How to Remove a Miller Threaded Keg Valve (not retained by a spiral ring)

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Winemaker2

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The internet has many articles about how to remove the Sankey valve retained by a spiral ring on a 15.5 gallon beer keg, but I found nothing that told how to remove the similar valve threaded into the keg as used by the Miller Brewing Company. To make a fermentation vessel I cut open the keg and reverse engineered a simple tool for removing the valve.

The first step is to depress the center ball to release any pressure inside the keg. Turn the keg sideways to avoid a beer shower if a little beer is left. The valve is loosened by placing a piece of steel 1 3/4" wide x 1/4" thick x 2" long between the turning lugs of the valve and turning counterclockwise using an adjustable or pipe wrench. I used a "Wonderbar" type prybar that just happened to fit.

After the valve is loose it is still retained by a safety catch to prevent pressure in the keg from blowing the valve out like a rocket. One of the two lugs on the valve is marked "S". About 2" directly below that lug is the safety catch release lever (SCRL) that must be pried inward to release the valve. To get to the SCRL make a simple steel tool 3/4" wide x 3/16" thick x 1 3/4" long. Grind or file a 7/8" radius on each end of the tool to just fit inside the top of the valve. 3/8" from one end of the tool drill a 1/4" hole. 7/16" from the other end of the tool drill a #7 (0.201) hole tapped for a 1/4"-20 screw. Put a 1" long screw in the tapped hole to depress the rubber seal in the top of the valve. Protect the seal with a 1" diameter washer between the seal and the screw. The screw is not centered over the seal and bears on the solid portion of the washer. Place the tool in the top of the valve under the lugs. Position the untapped hole radially next to the "S" lug. Tighten the screw 5 turns after play is removed. It takes 60 pounds of force to depress the seal 1/4". The seal will back away from the "S" lug as the seal is depressed providing access to the SCRL, visible with a well-focused light. Insert a 1/8" diameter screwdriver shaft through the hole in the tool down toward the inside wall of the valve keeping the blade flat against the wall. At 1 1/2" depth you should start to engage the SCRL but probably won't feel it. Tap the end of the screwdriver lightly if necessary until you reach about 2" depth where the screwdriver should bottom out solidly. Be sure no threads of the valve have reengaged, and lift the valve out of the keg. If the valve will not come out, pry the safety lever inward by pushing outward on the screwdriver handle or rotating the screwdriver 90 degrees while lifting. If the valve will still not come out pull the screwdriver out and try again because you missed the SCRL, it is only 1/4" wide. Once the valve is out of the keg, all parts can be disassembled for cleaning. You can easily remove the safety catch before reinstalling the valve so next time you won't need the tool.

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1. Safety Catch Extended

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2. Safety Catch Retracted, Tool in Place

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3. Top View of Tool, Spear Removed

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4. Sketch of Tool
 
Or someone to just show up and do it for me...I'm not making this damn thing! I wish I could though...I guess it's just right to the dremel for me...
 
I was able to remove the valve without the described tool. I inserted a 3/16" flat blade craftsman screwdriver at the edge of the ball valve opposite the S lug. By pressing down I was able to move the valve far enough down to get a 1/16" flat blade screwdriver along the edge next to the S lug and thus depressing the safety catch release lever. I didn't care if I damaged the valve since I'm going to store wine in the keg sealed with a bung.

Cheers!
 
Wow good tutorial, I screwed up the keg I had, I was cutting the lid off anyway but would have been nice to get the valve out so I could have used my jig.
 
Man, that Tutorial rocked! I didn't use the tool, but armed with the nifty info, I used a blunt instrument to depress the valve as described and gain access to the crafty catch that was bringing me down. DWHAHB!

Thanks for the info! I searched and searched the internet and this is the ONLY place I was able to find the info. We seriously need to spread the word!
 
LOL! I knew there was a catch!... not just exactly this one!:eek:

I was also able to reach the catch release with just a big flat head screw driver to pry the valve assembly.

Thanks for the help (with pictures)!:mug:
 
wow was a huge pain in the butt and I completely ruined the valve. I did get myself a new fermenter though.
 
