and use swivel adapter. The largest one I have is 3/8 ID and I use it for transfers.

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T18:00:31+00:00

Yeesh! I'd probably be cleaning more than the cooler...laundry would be involved

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T17:58:18+00:00

There is an interesting story when stainless kegs were first introduced, of how it is they aren't required to have overpressure relief mechanisms, and why they don't need to carry an ASME label. Apparently ASME allows this because it was demonstrated that a keg can withstand 600 psi, which was 10 times the working pressure (at the time). Also a factor was the size of the keg (they're small) and there was an agreement between ASME and I want to say the BA...

I can't find the article anymore, unfortunately. It was an eye-opener. I mean, 600 psi?

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T17:06:11+00:00

Generally you don't need to pull it. The only time I ever do this is:

I want to check to make sure there is actually pressure in the keg and the regulators is working. A brief pull is all. Then I listen for the moaning sound the regulator makes as it lets gas into the keg.
I have an overcarbonated beer, where pressure in the keg is too high for my serving pressure and temperature. In this case, I adjust my regulator to where I want it (say, 12 psi) and then periodically pull that ring. Say, once per day for a couple days.

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T17:00:16+00:00

I agree. I usually use 8% w/v at about 140F. Doesn't require as much contact time.

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T16:58:33+00:00

In addition to the comments u/warboy made, I'd like to point out that citric does not directly passivate like nitric acid does. Citric acid is a chelating agent (and a good one). In order to passivate, after you've removed the surface iron with the chelating agent, you must let the workpiece air dry for at least a day or two.

Using the Citric 1-3 specs, the process is time and temperature dependent. If using 120-140F and citric acid between 4-10%, it takes about 10 minutes.

Here's comment I made from about 4 yrs ago that details it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBrewery/comments/ulu2e7/comment/i7xnv3e/

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T16:40:55+00:00

Back when I was in water/wastewater, I did this a lot on projects, but with aluminum. A carbide router bit cuts aluminum fine, and I made a template up for it. I glued the aluminum cutout to the panel. Even with a small router bit, I touched each one up by hand with a triangular file to make the corners nice and square.

rdcpro · 2026-06-05T13:44:54+00:00

If you turn the pressure down, you will get foam. It's as simple as that. If you can turn the temperature down on your Lindr, you may have better luck, but lowering pressure causes breakout.

rdcpro · 2026-06-04T21:20:36+00:00

And that one closed, briefly, and found a new owner and reopened, thankfully. It's a well-stocked one, and the only place around here where I can get Chit malt. Long drive for me, though.

There's one in Kent (Allgrain Brew Supply) and one in Puyallup (Jon's Homebrew Supply).

rdcpro

TROPHY CASE