Leaky keg in the keezer

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beerfactory

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... this past weekend, I was attending a wedding. Hastily, I grabbed a chilled 2.5 gallon keg, keg charger, picnic tap and tossed everything into a cooler with ice.

When I got to the wedding, I noticed I had forgotten a liquid disconnect. doh, left that cooler in the truck!

I had disconnected the picnic tap from a keg in my keezer with ~ a gallon left. When I came back, I found I the poppet spring upside down on the out post. The gallon of beer leaked into my keezer because of my poppet error. Since I had left my tank turned on, it leaked down too.

Didn't tell ANYONE (wife did complement my hygiene when she saw me finish cleaning the keezer) about these ridiculous errors. Consider this a confessional.
 
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Lol funny what happens in a rush. No shame fellow brewer, I am sure this wont be yours or my last beer gaffe.
 
Do not feel bad. Last night I forgot to put the hose clamps on my mini keg and a whole gallon of DFH90 Min went out of the mini fridge and onto our nice clean carpet!

-Altrez
 
... this past weekend, I was attending a wedding. Hastily, I grabbed a chilled 2.5 gallon keg...

Haste is your enemy. Or not finishing what you started because you get diverted. That's when you forget things. Happens to all of us.

I still wonder how the spring ended up outside the post though. Magic trick? Or did you mean the quick disconnect (the one you forgot) was laying upside down on the post?

I have a keg post where the poppet sometimes doesn't quite seal and a little bit of beer keeps oozing out. Pressing it down a little reseats it. I'm bound to forget that one day and will find the same mess you did. I did put a sticker on the handle, though, as a reminder.
 
I have a keg post where the poppet sometimes doesn't quite seal and a little bit of beer keeps oozing out. Pressing it down a little reseats it. I'm bound to forget that one day and will find the same mess you did. I did put a sticker on the handle, though, as a reminder.

I have a similar problem on one of my kegs, for the most part it works fine if the disconnect/bev line is on it, very very minimal dripage but when i took it out of the kegerator to finish the build and do some maintenance it left a nice ring on the floor.
 
I have a similar problem on one of my kegs, for the most part it works fine if the disconnect/bev line is on it, very very minimal dripage but when i took it out of the kegerator to finish the build and do some maintenance it left a nice ring on the floor.

That's a different problem!

Once you press the QD onto the post, the poppet in the post and the poppet inside the QD have no sealing function. The seal is made by the post's o-ring.

So if it leaks when the QD is on the post, check the post for damage, cracks, deep scratches or burrs. And definitely lubricate or replace the o-ring, in some cases with one that's little thicker. It's that o-ring's duty to seal the liquid system: There should be no drips at all!

Some non-CMB QDs (e.g., Chinese knock-offs) are not made to the same standards and can be the cause of those leaks too. Look for CMB in raised lettering on the QD.

Same is valid on the gas side.
 
That's a different problem!

Once you press the QD onto the post, the poppet in the post and the poppet inside the QD have no sealing function. The seal is made by the post's o-ring.

So if it leaks when the QD is on the post, check the post for damage, cracks, deep scratches or burrs. And definitely lubricate or replace the o-ring, in some cases with one that's little thicker. It's that o-ring's duty to seal the liquid system: There should be no drips at all!

Some non-CMB QDs (e.g., Chinese knock-offs) are not made to the same standards and can be the cause of those leaks too. Look for CMB in raised lettering on the QD.

Same is valid on the gas side.

Thanks for the input. It's a newly purchased used keg and despite getting new O-rings with it I didn't replace them because I was in a hurry. Guess this speaks directly to your Haste is the Enemy line above. I'll check it out and maybe replace the post entirely once I run the keg dry. It's still about 80% full so I guess I'll just have to drink quickly.
 
