Cornelius Kegs question

Howdy folks...


I want to get into kegging my beer and have decided to use Corny kegs. I am looking at some on Amazon and have noticed that some are "Ball-Lock" and some are "Pin-Lock". What is the difference and which are better for homebrewer purposes?

Thanks so much in advance. This forum has been a tremendous help as I get further into this wonderful hobby. Having access to the collective wisdom and experience of the Homebrew community is invaluable.

Labradork

I started writing out an explanation but I found this vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2VgL9JkjCV4

I didn't watch that vid, but I have a Corny ball-lock 5 gallon keg. I really like it.

When you get either type, take the pin/ball-locks apart with a tool and replace every seal/o-ring with a new one from amazon or your local brew shop. buy keg lube and put it on the seal/o-rings to make them last longer.

I was told that my Corny was refurbished and they lied to me and it leaked the first time I kegged. Cost is very low for the seals.

Pin and Ball are descriptive of the connector on top of the kegs for Gas in and liquid out posts. Ball lock are a Pepsi product and coke used Pin lock, there are a few subtle differences like a slight diff in height and diameter and whether or not they have a manually activated purge valve or a safety pop off. Generally they have discontinued Pin locks so they will eventually become scarce, on the other hand you can buy brand new never been used ball lock kegs from a number of suppliers. I have a pin lock system and only plan to use a total of 4 kegs. 2 for root beer and 2 different beers. Since it's just me and momma, we don't really need 4 but that will do for how much we drink.

Wheelchair Bob

Currently the biggest differences are that Pin Locks tend to be a little taller, at times do not have pressure relief valves, and as far as I have seen are a touch cheaper than ball locks. Ball Locks seem to be more popular. Just pick one and stick with it. Or you can always get a set of the other style quick disconnects and go with both. It is all personal preference.

All of the pin locks I've seen are shorter and fatter than ball locks. Personally I would go for ball locks because they are skinnier and you can fit more of them in a kegerator/keezer as height doesn't seem to be as much of an issue.

I have two ball-locks and one pin-lock. I was worried that I wouldn't like the pin-lock (the third keg I purchased) as well but it turns out that I find it easier to connect and disconnect than the ball-lock quite often. If you have pressure in the ball-lock keg, it can be a bit tough to snap on the connectors unless you do a quick purge. The pin-locks however just twist right on regardless of pressure in the keg.

In my experience, ball locks are more readily available. It's just a matter of getting your home system set up one way or another and sticking with it. Having a mix of both could be annoying.

You can also convert pin locks to ball locks if you wanted to. And pin lock kegs are definitely shorter and wider.

Fordmi said:

In my experience, ball locks are more readily available. It's just a matter of getting your home system set up one way or another and sticking with it. Having a mix of both could be annoying.

You can also convert pin locks to ball locks if you wanted to. And pin lock kegs are definitely shorter and wider.

Click to expand...

My apologies on the bad information. I stand.. err sit, corrected. ball locks are taller, pin are shorter and wider.

DrunkleJon said:

My apologies on the bad information. I stand.. err sit, corrected. ball locks are taller, pin are shorter and wider.

Click to expand...

Haha no worries

I was helping a buddy decide on which setup over the weekend so the info was fresh.

The biggest functional difference is that ball lock typically have a pressure release valve with a ring you can pull to release the pressure, while pin lock kegs typically have an "emergency" pressure release valve that cannot be manually operated. To bleed pressure out of a pin lock keg you have to push the gas poppet down with a screwdriver.

Aside from that, pin lock are shorter and wider than ball lock, which may or may not matter for your setup. In my experience ball locks are more popular, but pin locks tend to be cheaper.