universal poppets?

hello i am changing poppet valves on some firestone pin lock kegs. getting the poppets out was a huge exercise in patience(which i lost). i have the poppets that have long legs that "lock" into the post and are damn near impossible to get out.

My question is has any of you used universal keg poppets?

Do they work, i have heard a couple complaints that they restrict flow.

I like 'em. I usually need to cut the spring down to about the length of the one I was replacing was to get good sealing/ good flow.

I just use a side cutter to cut the springs down. I wish they would offer short or long springs. I got some with the shorter springs when they were first released and they worked great outta the box with no modifications. Lately I've only seen 'em with long springs.

Cheers.

May yer wort turn into beer.

BSD

Unfortunately, the site below doesn't mention universal poppets. But there is a wealth of info there, take a look. I know that I learned something.

http://www.dresselbrew.com/Keg_Info.htm

I have replaced those exact poppets with universal and they work fine. The new firestone long leg poppets are actually worse, they don't crimp the end enough during manufacture, and when installing they come apart. The first set fell apart when I tried to install them. The second set fell apart in the the envelope during shipping to me. I replaced them with the universal and have no issues.