The great handpump adventure!
As an Englishman and fan of English real ale, I've always wanted my own handpump/beer engine (the terms are fairly interchangeable). And now, thanks to my Dad, I have one! Dad found someone who could lay his hands on one and shipped it over to me. The shipping cost more than the pump itself, but it was well worth it.
The pump arrived mid-week, but I didn't really get chance to play with it until today. Here's a photo of all the bits laid out on my dining table:
It's in superb condition, factory-reconditioned by the famous Angram company. I then set about figuring out how to connect it to my corny kegs. Which was where I encountered my first problem - the shank for the hose on the bottom of the cylinder (the silver bit in the middle in the photo below) is for half-inch hose, while my standard beer line is 6mm. I was momentarily confused by the 2 connectors with green hoses on the right of the picture, until I figured out that they were the connections for the optional water-cooling system.
However, I've bodged up a solution using a couple of jubilee clips. the narrower bore beer line from my kegs goes inside the wider bore line for about an inch, and 2 jubilee clips secure it. I suspected I may get a leak here, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I then went outside and mounted the handpump on my bar. Boy, does it look good!
Then it was time to hook things up. I part-filled a keg with plain water as a test, then attached my beer line to a standard quick-disconnect fitting. I hooked that up to the keg and locked the pressure relief valve open so air could get into the keg to replace the water being drawn out. A few brisk pulls on the handle and water began coming out of the pump!
Unfortunately not all of the water was emerging from the spout as expected. Some water was dripping from underneath the pump, so it was obvious I had a leak somewhere. Time to strip the cover off and check it down. A little investigation showed that, surprisingly, the leak was not at either of the places I had expected (the join in the beer line or the attachment of the line onto the pump) but from the John Guest fitting which linked the output of the pump onto the dispense spout (see below).
Not sure how I'll fix this. It should be possible to pick up another John Guest fitting and replace it. I suspect it's just a bit old.
So, not quite got beer pouring from the pump just yet, but not far away!
However, I've bodged up a solution using a couple of jubilee clips. the narrower bore beer line from my kegs goes inside the wider bore line for about an inch, and 2 jubilee clips secure it. I suspected I may get a leak here, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I then went outside and mounted the handpump on my bar. Boy, does it look good!
Then it was time to hook things up. I part-filled a keg with plain water as a test, then attached my beer line to a standard quick-disconnect fitting. I hooked that up to the keg and locked the pressure relief valve open so air could get into the keg to replace the water being drawn out. A few brisk pulls on the handle and water began coming out of the pump!
Unfortunately not all of the water was emerging from the spout as expected. Some water was dripping from underneath the pump, so it was obvious I had a leak somewhere. Time to strip the cover off and check it down. A little investigation showed that, surprisingly, the leak was not at either of the places I had expected (the join in the beer line or the attachment of the line onto the pump) but from the John Guest fitting which linked the output of the pump onto the dispense spout (see below).
Not sure how I'll fix this. It should be possible to pick up another John Guest fitting and replace it. I suspect it's just a bit old.
So, not quite got beer pouring from the pump just yet, but not far away!
posted by Martin @ 5:16 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Oh it's a great feeling, pulling your own hand crafted beer through your own beer engine and then sitting down at the bar to enjoy the fruits of your labours. Nice one Martin!
Hi Martin. Why not just remove the plastic fitting, heat the hose with hot water, slip it over the metal pipe, and secure it with a jubilee clip? Might work.
Yes, I suspect that might work and could be a good short-term solution. however, it would make dismantling the pump fo cleaning or maintenance a bit difficult. I'm currently trying to travk down a replacement John Guest fitting - I know I can get them from Craftbrewer in Australia but I'd prefer to find one locally.
Hi Martin,
If you contact the manufacturers, Angram Limited, at Boroughbridge, UK, www.angramltd.com, I'm sure they'll send you a new fitting.
I bought an Angram CQ (I think yours is a CQ, looking at the picture) on Ebay and found that the H-block for connecting a cold water supply for cooling was broken - one of the pipe connections had snapped off.
I made one call to Angram and they sent me a new H-block, free of charge, without even charging postage. Now you may not be that lucky as you're in NZ, but you never know!
Good luck and cheers!
Hi Martin,
Read your comments with great interest. If you need any help just ring Angram between 9am – 5pm Monday to Thursday or 9am to 1pm Fridays and they will send you a new J.G. fitting and some new tube, cost just the postage. My name is Steve Farrar I am the chairman of Angram my son now runs Angram and we are keen to maintain our good name.
Thanks for the comment Steve. I'm glad to say the problem was resolved some time ago by the purchase of a new JG fitting for a few bucks. The pump is working wonderfully now. It is truly wonderful to drink a homebrewed beer out of a handpump down here. A wonderful piece of engineering.
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