Corny-lid questions...

Ran across a few soda kegs and noticed not all the lids have relief valves... And the few that do have a pop off valve (130 psi) but there is no pull ring on the outside...

Are the relief valves necessary or just a nice feature? Couldn't I just bleed off pressure from the gas line (after removing gas source)? And if I just HAVE to have it on the lid itself, do you think a simple drill / tap for threads would do the trick?

Thanks in advance!

DJ


(too tired tonight for pictures... if need be I can get some tomorrow)

well, the relief valve is used to vent pressure so you can remove the lid. you could poke down on the gas IN connection, but a really full keg might spray you in the face doing that.

technically they are a safety feature too.

www.williamsbrewing.com has valves for corny and firestone.

Usually the pinlock kegs don't have them. You may have been looking at those. You can just push on the "gas" poppet with a key or a screwdriver and no pressure relief is needed.

My wife bought me a bunch of pinlocks for next to nothing that already had the right posts but the lids did not have pressure relief valves. After searching online and finding that the lids were the price of a new keg, I realized that by purchasing one spare gas line quick connect, I had an interchangeable pressure relief valve that I could use on all the kegs. It's not connected to anything, I just keep it in the fridge and connect it to relieve pressure when necessary.

Or, you could just push down on the the poppet valve, as others have suggested, but I like to have spare parts around just in case.

Relief valves aren't necessary, unless you plan on using those little party cartridges. As long as your CO2 system has a pressure regulator, you'll be fine.

I have a gas connector with a pressure gage and a manual valve that I use when I'm carbonating or if I have a long secondary fermentation planned.

What types of cornies are there pin-lock and what else and what type are the best to have?

thedude123 said:

What types of cornies are there pin-lock and what else and what type are the best to have?

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Pin lock (coke) and ball lock (pepsi). Search online and you should be able to see the difference. Basically just a different disconnect. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. It seems like, at least in my area, the ball lock are more common. I would recommend finding out what is easier for you to get (kegs, and replacement parts as well) in your area, and stick with that one, so you don't have two different types.

I think the kegs i get around here would be pin lock because there is a coke plant close to me but not pepsi plant that I know of in the area. You think the Coke plant would sell me old cornies?

thedude123 said:

I think the kegs i get around here would be pin lock because there is a coke plant close to me but not pepsi plant that I know of in the area. You think the Coke plant would sell me old cornies?

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They do sometimes, distributors too. Just call and ask, they might be out. They all switched to the bag-in-box thing a long time ago, and have been selling off the corny kegs. Some places still have them, but most are probably out.

What would a corney keg do if the regulator broke or malfunctioned. Without a relief valve you could get up to 800 psi in the keg. Rated only up to 130psi would it explode?

david_42 said:

I have a gas connector with a pressure gauge and a manual valve that I use when I'm carbonating or if I have a long secondary fermentation planned.

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Think this is the route I am gonna go... Prolly be the easiest to do...

Thanks everyone for the input...

mysteryberto said:

What would a corney keg do if the regulator broke or malfunctioned. Without a relief valve you could get up to 800 psi in the keg. Rated only up to 130psi would it explode?

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probably...

Nah, it wouldn't explode. The lid would most likely bend out the top rim of the keg, causing explosive decompression. The keg would shoot like a rocket all around wherever it happened to be. Since it'll most likely be in a fridge, it will slam open the lid, not unlike an unholy rendition of Dracula's Beer, scaring the crap out of you. It will free itself of it's fuel and gas lines, free as a newborn baby shucking it's umbilical from it's mother. As it shoots around the room defecating your precious beer all over, coating everything in it's glory it destroys everything in it's path. It will finally subside buried into one of the walls, it's barley fuel spent.

It will be glorius.

Well most do have relief valves even if they cannot be used by hand to relive lower pressure. If it didn't have a relief valve and you put 800 PSI in it, it would probably blow off the top or the bottom, I like EvilTOJ's description.

