Faulty Corny Keg - lost beer - help

I recently lost a half corny keg (ball lock) full of beer and am not sure why. I had a nice double chocolate stout in the keg for over a month with no problems. This weekend I put about 10-15psi in the keg to keep some pressure on it and then removed both the CO2 and liquid hose quick disconnects so that I could use the CO2 to force carbonate a new batch in a separate corny keg. The next day I went to check on the beer and to my horror I noticed my keezer was full of a dark almost black liquid! My double chocolate stout had spewed out of its keg from the liquid valve all over the place. WTF!
Why would the valve fail? Has this ever happened to anyone else? What can I do to avoid this?

sounds like the poppet isnt sitting right. i had the same issue except with the gas-in. i released all the gas, grabbed a diff QD from a diff keg and swapped.

checked the gasket on the poppet and see if theres any deterioration or just replace the poppets.

ps. i just started kegging so im still learning lol.

has to be the poppet. either it didn't seat properly and didn't seal, or it needs to be replaced because it doesn't seal when seated properly.

pull it out, inspect it, keg lube it, reinstall and test it with water.

if you have to replace it, get the RIGHT poppet. each variation of the 'cornelius' keg used a different poppet...some can be interchanged, many cannot.

This is why I have a simple rule in my keezer: if the keg has pressure, it has a proper liquid line attached. The faucet (even a picnic faucet) is less likely to fail than a poppet of a used keg. I have one keg with a gas poppet that doesn't fit quite right and I have to press it in with a nail or something to seat it when I disconnect it.

I woke up to this very problem this morning. I went downstairs and smelt beer and instantly the worst came to my mind. I only lost a few pints but boy what a ***** to clean up. I agree with the school of thought to put pressure on a keg when you've got an out valve.

After reading this thread I went and double checked my kegs. 2 out of 3 were slightly leaking, what a royal pain. Took off the posts, lubed the poppets and stuck an extra o-ring on the in and out tubes. That will help give more pressure on aged poppet springs - I hope (did not think of this, recall reading somewhere along the line). The corny keg system is cheap way to keg but it sure does have some flaws.

I don't know if I'd call poppet problems flaws in the concept. Can't say as I've had anything more complex than a fork fail at some point ...

and I have a few bent forks.

I am not quite as thorough in my safeguards as bsay but having a poppet not seat quite right after pulling the liquid line is something I expect to have happen. Whenever I am pressurizing for storage and I pull off the liquid line I double check seating by taking a paper towel and drying the top of the poppet. Then I recheck in a few minutes up to an hour and see if the poppet is still dry. If it is then I'm good. If it isn't then i poke it with a fork and redry.

I would consider always keeping a liquid line attached but I can't imagine the pita of dealing with 12 kegs all with hoses attached.

dontman said:

I am not quite as thorough in my safeguards as bsay but having a poppet not seat quite right after pulling the liquid line is something I expect to have happen. Whenever I am pressurizing for storage and I pull off the liquid line I double check seating by taking a paper towel and drying the top of the poppet. Then I recheck in a few minutes up to an hour and see if the poppet is still dry. If it is then I'm good. If it isn't then i poke it with a fork and redry.

I would consider always keeping a liquid line attached but I can't imagine the pita of dealing with 12 kegs all with hoses attached.

Click to expand...

Could probably get some extra liquid connects that have the 1/4" MFL instead of the hose barb and then find some 1/4" flare caps.

Thanks for the help. I will definitely not be leaving a keg under pressure not attached to a liquid line again without taking some extra precautions.

camiller said:

Could probably get some extra liquid connects that have the 1/4" MFL instead of the hose barb and then find some 1/4" flare caps.

Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. I was just on the phone with kegconnection ordering those.

I am about to transfer all 12 of my kegs into my brand new 90 cubic foot reach in cooler and the last thing I ever want is a keg draining into that sucker. Losing a batch is one thing. Having it pour into the fridge and then having to move 12 kegs, 15 cases of beer, 6 cases of wine and multiple racks, cleaning, and then rechilling the whole unit is something I never want to experience.

EDIT: Not that there's anywhere where I wouldn't mind 5 gallons of sticky liquid spilling. SWMBO, the most tolerant person in history, might start to lose her tolerance if her house smelled like a frat house on Sunday morning each time she walked in the door.

oops, ignore this.