Leaking Ball Lock Connector?

First time kegging, set it all up, no gas leaks to the best of my knowledge, but one of my black beer connectors leaks liquid out through the top of the connector when I hook it up.

I've attached a photo of exactly where I mean the leak occurs.

Is this a faulty connector or does this happen under some benign condition? Maybe I have a bad post/poppet?

Never done this before and it's only one of my connectors that does it. The post itself is a little snug regardless of the connector I use but only this one connector leaks...

Sounds like a bad connector. If you bought it locally, I'd take it back and exchange it. If you got it online, take it apart and you'll likely find a bad o-ring, which you should be able to replace at a real hardware store.

Could also be a cracked plastic component, would check for that if you can't find a bad o-ring.

If it's leaking out the top, that isn't a problem with the post or poppet.

That little top part unscrews with a screw driver. It's just a little plastic screw cap with a o-ring below it. (It's holding in place a little spring and plunger.) If it's leaking out the top, that means the o-ring isn't sealing - either because it isn't seated nicely, or its defective, or it isn't tightened down well, or the plastic itself is cracked.

Bill - thanks a ton, I was trying to figure out how to open one of these, it's almost embarrassing that I didn't think to screw that part in/out. I'll give that a shot!

LogicBomb said:

Bill - thanks a ton, I was trying to figure out how to open one of these, it's almost embarrassing that I didn't think to screw that part in/out. I'll give that a shot!

Click to expand...

When you open it, do it on the counter over a light background. I've lost more than one o-ring down the sink by opening it there!

When you open it, there are four parts. There is a spring, a pin that the spring is on, the top, and the o-ring. Sometimes the o-ring is stuck around the base of the unit, where the spring is. And sometimes it's stuck on the top part you take off. Find it and inspect it. It actually sounds like it's missing, though!

Thanks everyone, I fixed the problem.

It looks like it was a mix of the o-ring not being seated correctly (it was angled when I opened it, not 100% sure if I did this while unscrewing though) and/or it just not being screwed in enough.

Actually, it's very lucky I went and checked the keezer's plumbing during this little problem solving session because I found a small puddle of apfelwein (of course it was the apfelwein...) that was being caused by another quick disconnect leaking.

So with a bit of tightening I got them all sealed and working.

Also found out that one of my beer-out posts just plain sucks. I don't know why but it's nearly impossible to get the QD's on and off this damn beer-out post. Replaced it with another one (that looks IDENTICAL) and the QD's fit just fine. I don't get it.

Anyway, this was a life saver. Thanks everyone!

I've found that rubbing a little keg lube on the post's O-rings helps the QD's slide on and off easier.

Keg lube!
It's a revelation, I tells ya!

Cheers!

Glad you found the leaky culprits.

Just for reference, these need to be cleaned and sanitized properly. I always take them apart and put the pieces into a small (pint) takeout cup, to soak with cleaner, then sanitizer. Re-assemble wet.

+1 on the lubing the posts' O-rings. Reduces wear. Spray some Starsan on the posts before pushing on the QDs.

Thanks for this thread. Just bought a ball lock connector for my new corny kegs and, alas, it was missing the gasket. This thread got me back on track. Thanks for the comment about sanitizing all these parts as well. I might not have thought of that. I'm a happy camper (or brewer, in this case).