I have had a couple kegs that leaked out of the pressure valve, so I just sealed it off. You guys are making that sound like a bad idea.

I am also curious as to the party cylinder comment. I wouldn't think that those have enough volume to get an entire corny to 100 psi even if you empty a couple of em out without bleeding any pressure.

Well I don't think it has happened often that a regulator failed like that. Mine won't dial up past 60 (Screw won't go in further) and if you try to it starts to blow the pressure relief valve on the regulator at 55 -60 PSI, that is true of all my regs. Plus remember the tubing going to the corny is probably not rated at 800 PSI so that would pop first and just empty your co2 tank instead of blowing up your cornie

EvilTOJ said:

Nah, it wouldn't explode. The lid would most likely bend out the top rim of the keg, causing explosive decompression. The keg would shoot like a rocket all around wherever it happened to be. Since it'll most likely be in a fridge, it will slam open the lid, not unlike an unholy rendition of Dracula's Beer, scaring the crap out of you. It will free itself of it's fuel and gas lines, free as a newborn baby shucking it's umbilical from it's mother. As it shoots around the room defecating your precious beer all over, coating everything in it's glory it destroys everything in it's path. It will finally subside buried into one of the walls, it's barley fuel spent.

It will be glorius.

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Are you speaking from experience?

No pressure relief valve sounds dangerous but i have never heard of an exploding keg, I know I would sure feel better if I had my seatbelt on if I was going to be in an accident. I certainly wouldnt try to dream up ways to make something bad happen and then say how improbable they actually are. Please for the sake of beer everywhere always use protection.

if thay where that important dont you think coke acola would put them on there for fear of a malfuntion , you know soda is pushed with CO2 too

but it is really nice to have one just so you can easly lower the psi in the tank if the beer is flowing to hard and suddzing up or to let off storage presser, beer is not stored at the same psi as it is despenced it take more presser to be on the keg to keep it carbed that what you use to despence it. most bars turn them up a few psi after closing to mantain the corect carbination

if i had all pin lock i would make an inline relef valve

i use pin-locks and when i got them, fiddled around with one of the "pre-set" pressure relief valves they come with. Basically is is just a pre-set psi that is checked by a spring. in taking it apart, i broke it and said f-u to paying $10 for a new one (only paid $8 for each of my kegs). So a visit to local hardware store and about $2.25 later, i had my own pressure relief valve. Of couse, it will not help out in case of a rare incident when the keg would get over pressurized, but it is easy to purge. If the valve is enclosed in the domed housing, grind the top of it out and flat. Remove the valve and remove the top section of it and the spring, leaving just the body of it. Screw it back into the lid. Using about a 5/16 by 2.5" stainless bolt (can't rember exact diameter- take lid to hardware store with you), put a washer (stainless) on it, then a rubber washer. Push it through the bottom of the body so the threaded part is sticking up out of the top of the lid and the rubber washer is in contact with the bottom of the valve body (bottom of lid). Place another s.s. washer on the bolt, on top on the lid. Make sure it is large enough to not go inside the domed part you ground open. Place a strong spring on the bolt(various ones will work) , then put the nut on and tighten. Tightening the nut will compress the spring, and in turn, pull up on the rubber washer, creating a positve seal by pulling the rubber washer tight against the bottom of the valve body on the bottom of the lid. This along with added pressure from CO2 will ensure positive seal. A little keg lube helps too!! (doesn't it always ) This seems confusing but is really very simple. I will get a picture of it and try to post. Just makes it easier to purge instead of using a non-connected fitting. If you have any ?'s, post and i will try to clarify. :rockin::rockin:

beesy said:

This seems confusing but is really very simple. I will get a picture of it and try to post. If you have any ?'s, post and i will try to clarify. :rockin::rockin:

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You are right, it is very confusing. I'd like to see some pictures but I realize this is from 2 years ago!

I'm resurrecting this post in hopes I will get a response with pictures. What are the odds?