Differences in Liquid and Gas Posts?

I'm in the process of disassembling a ball lock keg, and after I had both posts removed, realized that I didn't mark them to know which was gas and which was liquid. Usually I replace the o-ring (green for gas and blue for beer) before this point so I can tell the difference, but I spaced out this time around. I know I shouldn't mix up the posts, but they're looking pretty similar to me!!



So, I have a post that looks like the one on the left with the same poppet, and another just like it, but without the notches at the base and a poppet that is the same as the middle one (with the lip on the edge of the poppet). Can I tell which is which without getting my disconnects stuck?

Edit: see hb_99's entry

Thanks! Is that usually the case, or just in this instance? Were the poppets helpful in making that determination? From my reading it seems like there are a decent number of refurbished kegs out there with mismatched posts and poppets, making it a bit harder to figure out.

Either way, I appreciate the info!

Gas posts are Always Notched, or otherwise marked in a different manner. But none the less, Gas Posts are the marked ones.

Sorry guys...not this time.

The two on the ends have a small flange...that's gas in (grey QD). The one in the middle is a large flange, that's beer out (black QD).

I agree that they are all gas in the picture and that gas posts have notches.

Nope -- Bill is correct. The middle one is a liquid post. Look closely:

If you get them mixed up, just try plugging them both into a gas fitting. The gas post will slide right into the fitting, but the beer out post will only fit if you FORCE it on.

Just look at the flange...BIG flange = BEER = BLACK. Keep the B's together...

This could be the single best thread ever for me. I never new why one of my kegs was so damn hard to fit the beer out line onto.... now I know I have two gas posts on that keg. I have almost hulked out and destroyed the keg many many times. Now I know I can fix it.

Thanks guys

You're welcome...

Dang, 99! You're messing with my system.

Is the flange the only difference? Will they still work to some degree if they are on wrong?

RegionalChaos said:

Is the flange the only difference? Will they still work to some degree if they are on wrong?

Click to expand...

The flange is the only difference..a little means a lot in this case.

But so are the QDs...that's why they are color coded.

No, they should not go on the other posts. The location of the ball bearings are the key.

If it goes on tight...it's not right!!!

Thanks a lot for the tips everyone. I noticed the larger flange after I posted and thought that might be another "clue." I'm glad that I have yet another mnemonic to help me out with the posts!

Big = Black = Beer
Blue = Black = Beer
Green = Grey = Gas

Btw, I did scroll through all the current threads in the Keg/Bottling forum and search this out prior to posting, but a search for posts leads to a lot of results!

Hmm.. I'll have to check when I get home, but I may have put my posts on wrong on the batch I just kegged last week. (first time kegging) I planned on naturally carbing. When I went to purge the oxygen with co2 the connection did seem very tight. My concern is that I don't really have a good co2 setup yet. I was planning on using a charger to push the beer. If I open it up to switch the posts, will it lose much carbonation? Will it work out ok if I open it, switch them, close it, then push in some co2 with my charger? Gonna have to check this out when I get home...

Same here. I'm going to have to check all of my Kegs.

Phewww... doubled check and it looks good.

Yup...I screwed that up! Thanks for the help!

Aside from the step size, notice how small the middle posts notches are. I suspect they are just an artifact of the manufacturing process, and not an actual "notch". Notice how pronounced the outer two notches are? Real gas notches are supposed to be felt easily in the dark/out of sight.

On second look you're right that is a liquid ridge. My old "hospital" style cornies have tiny notches like that though so the notches aren't always huge or feelable. It's a crazy Frankenstein post! Ahh!

damn. I'm glad I found this. I've been cussing at one of my corney's forever. Time to just FIX it.