Help needed, overpressurized kegs to dangerous levels, how to safely depressurize?

[DallasW]

Here's the story, we contract brewed a batch of our beer and something seems to have gone wrong. I noticed that the beer was getting foamier and more overcarbonated after every keg we swapped out. We have been storing the kegs at ~65F as we don't have enough space in our cold room for the beer.

The beer seems to have kept fermenting in the kegs (either due to unfinished fermentation or due to an infection), to the point of dangerous pressure levels in the kegs. We are using used stainless kegs from Lawson kegs, who only rated them to 50 psi (new stainless kegs are 130psi?). I hooked up our filling tap with a pressure gauge hooked up to the gas side to check the pressure in the warm storage and it maxed it out (60psi gauge), so it's at least at like 70psi. The coupler is somewhat difficult to engage which tells me the pressure has to be high on them. I promptly got the fuck out of that room and now don't know what to do. I remembered reading about the exploding keg death (albeit with a plastic keg) in a brewery a few years ago and don't want anything to happen here like that.

If anyone has any ideas on what to do please let me know. I have legitimately though of calling in a bomb squad or something but don't know if that is ridiculous. Thanks.

[Junkyard]

I would say go tap them and release the pressure! Just be careful not to lift them or disturb them in any way.
When there is beer in the keg the explosion shouldn't be violent because of the liquid in the keg. When tanks are hydro tested they are filled with liquid to test them. If they break the explosion isn't too violent.

[AnthonyB]

The first thing to do is calm down… the exploding keg death was with a plastic keg that ruptured sending shrapnel into the victim… I am not aware of stainless steel kegs failing in this manner (which is why they are much safer than plastic kegs). There are numerous PSI ratings for stainless steel kegs. Deformation pressure is 60-90 psi typically with a burst pressure of 300+ psi. If the keg is full of beer, it is HIGHLY unlikely that it will reach that sort of pressure.

Now that you are calm… tap the keg and relieve some of the pressure by dispensing some of the beer… make sure you save some to return to the original contract brewer too.

[TL Services]

As per the good advice above, fit a keg coupler and bleed off excess pressure from the gas port of the coupler.

If you can find any space in your coldroom it would be worth cooling the kegs before venting as this will help to reduce the overpressure.

[BrewinLou]

Don't panic, I have had Stainless half bbl kegs come back balooned at the top and bottom from freezing and they did not burst. Let the pressure off. You need to bleed off the pressure and figure out how to store them colder.

[Bainbridge]

I promptly got the fuck out of that room and now don't know what to do.

We all had a good laugh at that. I had a corny keg of yeast in the cold room build to the point it was popping the bleed valve just yesterday. What a mess. (We normally store yeast in dedicated brinks, but sometimes needs must... Never again though.) But yeah, just carefully rig up something to vent them, like a filling head with a ball valve.

[StandardKegs]

I know im a little late.
Kegs are usually tested to 5BAR = 75PSI, most can handle up to 40BAR of pressure.
Most of my kegs are tested to 7BAR just in case of situation like that.

Zhi
Standard Kegs LLC

https://www.standardkegs.com