Спасибо мужик подсобил. Наверно челый час возился всё никак понять немог где этот крючек.:mug:
 
Bringing this back from the dead. We have a bunch of these kegs at the brewery I work at and we discovered an easier way to pull them out then the tool described in the op.

Pull the bottom gasket off of the coupler so the coupler will not seal. Then find a bolt that will fit in the small hole in the bottom of the coupler. Unscrew the spear then tap it like a full keg and lift up. If the spear doesn't come out put a washer on the bolt before slipping it in the coupler hole.

We pulled 8 spears in about 5 min with no fabrication needed. Sorry to bring up an ancient thread.
 
I need help!!!

I have two kegs, one that has the slots at the top, removed the spiral clip and was able to remove, no problem. I'm using this as my 15 gallon fermenter and quite happy.

The other one has no slots on the top ring. It also had a spiral clip that I removed.

It isn't a screw out spear either. I'm able to get it to move back and forth the normal amount, as if it were to lift through the slots, but no slots. I've reviewed videos and blogs and not found this type. Manufactured by Hoover Group for G Heileman Brewing.

Any ideas2011-07-04_11-29-29_872.jpg
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Hey trouble brewing could you explain a little in depth as i have 20lt converted cornies with the sake fitting and i dont really wanna mess up the valve.
:( stupid brewing companies dont want me to have their tools:(
And would it be easy to take the SCRL off so i could just unscrew for cleaning/filling and would it be safe to use while naturally carbing?
Thanks
 
Screw in spear converted cornies? Thats a new one to me. To remove the spear loosen it with a hammer and punch until it spins but the threads arent engaged. Then put a 1/4" or 3/8" nut on to of the ball and then tap the keg with it on there. It might be easier if you remove the big gasket from the tap but its not necessary. Then the spear should just lift out, if it doesnt try a little bit thicker of a "spacer". To get the safety off set the spear standing up on the floor and push a piece of pipe over the tube to push on the retaining ring. It has three tabs and spins off pretty easy with some pressure on it. The spear will come apart and the safety catch will fall right out. Once you figure out how to get the spears out its not too hard. I would keep the safety in unless its a real pain for you. It probably wont unscrew but just in case. If you are careful to keep it tight I dont really see an issue. Good luck, let me know if I need to explain it better
 
thanks mate
I will try tonight brewries are a bit funny about the tool
And yeah they have 10l kegs 20lt and 30lt the 10lt are similar to the standard kegs however the 20lt and 30lt ones are very similar to corny kegs.
They agve me a new spear and it has a safety catch that seems it may be alot easier to get out.
Instead of 2 little prongs it has one bigger one that doesnt have as much pressure on it.
I was thinking that it may be possible to grind/bend the catch a little so it could be taken out on a angle rather then straight out.
I have attached some pics of the kegs.I live in new zealand but think they may be from france.also could someone tell me what 3.5bar working pressure is in psi?
:rockin:

Silver 20L CUB Spear Kegs.jpg


10L Beer Keg.jpg


9025MLB DSW 003.jpg


IMG_1066.jpg
 
Cheers Chris
Yea i was going to use the standard 25lt sanke kegs.
A few dents/scrapes etc but my fridge was set up to chill corny's
Where did you get your ones from mate?
They are really well made dont seem as they will be as much trouble as cornies.
However with the valve that is in them it is hard to tell what kind of safety catch is in them.
However if you got a new spear like mine.I think the thing to do would be to grind the catch down a little then remove it on a angle.The catch on the new spear is alot softer to pull in them the current one.
:)
 
Old threads can sometimes be very useful. I actually might not have ruined the valve, but I did get the thing out, and I have a 30L fermenter, too! Cheers, UK dude!
 
If anyone is still looking for info on getting S-Type kegs open this might help:
http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~wyi/beer.html

The page is in Japanese, but the first image you see is a pic of a S-Type keg opening tool. If someone had good fabrication skills you could probably knock one of these out pretty easy.
There are other pics on the site that show more angles.
 
that was easy i just put a screwdriver in there under the ball ,till the assembly started moving around ..hit the tabs on top afew times with a big screwdriver till it started unthreading and it came right out
 
Scouring the internets....found an incredibly easy way to release the locking mechanism. And no damage at all. Put a nickel on top of the ball then attach your sanke coupler as you normally would. This releases the locking mechanism. Now just pull the whole assembly out. Just did it, nice and easy.
 