After many concussions and brain trauma, that's pretty much everyday for me. As Ralph Parker from the Christmas story would say "Don't bother me, I'm thinking"
 
Thanks for the input. It's a newly purchased used keg and despite getting new O-rings with it I didn't replace them because I was in a hurry. Guess this speaks directly to your Haste is the Enemy line above. I'll check it out and maybe replace the post entirely once I run the keg dry. It's still about 80% full so I guess I'll just have to drink quickly.

Chances are a new o-ring will fix it. And some o-rings are just a tad too skinny.

Keg lube (or food-grade vaseline) really helps rubber o-rings to seal. It also reduces friction mainly on the QDs. If you really got to push or pull hard on the QD, it needs lube!

I got a little tub (a cubic inch, maybe) of that keg lube and although people claim it will last a lifetime, I can see running out of it in 2 years. It's about half used up already, been using it for 3 years.

A deep scratch on the inside of the QD can also cause seepage. If you've ever tried to push a QD onto the wrong post, it can get scratched badly. A deformed QD collar can cause leaks too. I boiled one and I can tell you that was not a good idea! Hot or warm PBW is enough, it doesn't need to be boiled. :smack:

Speaking of damaged posts, I have one where the top lip is bent down on one side. It's very noticeable. Yet, there are no sealing problems with it, whatsoever. But one where a thread of a cleaning rag inadvertently got stuck under the o-ring leaked like a sieve.
 
Chances are a new o-ring will fix it. And some o-rings are just a tad too skinny.

Keg lube (or food-grade vaseline) really helps rubber o-rings to seal. It also reduces friction mainly on the QDs. If you really got to push or pull hard on the QD, it needs lube!

I got a little tub (a cubic inch, maybe) of that keg lube and although people claim it will last a lifetime, I can see running out of it in 2 years. It's about half used up already, been using it for 3 years.

A deep scratch on the inside of the QD can also cause seepage. If you've ever tried to push a QD onto the wrong post, it can get scratched badly. A deformed QD collar can cause leaks too. I boiled one and I can tell you that was not a good idea! Hot or warm PBW is enough, it doesn't need to be boiled. :smack:

Speaking of damaged posts, I have one where the top lip is bent down on one side. It's very noticeable. Yet, there are no sealing problems with it, whatsoever. But one where a thread of a cleaning rag inadvertently got stuck under the o-ring leaked like a sieve.

Funny you should mention putting the DQ on the wrong post... that definitely happened with this set, again, haste is the enemy here. I have keg lube and when I noticed the leak I did put a bit on but I should probably replace the DQ and O-rings once this kegs cashed. This is what I get for rushing, I was trying to get this keg cleaned, sanitized, the beer racked into it and quick carb it all during my son's nap... ended up rushing everything and not doing my normal process.:smack:
 
Funny you should mention putting the DQ on the wrong post... that definitely happened with this set, again, haste is the enemy here. I have keg lube and when I noticed the leak I did put a bit on but I should probably replace the DQ and O-rings once this kegs cashed. This is what I get for rushing, I was trying to get this keg cleaned, sanitized, the beer racked into it and quick carb it all during my son's nap... ended up rushing everything and not doing my normal process.:smack:

It's amazing what one can cram in that little gap of time when the little one finally takes a nap. Now sleep deprivation doesn't help in keeping focus either. They do grow up fast, so enjoy their fresh untainted spirit while they're that little.

When you get a chance, study the QD, post and o-rings and it will be clear where the problem lies. You can always try a new (CMB!) QD to see if it improves, to eliminate one factor and narrowing it down. You'll become a keg-listener in no time.

Looks like you'll be brewing again soon. That 2-Hearted clone is a wonderful IPA. My 2nd iteration on that is about ready for cold crashing, still conditioning while trying to eek another point or 2 out of it, it was at 1.012 a few days ago. It's really cloudy still, so that's good. Used WY1272 at 65.5°F for a week. I moved all the late hops up quite a bit and used a long, 1 hour hopstand/whirlpool: it needed more hop flavor judging by the 1st effort.
 

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