Newbie kegger lesson learned about sealing corny lids

I'm sure this has been addressed before but I couldn't read every single thread in this forum so here goes. I kegged my first two batches recently after obtaining a couple pretty nice looking ball-lock corny kegs. I did my reading, both here and elsewhere (the sticky about kegging is a great thread, thanks!) but there was one seemingly very simple area that was either missed or I didn't digest very well - sealing the lid of the keg. I didn't seal the first one right, hooked up the CO2, left to go to a ballgame and came back the next day to an empty CO2 tank and flat beer. A very simple fix - don't flip the handle on the lid before forcing the lid closed with CO2 - but I learned it the hard way. This youtube video (only about 1:30 long) demonstrates it very well, in my opinion.

[ame]http://youtu.be/eNNIgBX9Wvk[/ame]

So if this note saves someone else a headache and an unnecessary $13 CO2 refill, it was worth my time. Thanks to all who contribute, I've learned a ton already.

these lid o-rings from williams brewing seal much better than the standard ones that come with most cornies

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/KEG-LID-SEALING-O-RING-P58.aspx

i still seal the lid with 30psi out of force of habit but it isn't necessary with these

A quick check for every one of my kegs is to pressurize, and then use a spray bottle of starsan to check for bubbles around the lid and posts to make sure it's not leaking. I just keep the spray bottle right at the kegerator so I never forget to check for leaks.

Thanks to both of you for the tips. I will check out those seals and I learned to keep that spray bottle right by the fridge but it's a great reminder. I definitely rushed through this the first time but there's no better way to learn than to do it

Another tip is to seat the lid at 30 psi before purge and repeat process.

Yooper said:

A quick check for every one of my kegs is to pressurize, and then use a spray bottle of starsan to check for bubbles around the lid and posts to make sure it's not leaking. I just keep the spray bottle right at the kegerator so I never forget to check for leaks.

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+1 fool proof!

As someone who is about to keg for the first time next week I'm glad I found this thread! I'd probably be ok the first few times by dumb luck alone and then be really confused when I did finally screw it up.

This process seems rather unnecessary to me. I've been kegging for years and never had a problem simply wiggling the lid around until it feels like a good fit, then locking it down. Never had a leak. I'm not sure this pressurization process would necessary prevent a leak either.

The spray bottle is probably the best way, and I might start doing that. Or not.

SpeedYellow said:

This process seems rather unnecessary to me. I've been kegging for years and never had a problem simply wiggling the lid around until it feels like a good fit, then locking it down. Never had a leak. I'm not sure this pressurization process would necessary prevent a leak either.

The spray bottle is probably the best way, and I might start doing that. Or not.

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The spray bottle won't help you if you don't have pressure in the keg.

SpeedYellow said:

This process seems rather unnecessary to me. I've been kegging for years and never had a problem simply wiggling the lid around until it feels like a good fit, then locking it down. Never had a leak. I'm not sure this pressurization process would necessary prevent a leak either.

The spray bottle is probably the best way, and I might start doing that. Or not.

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spray bottle is only good is IDing a leak, not in fixing/preventing one

one of my cornies has a slightly deformed opening and won't seal unless hit with 20-30psi - if i bleed off too much pressure it will unseal itself again

I have this problem with one of my kegs especially. The lid just doesnt sit very tight (i can depress the lid about 1/4 inch when it is closed and not under pressure). I have found that Keg lube and wiggling the lid around while applying pressure allows you to make a better seal. It is my back up, backup keg now.

If one can actually push a keg lid down a quarter inch, either the bail is missing its feet or its legs are wicked splayed, or both.

Honest, a keg in good condition with good o-rings and just a film of keg lube will actually seal without gas pressure. It shouldn't take much effort to figure out what's keeping any keg from latching up nice and tight, and fix same...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

If one can actually push a keg lid down a quarter inch, either the bail is missing its feet or its legs are wicked splayed, or both.

Honest, a keg in good condition with good o-rings and just a film of keg lube will actually seal without gas pressure. It shouldn't take much effort to figure out what's keeping any keg from latching up nice and tight, and fix same...

Cheers!

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This.

I've had to bend the feet/bails on a lot of my kegs to get them to seal well. I used to naturally carb kegs in my wood shop, where I didn't have any CO2 to seat the lid. I replaced all the lid o-rings, adjusted all of the feet/bails, and used a little keg lube, and I never had an issue with a keg not sealing even with no pressure.

JuanMoore said:

This.

I've had to bend the feet/bails on a lot of my kegs to get them to seal well. I used to naturally carb kegs in my wood shop, where I didn't have any CO2 to seat the lid. I replaced all the lid o-rings, adjusted all of the feet/bails, and used a little keg lube, and I never had an issue with a keg not sealing even with no pressure.

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Yeah, I am fairly sure it is the feet. It is a lot better with pennies, but since I have other kegs and dont have the tools to bend the feet back without bending the brackets that hold it to the lid, and two pairs of needle nose pliers and elbow grease just arent cutting it, I am just going to let it sit as a last resort backup until I get my pipeline flowing enough to require its use.

OK...sanke kegs FTW I will say that cornies are nice and lightweight...I picked up a Long Trail IPA 1/6 keg over the weekend that was in a converted corny to sanke, like ductwork w/ endcaps.

wilserbrewer said:

OK...sanke kegs FTW

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True. If I could fit 4 sanke sixtels in my keezer, I wouldn't own any cornies.

It occurred to me that since I started this I should note that once I learned how to properly seal the lids I was still having problems with leaks. I then took all my poppets and replaced them with universal poppets and it's been smooth sailing ever since. So if you're having trouble I'd recommend you try them out, they worked wonders for me. Thanks to everyone for the tips as well. I was this close to giving up kegging, now I'll never go back.