Strange corny behaviour

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mcgster

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I ran into a new issue for me with one of my two new corny kegs.

The kegs are brand new (i'm used to using 5th hand used kegs) and when when i dispense from the keg i only get foam. I have taken the poppet apart three times to no avail. I notice that when i press the poppet manually i get a very strong stream (shoots all over the place!) however once i connect the picnic tap i only get a dribble.

I have tried three taps they all do the same thing.

Interestingly enough when i partially disengage the picnic tap so i'm holding the ball lock up maybe 1/16 of an inch it will dispense normally.

Has anyone seen this behaviour before?
 
The only time I had an issue like that it was a piece of hop debris that had gotten into the connector for the faucet. Once I took the connector apart(used a screwdriver in the slot on the back of the connector) cleaned and reassembled it poured fine no more issues. Could check that if you haven't already. Also verify when the keg was cleaned that you put the right fittings on the correct posts. The gas should have a notch cut into it around the bottom which denotes it as the gas post. Other than that the only other thing I can say is with picnic taps make sure when pouring to push the button all the way in this will also help minimize foaming while filling glasses. Might want to try disassembling the picnic tap and cleaning and reassembling. And see if that fixes any of your issues. Just be careful when you take connectors and picnic tap apart to clean DONT lose any of the small washers inside


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By any chance is the plastic pin in the ball lock connect in upside down?
 
mcgster said:
[...]I have tried three taps they all do the same thing. [...]
Click to expand...

You've tried three picnic taps on the same keg and they all had dribbly pours?
Did you use three different quick disconnects as well?

Have you tried hooking up the other keg yet?

Cheers!
 
GilSwillBasementBrews said:
The only time I had an issue like that it was a piece of hop debris that had gotten into the connector for the faucet. Once I took the connector apart(used a screwdriver in the slot on the back of the connector) cleaned and reassembled it poured fine no more issues. Could check that if you haven't already. Also verify when the keg was cleaned that you put the right fittings on the correct posts. The gas should have a notch cut into it around the bottom which denotes it as the gas post. Other than that the only other thing I can say is with picnic taps make sure when pouring to push the button all the way in this will also help minimize foaming while filling glasses. Might want to try disassembling the picnic tap and cleaning and reassembling. And see if that fixes any of your issues. Just be careful when you take connectors and picnic tap apart to clean DONT lose any of the small washers inside


Sent from somewhere to someone
Click to expand...


I didn't know that about the gas post I will check that for sure. Should I see the notch after I remove the poppet on the post itself?

The behaviour definitely seemed like something that would be caused by hop debris but after cleaning it out three times I am fairly certain that is not the case.

I tried three different picnic tap / ball lock combo's just to make sure it wasn't either




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I forgot to add thanks for all the replies, very helpful!


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ImageUploadedByHome Brew1405910564.163580.jpg

See the groove in the hex head part of the post that is a gas post for ball lock kegs.


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I did confirm that i was using the correct post.

It must be a dud post or something... very strange!
 
New keg... hmmm... Could you post a pic of the poppet?

Does it have universal poppets? Sometimes the spring has to be "adjusted" a bit so the tension is less. Start clipping a bit of the spring away until it flows properly, but still seals.

Personally, I'd just take the post to your lhbs and get new poppets... real poppets. (If they're universal.)
 
k1ngl1ves said:
New keg... hmmm... Could you post a pic of the poppet?

Does it have universal poppets? Sometimes the spring has to be "adjusted" a bit so the tension is less. Start clipping a bit of the spring away until it flows properly, but still seals.

Personally, I'd just take the post to your lhbs and get new poppets... real poppets. (If they're universal.)
Click to expand...

Thanks i will post tonight :)
 
Also
1) where does it foam from? if you're pouring, watch the foam and see when it appears
2) get all the CO2 out of the keg, turn the faucet on, slowly apply pressure, does it foam right away? or does it get to a certain pressure point and start the foaming?
3) how long are your lines and what size?
4) Could anything at all be in the pickup tube down in the keg itself?
 
Rivenin said:
Also
1) where does it foam from? if you're pouring, watch the foam and see when it appears
2) get all the CO2 out of the keg, turn the faucet on, slowly apply pressure, does it foam right away? or does it get to a certain pressure point and start the foaming?
3) how long are your lines and what size?
4) Could anything at all be in the pickup tube down in the keg itself?
Click to expand...


The foam comes from the poppet, it travels through the line and out the tap.

When i turn the pressure all the way down i get a slow dribble, it doesn't appear to foam.

I have tried hose lengths of 3 and 10 ft.

I did take the pickup tube out twice, it is all clear!
 
Have you tried blasting some co2 down the liquid side to clear anything stuck? I had to do this last night with a keg that wouldn't pour at all.
 
Might want to check the o ring on the diptube as I believe one cause of foaming from the poppit as you indicate is sucking air in from around the seals under the post. Maybe try a liberal dose of keg lube to the seals and see if it fixes anything. Otherwise I would try changing the poppits out. Also make sure there are no dings or bends in the lip of the diptube.


Sent from somewhere to someone
 
I have had a few issues with new Chinese kegs. Mostly around the flared end of the pick up tube, a few with cracks from over tooling, and dents. 1 even came with 2 o-rings to make the seal. If you do not get a good seal then you get massive amounts of foam.
 
I just replaced the o-ring on the dip tube and the new one from my replacement packs were noticeably thicker. Sadly it didn't not fix the issue.

I just unpacked the other chinese keg and it is doing the same thing. I pm'd a buddy who ordered two with me and his are doing the same as well. I have 3 coke corny kegs and they work fine!

Damn.... save a penny to spend a dollar.
 
Adventures in home brewing.... I am going to try the fix suggested by trimming the spring and will post my results

When I read the reviews on AIH I don't see others complaining of the same behaviour. However, when I read the reviews on universal poppets on northern brewer i see some brewers reporting the same behaviour.


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