Opinions on a bent keg

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jskennedy1979

Active Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Location
Ashburn
I bought two used ball lock cornies a few months ago. I broke the first one down without much issue. The second one was a real pain. After several attempts at hammering a wrench to loosen it, soaking it in various solutions, and good ole fashion muscle I couldn't get the posts to budge. I gave up and resigned to taking it to an auto parts shop to put some real torque on it. I gave it one last attempt before I hit up Pep Boys and stuck a piece of scrap wood through the handles and rocked all of my weight on the ratchet and it finally popped off.

I WIN!! :tank:

I took the posts off and inspected the keg and it looks like I really lost. The piece where the posts screw into is now slightly bent. I filled the keg with StarSan and hooked up the gas and the gas post (one in question) was bubbling away with an obvious leak.

Is there a way to fix this? Do I need to have the part re-soldered? The leak appears between the metal piece and the rubber lining. Thanks for the help.



 
Step one is to start cutting away the rubber a little at a time until you find the leak.

There's different ways to repair it, but you have to find the leak first to know what you're up against. It could be as easy as applying a hvac red epoxy to the hole, or as bad as needing to weld a crack.



It is not a bad looking fermenter if you decide not to repair it...
 
I'm impressed that a "sealant" applied externally actually holds pressure.

But short of a trip to a tig welder equipped for SS, the better way to fix a cracked weld is to silver solder it...

Cheers!
 
Are you sure it wasn't leaking around the threads? They will do that sometimes.

Next time a trip to an auto repair shop might be the thing. They can put an impact wrench on it and slowly increase the pressure until it pops free. Then at least the force would be applied torsionally.

If you can find the leak at the base of the post, instead of the threads, then you might consider paying a welder a few bucks to TIG that hole. I'm sure a few of the guys at me shop would do it for minimal cost. It's probably a very simple touch up.
 
I'm impressed that a "sealant" applied externally actually holds pressure.

But short of a trip to a tig welder equipped for SS, the better way to fix a cracked weld is to silver solder it...

Cheers!

Yeah, this stuff is actually made for immediate repairs on pressurized AC equipment, so it holds pressure with not trouble at all.
 
I'm impressed that a "sealant" applied externally actually holds pressure.

But short of a trip to a tig welder equipped for SS, the better way to fix a cracked weld is to silver solder it...

Cheers!

+1 for Silver Soldering it. Cleaner and will last a lifetime as a fix.
 
Back
Top