Do I need to have disconnects before filling?

Well, my budget was cut short and I won't be getting the disconnects, CO2 charger, and picnic faucet until late this week, but I bought my first keg. I'm going to swap out the O ring when I clean it, but I wasn't sure if I should sanitize and fill it before getting the disconnects. Will it be ok if I clean/sanitize/fill and prime before I get the connections? At first I thought it would be okay, but can you really sanitize the connections without them? I'm trying to get it done by a cookout in 3 weeks.

Hophead75 said:

Well, my budget was cut short and I won't be getting the disconnects, CO2 charger, and picnic faucet until late this week, but I bought my first keg. I'm going to swap out the O ring when I clean it, but I wasn't sure if I should sanitize and fill it before getting the disconnects. Will it be ok if I clean/sanitize/fill and prime before I get the connections? At first I thought it would be okay, but can you really sanitize the connections without them? I'm trying to get it done by a cookout in 3 weeks.

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Sure, you can do that. The keg is just like a big bottle. You can clean it, sanitize it, fill it, etc, without using disconnects. It's easier to get it to seal (and check for leaks) if you have some co2, but it's not necessary. I like to give it a shot of co2 to help seat the lid but if you use some keg lube on the lid o-ring, it should seal fine.

By the way, you said "swap out the o-ring", but there are lots of o-rings. There are some on the poppits, one on the lid, some on the dip tubes, and some on the posts. You can get a "kit" of all of them for about $2 or so.

Hophead75 said:

At first I thought it would be okay, but can you really sanitize the connections without them?

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Just sanitize the pieces parts before you assemble them. You should get the inside tubing and the insides of the disconnect and faucet and they will be good to go.

Might as well get used to disassembling the DCs and the cobra tap, just keep the parts separate when you clean them.

Ok, so I started I put some PBW into the keg and started to clean it when I went to look for the O rings they weren't in the bag. Guess they ended up with my dad's intro kit. The keg was full of pressure so I know the current rings are good. I can't make it to the brew shop until Saturday and I need the keg for a july 11th cookout. So should I 1) use the existing rings and clean the bejezuz out of them 2) wait to get the rings and hope it's primed in 2 weeks 3) buy about 12 cartridges to attempt to force carb with.

if its an old soda keg you need to replace the seals they will have a soda smell and taste to them.

Do the o-rings smell like soda? If not, go ahead and keg. If you prime it now, it should be carbonated in a week.

the seals did smell a bit like pepsi before cleaning them, all the parts have been soaking in PBW for a day. So I guess I'm better off getting the new rings on Saturday sanitizing filling and putting it somewhere real warm to bring out the priming to get it carbed in two weeks. Most people have said cut the sugar in half for priming, does that sound right?

Hophead75 said:

the seals did smell a bit like pepsi before cleaning them, all the parts have been soaking in PBW for a day. So I guess I'm better off getting the new rings on Saturday sanitizing filling and putting it somewhere real warm to bring out the priming to get it carbed in two weeks. Most people have said cut the sugar in half for priming, does that sound right?

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Yes, that sounds right. Keep it someplace warm, and you should be all set.