Corny Keg Question

So I just converted my beloved Keezer to a ball lock setup. I have been using Sankey kegs for two years now with no issues, but decided it would be easier to clean and fill cornies than sankey kegs. I just got done carbing my latest IPA in one of the cornies and it is perfectly carbed. My question is that it pours ALOT slower than the sankey kegs (almost at a trickle) and it is making a creaking sound (only when it is dispensing.) I checked and nothing seems to be leaking.

Am I doing something wrong here or is this normal? Any suggestions as to why it would be acting differently?

What's your pressure and how long are the beer lines?

I have always set my pressure to 12 and let the kegs sit for 2 weeks. My lines are 10 feet long.

That's about right... don't know about this one. Maybe someone with better experience can chime in.

The poppet valves can get dirty and stick. Try cleaning them.

The corny will pour a little slower, but it should be more than a trickle.

I'm betting something is in the poppet or you have switched corny poppets. I disassembled all my cornies and threw the parts in cleaner. Turns out some poppets are taller than others and if you get the tall poppets on the short post, slow flow is the symptom. If you are sure you haven't mixed em up, then release pressure, pull the liquid post and get the bits of hops out of the poppet.

Let us know what you find out.

You know, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't disassemble the kegs when I got them. They all held pressure so I just soaked in hot oxyclean, sanitized and filled.

I know, I know....

You are probably right about the poppets being dirty. Would that also account for the creaking sound? And I guess the big question is, Is there any harm in releasing pressure and disassembling while there is beer inside?

just the contamination risk. if you are diligent about sanitation you should be fine. Just make sure you bleed off all the pressure before you start loosening the posts.

You can get replacement O-rings really cheap from McMaster Carr. Somewhere in HBT there is a listing of the part numbers.

Yikes.. you should definitely take the liquid post off and clean the poppets.

It might be fun to do it without releasing the pressure. I'm thinking old faithful geyser time, let us know how high it shoots beer.

I've had to do this multiple times when drinking something like a Pliny clone with tons of secondary leaf hops. Even the risk of infection on fermented out beer is relatively low. Just use good sanitation practices.

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