Keg fitting lifespan question

Hey guys,

I bought a kit to convert a mini fridge to a kegerator from a company that seems to be highly regarded on this forum. I had some problems with my equipment that I wanted to run by you guys.

First off, three of my four keg fittings (two corny kegs) leaked. I tested this by pressurizing both kegs, then putting a drop of liquid dish soap on the posts. Three of the four posts made bubbles, telling me that air was escaping. To clarify, I'm talking about the fitting itself leaking, and not a leak due to it not being screwed in all the way or something similar.

Secondly, one of the kegs came with a wrong fitting. Both of the posts on one of the kegs were for beer out.

So, I have two questions:

1) How often do fittings need to be replaced? Obviously they need to be replaced whenever they go bad, but I was wondering what one might expect for an average lifespan.

2) Don't most places test pressure before shipping out a unit? Given that one of the kegs had two beer-out posts, I don't see how it possibly could have been tested.

As a side note, I've talked to the company and they've since made it right. My primary concern is with the first question and the second question is more just a general gripe to get it off my chest.

First of all , relax. Find out if all the orings were replaced, or if replacement orings came with the kegs. It sounds like you are saying that the poppets are leaking. Some keg lube would more than likely solve that issue.

But, before you do anything, I would share your above concerns with the company you bought them from. THe company that I deal with is very noob friendly and always does a good job of making things right. Call them or use keg lube. Then we'll work from there.

It does look like it's the poppets I'm talking about. I wasn't sure what they were called.

I've still got the originals. I guess I'll lube them up and see if I can get them to stop leaking. Thanks.

What do you mean by originals? The poppets or orings? Leave the new ones on there, just make sure you use keg lube when ever you assemble them and especially on the lid oring. You can put a bit of keg lube on tip of the poppet.

I meant the poppets.

I tried to use some keg lube on them, but that didn't bring them back to life. It kept leaking the same as before. The lid and its o-ring hasn't been an issue in any of this.

I called my local homebrew store to ask them if they knew aything to do in order to stop the posts from leaking, and they said to replace the poppets. They didn't know how long was a reasonable lifetime for poppets though, and that's what I was originally wondering (though I didn't know the terminology).

Tourney3p0 said:

I tried to use some keg lube on them, but that didn't bring them back to life. It kept leaking the same as before. The lid and its o-ring hasn't been an issue in any of this.

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I've purchased a few used kegs with leaky poppets. No big deal, just replace them. They're sprung devices, so they do wear out with normal use.

I recommend you read the Keg Cleaning Guide and order some poppet valves from this website (cheapest I've seen). Just make sure you order the correct type (Cornelius vs Firestone).

I've occasionally replaced poppets, but in 8 years, I've never replaced a replacement and most of my poppets are the ones installed when I purchased the kegs. Poppets last a long time.

Tourney3p0 said:

I meant the poppets.

I tried to use some keg lube on them, but that didn't bring them back to life. It kept leaking the same as before. The lid and its o-ring hasn't been an issue in any of this.

I called my local homebrew store to ask them if they knew aything to do in order to stop the posts from leaking, and they said to replace the poppets. They didn't know how long was a reasonable lifetime for poppets though, and that's what I was originally wondering (though I didn't know the terminology).

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If you just bought these though, I would still give the vendor a call. They may send you out some poppets or posts or have you return the kegs. Sometimes those poppets dont sit right. I have to push them in with a pin or screw driver until they sit right. Give the vendor a call and give them a chance to make it right. It can't hurt.

JesseRC said:

If you just bought these though, I would still give the vendor a call. They may send you out some poppets or posts or have you return the kegs. Sometimes those poppets dont sit right. I have to push them in with a pin or screw driver until they sit right. Give the vendor a call and give them a chance to make it right. It can't hurt.

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Did you read the op? He did that.

Tourney3p0 said:

As a side note, I've talked to the company and they've since made it right. My primary concern is with the first question and the second question is more just a general gripe to get it off my chest.

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david_42 said:

I've occasionally replaced poppets, but in 8 years, I've never replaced a replacement and most of my poppets are the ones installed when I purchased the kegs. Poppets last a long time.

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This is good to know. I was under the impression that they crapped out all the time. At ~$3 a pop I didn't want to hear that. I'm glad this is not the case.

wildwest450 said:

Did you read the op? He did that.

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obviously not!