two different sizes/styles of ball lock posts?

I recently picked up a couple more cornies and have finally gotten around to using them. I kegged a batch a few weeks ago and hooked it to the gas to carb up, and I finally was ready to tap the keg a couple of days ago.

I was surprised to find that the liquid side seems to have a post that is slightly different than my other cornies and the connector will NOT go onto it. It's as if the post is just *slightly* taller than "normal" and the connector won't go on far enough to click into place.

The other keg I got at the same time as this one works fine and the gas connector on this one keg is also fine. It's just the liquid side post on one keg that seems to be different. I can't see any difference with the naked eye, but there is clearly something different about it.

I worked around the issue by swapping the liquid post from an empty keg with the oddball post so that I could tap the new keg, but it's going to be a pain in the ass to keep doing that every time.

Are you guys aware of there being multiple, slightly different, post sizes for cornies?

Liquid and gas posts are differnt... could it have had the wrong post in the wrong location on the keg? I know liquid and gas are different posts, other than that they should be the same liquid-liquid and gas-gas

No, that's not it.

Liquid and gas posts are different, that's true. But, it's easy to see how the L and G posts are different if you look at them side-by-side. This keg definitely has one liquid post and one gas post, and they are in the proper locations on the keg.

The gas post is 100% fine and connected no problem when I hooked it to the gas to carb up. The liquid post LOOKS like all of the other liquid posts one all of my other kegs based on a side-by-side visual comparison, but the friggin' connector just won't go on it. I'm going to measure it later, because whatever difference there is is very subtle.

Never heard of such a thing

willynilly said:

Never heard of such a thing

Click to expand...

Yeah.... me either. That's why I was baffled when I couldn't get the thing on!

Looking around a little (thanks to AHS for having good pictures of the posts), I have a theory that there was a manufacturer mismatch between the post and the keg. Meaning, someone sold a cornie with a firestone post on it.

The threading difference between the two posts is only 1/32", so I'm sure you could get the wrong post threaded onto the keg with no real problems. In fact, if I can trust the pictures on AHS to accurately reflect what the post looks like, I absolutely put a different style onto the thing when I "fixed" it last night.

AHS shows that the cornelius posts look like this:


and the firestone posts look like this:


I know for a fact that I removed a firestone post and put on a cornelius post (if I can trust these images).

But... look at the base of the two posts. There is a lot more space at the bottom of the cornelius post for it to thread on to the nipple on the keg.

What I think might be going on is that the firestone post (the one I removed because I couldn't get the f*cker connected) was installed on a cornelius keg and the threaded nipple was pushed so far up into the post that the poppet couldn't depress far enough when I put the connector on, which prevented the connector from being able to go on far enough to latch into place.

That might totally explain it.

I'll have to check the manufacturer of the keg when I get home.

Perhaps........

I do remember when I squatted down with two kegs side-by-side to compare the posts, I noticed that the "bad" post didn't seem like it was installed all the way down. There was a gap between that large nut at the bottom of the firestone post at the rubber surface of the keg top.

I don't know if I feel any better about it, though. If this turns out to be the problem, then the solution is to buy a new/proper post for the keg.

I have 1 keg out of my 5 that I have a HELL of a time getting the liquid connector on and off. Just one. Assuming the posts are different, I've never seen different options for the ball lock connectors. I know it is a liquid post.

This confirms your post differences from AHS as well.

IrregularPulse said:

I have 1 keg out of my 5 that I have a HELL of a time getting the liquid connector on and off. Just one. Assuming the posts are different, I've never seen different options for the ball lock connectors. I know it is a liquid post.

Click to expand...

Right. There is just one size of connector. It fits both the cornelius ball-lock posts as well as the firestone ball-lock posts because the top half of the posts are identical in shape.

But, the nipples on the kegs that the posts thread onto is different between firestone and corny. They are 1/32" different in diameter and I suspect there is also some difference in the height of the nipple. The poppet valves inside of the posts are also different.

My theory is that the nipple on the keg and poppet inside the post are interfering with each other and preventing the connector from going down all the way.

Confirmed. I have a cornelius keg with firestone posts.

I removed that one liquid post I was having problems with from it's keg and the connector easily slides onto it (the poppet falls out when the post is removed).

Sucks.

i sent you a pm

bendavanza said:

i sent you a pm

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bendavanza rocks.

Just saying.....

I also discovered that when I tried on the new posts I'd ordered for my cornelius keg only one side, the Gas, fitted , then i realized I'd ordered firestones, not thinking it would make a difference .
it does make the action of engaging the gas QD rather tight as well but somehow i kind of managed to carb and dispense a keg and I'm waiting for my parts to arrive to change out
cheers

My posts thread on all the way it's just a PITA to push the connector down. I think I need to check the O-Ring. It may be too large.

IrregularPulse said:

My posts thread on all the way it's just a PITA to push the connector down. I think I need to check the O-Ring. It may be too large.

Click to expand...

I'd still check the manufacturer difference.

The firestone post was not able to screw all the way onto the original keg, and I could not get the liquid connector on.

On the keg that I moved that "bad" post to.... it DID screw all the way on, and if I am VERY forceful I can get the liquid connector onto the thing.... which sounds exactly like what you are experiencing with yours.

Have you tried to fit the bad post on a disconnect when it's not on a keg? Your trouble might be with the poppet and not the post. If the poppet doesn't have enough room to move underneath, it might jam the pin in the ball lock.

B

bad coffee said:

Have you tried to fit the bad post on a disconnect when it's not on a keg? Your trouble might be with the poppet and not the post. If the poppet doesn't have enough room to move underneath, it might jam the pin in the ball lock.

B

Click to expand...

Yes, I tried this. Post #12 above:

Walker said:

I removed that one liquid post I was having problems with from it's keg and the connector easily slides onto it (the poppet falls out when the post is removed).

Click to expand...

But, since the poppet falls out when I take the post off, it doesn't really help determine of the problem is the poppet alone, or the poppet combined with the fact that that the post is on the wrong style of keg.

Walker said:

I'd still check the manufacturer difference.

The firestone post was not able to screw all the way onto the original keg, and I could not get the liquid connector on.

On the keg that I moved that "bad" post to.... it DID screw all the way on, and if I am VERY forceful I can get the liquid connector onto the thing.... which sounds exactly like what you are experiencing with yours.

Click to expand...

bad coffee said:

Have you tried to fit the bad post on a disconnect when it's not on a keg? Your trouble might be with the poppet and not the post. If the poppet doesn't have enough room to move underneath, it might jam the pin in the ball lock.

B

Click to expand...

I will try both of these. Thanks

The Chi-company has a great poppet pic gallery saying which type goes with which keg.

http://www.chicompany.net/index.php...c366ff11f9018315182ef0d5615986&keyword=poppet