This post helped me out greatly! I spend damn near 3 hours fudging with it and then found this post after a search and had the thing out in less than 5 minutes!

Thanks!
 
I just got my hands on 5 of these suckers. I built the jig and got one spear out but it looks like the spring inside the valve is not letting the safety in all the way on a couple of them. Its like when it gets depressed it gets in the way of the little safety from being pushed all the way back and the spear won't come out. How do they do this at the brewery? There's got to be some kind of pre-fab tool right? I'm converting 3 of these to brew in but would like to keep 2 in good shape to carbonate and serve in. As soon as I get these suckers out I'm pulling that safety off!
 
The picture I posted above is a 'pre-fab tool' for getting the plunger out of sankey s type kegs. In most breweries they almost never actually take out the plungers. They just steam pressure clean them through the coupler and refill them.

I have one of the above keg openers now and it is a joy to use. If I can remember I will take some better pics so people can make them at home. Once you have one made all you need to do is turn the thumb-screw to release the safety and then crank out the whole apparatus. Depressurizing and opening a keg takes me about 30 seconds now.
 
I'm cooking with gas now. I think I just needed a longer screwdriver to get a little moe pressure on the safety. Now that I have the spears out I think I'm going to remove the safeties for easier handling. Thanks for the response.

keg photo.jpg
 
Scouring the internets....found an incredibly easy way to release the locking mechanism. And no damage at all. Put a nickel on top of the ball then attach your sanke coupler as you normally would. This releases the locking mechanism. Now just pull the whole assembly out. Just did it, nice and easy.

That worked great! Thank you!!!!!
 
Hahn! Pics are not showing for me either. Can anyone help?

yes. Do this...

Scouring the internets....found an incredibly easy way to release the locking mechanism. And no damage at all. Put a nickel on top of the ball then attach your sanke coupler as you normally would. This releases the locking mechanism. Now just pull the whole assembly out. Just did it, nice and easy.
 
What if I don't have a sanke coupler. I assume the pictures are linked to somewhere that no longer exists. Some new pics would be nice.
 
Had the same problem, trying to open a d system 20L keg, that had a ball valve, but not the top ring that the video tutorials show on youtube. This had a safety inside similar to a sankey s keg, as shown here http://www.beer-recipe.org/EuroSanke.html
What i did to open it was quite simple after reading this thread and the post from Trouble-Brewing:
1. De pressurize the keg
2. Using a hammer i hit the S marked ear on the valve to unscrew it
3. At a point it stops coming out, because of the safety
4. At that point i used my s coupler to tap it, and pushed my coupler to go down
5. After that the safety was lifted.

Dont know if you can do it with a d type coupler, maybe i was lucky, and because the coupler i had( s type coupler) is a bit taller than the d type couplers that are used for this kegs, did the trick
 
Back in 2008 I wrote a post showing how to make a tool to remove a threaded Miller keg valve. Original photos have disappeared. Here they are again. The tool has been revised to be easier to make, now using a self tapping screw requiring no separate tap. Some of you thought the tool was too hard to make. The tool can also be made of 1/8" steel and use a #10-32 screw and work OK.

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I just opened an account for the purpose of extending a huge THANK YOU to @Winemaker2 for posting (and reposting) this instructional. Your description, drawing and photos are all excellent, and your design worked like a charm. You clearly put time and effort into your writeup, and I appreciate it immensely. Fifteen years later and your research (and the sacrifice of your barrel) are still helping out strangers--I'm finally able to get the last few ounces of 2014 Pabst out of my barrel thanks to you!

PS, I tried the nickel/tap trick with zero success, and now that I have the spear out, I cannot see how that could possibly do anything to release the SCRL on my spear. Fabricated the tool and had the spear out right away with no issues.
 

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