Corny Keg help needed! How to pry off a quick disconnect (gas) from the "out" post?

I went to my local beer & wine making store to get the gaskets replaced on my corny keg (ball lock) but unfortunately the gray quick disconnect was locked onto the "out" post by mistake (which was placed in the "in" location of the keg by mistake). Another proof that the in/out posts are misplaced on the keg, my picnic tap will NOT lock onto the other post, so that post is clearly the "in" post, and the quick disconnect is locked onto the "out" post and I can't get it off. Any advice? What tools can I use to pry it off without damaging it too much?

put a pair of vice-grips on it, and hit it with a hammer from the bottom. said from experience

Do you mean hit with a hammer the part that you're supposed to be able to pull up to unlock/disconnect from the post (but won't pull up cause it's on the wrong post)? The bottom of it is the outlet post it's stuck onto and I don't think you mean to hit THAT with a hammer. I don't know if sticking a screwdriver in between the part that's supposed to lift up will do anything or what...

I got it off!! With just the vice-grips, didn't need the hammer, THANKS!!! I appreciate your help!

So, very old thread, but google got me here after I did this same dumb thing and couldn't for the life of me pull the damn qd off with vice grips. Tip to anyone reading this years later.... take a blow dryer to the QD for a few minutes - it came right off. Trapped honey blonde is now saved.

krebs119 said:

So, very old thread, but google got me here after I did this same dumb thing and couldn't for the life of me pull the damn qd off with vice grips. Tip to anyone reading this years later.... take a blow dryer to the QD for a few minutes - it came right off. Trapped honey blonde is now saved.

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Good to know! I had the same thing happen a month ago, tried every tool I could think of and couldn't get the thing to budge. Had to suck it up and go buy a new post & QD. Will remember this one although I hope I don't do it again....

Remember the POST with the GROOVE cut on the flats is the GAS post. Connects to the GREY QD.

krebs119 said:

So, very old thread, but google got me here after I did this same dumb thing and couldn't for the life of me pull the damn qd off with vice grips. Tip to anyone reading this years later.... take a blow dryer to the QD for a few minutes - it came right off. Trapped honey blonde is now saved.

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Great tip! just a note though, if it got stuck and you got it off you probably need to pitch that QD. You had to warp it, even if every so slightly to get it on/off the incorrect post. Probably going to leak from this point forward, and with kegging luck, only intermittently so its a real PITA to find, figure out and fix. Maybe the hairdryer temp caused the plastic to expand and it will contract when the temp goes down but be leery. Still a great tip for removal though!

As I like to say - Groove-Gray-Gas.

Notches go in.

I use red o-rings for the gas side, black ones for the beer side. It helps me to not screw up again. And this is a major advantage pinlock kegs have, there's absolutely no way to put the hose on the wrong post.

corkybstewart said:

I use red o-rings for the gas side, black ones for the beer side. It helps me to not screw up again. And this is a major advantage pinlock kegs have, there's absolutely no way to put the hose on the wrong post.

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^^^Amen!!!!

RedlegEd said:

^^^Amen!!!!

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I can attach the fittings onto my pinlocks in the dark without screwing them up! Very handy when I'm hooking up a keg in the back of my fridge where I can't see which post is which.

I didn't know about the gorrves, thanks. I did know:

Black Beer
gas gray

and I have little "G" and "B" written on the left and right underside of the keezer lid so I can only see them when its open. I always glance up when I'm connecting hoses. Was accused of praying once, I just grinned

krebs119 said:

So, very old thread, but google got me here after I did this same dumb thing and couldn't for the life of me pull the damn qd off with vice grips. Tip to anyone reading this years later.... take a blow dryer to the QD for a few minutes - it came right off. Trapped honey blonde is now saved.

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You just saved me!!! Just used the blow dryer and it worked great. Thank you!!!

krebs119 said:

So, very old thread, but google got me here after I did this same dumb thing and couldn't for the life of me pull the damn qd off with vice grips. Tip to anyone reading this years later.... take a blow dryer to the QD for a few minutes - it came right off. Trapped honey blonde is now saved.

Click to expand...

This totally saved me today and actually got me to open an account just so I could say thank you!!!

To try and avoid this issue, I put red o-rings on the gas post (in) and black on the beer post (out). Makes it easy to see which is which without having to look for the notch on the post.

pvpeacock said:

To try and avoid this issue, I put red o-rings on the gas post (in) and black on the beer post (out). Makes it easy to see which is which without having to look for the notch on the post.

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Good idea, but I put GREEN for GAS and BLUE for BEER (or beverage).

^lol^ Double-secret post coding. You could never have someone tap one of your kegs without the potential for chaos

Cheers!

Just clicked on the thread out of curiosity and noticed I was the first answer on a 12 year old thread...

Yep. My o-rings are color-coded. Blue for BEER!

I also used some cool paint markers to make it obvious for druck me.

passedpawn said:

I also used some cool paint markers to make it obvious for druck me.

View attachment 835160

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If you notice in the picture above, there’s a little dimple in the handle between the red “S” and the post. Not all kegs have them, but when they do, they’re on the gas side. I have used this in low-light connecting.

My kegs are also labeled like @passedpawn. I also put universal posts (they have two notches vs one notch for the gas only posts) on three of my kegs for added insurance.