foofoosalad
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- Aug 17, 2013
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First of all, apologies - I know this topic has been covered in many threads, but I need some more clarification on getting the spear out of a 30 litre european sanke keg. Because I intend to use it as a fermentor, I don't mind in the slightest if the spear is damaged beyond useful existence during removal, but I don't want to cut open the keg.
- This keg has a threaded retainer ring that I have removed. The spear housing has an "S" followed by some numbers on it (visible in the third image below).
- The spear lifts out of the keg so that it's about a 1/4" above the neck, but a safety tab prevents it from going any further.
- To sum up what I've read before, to get the spear out of keg, one needs disable the safety tab. How to do this is what I need clarification on.
- To make sure I'm clear about nomenclature, I'll define what I'm talking about with image 2
--- "inner spring valve" is the small, spring loaded valve that is about 3/8" in diameter. It can be depressed using a screw driver into the middle of the spear
--- "outer spring valve" surrounds the inner spring valve and is the diameter of the opening. This one has a black rubber seal. It can be depressed with a little more force outside the inner spring valve. In the third image I've kept it depressed by wedging a couple of nuts between the bottom of the housing and the top of the outer spring valve
--- part of the "safety tab" is just visible when the outer spring valve is depressed
In what I've read, it's the "safety tab" that's keeping the spear in, and therefore it's what must be manipulated to get the spear out. Some posts suggest, hitting the safety tab to dislodge it. Some seem to suggest hooking and pulling it towards the middle so that it no longer catches. I also read something that sounded like someone pulled out the "inner spring valve" with brute force and that helped to release the safety tab. Others made it sound like once the outer spring valve was depressed, the safety clip would disengage and the spear would lift out.
So far, none of the above have worked for me, but I might just have been interpreting the instructions incorrectly.
Could anyone clarify the steps to remove the spear? I don't mind if the spear is damaged but really don't want to cut the top (because I want to use it as a fermentor).
Thanks in advance!
- This keg has a threaded retainer ring that I have removed. The spear housing has an "S" followed by some numbers on it (visible in the third image below).
- The spear lifts out of the keg so that it's about a 1/4" above the neck, but a safety tab prevents it from going any further.
- To sum up what I've read before, to get the spear out of keg, one needs disable the safety tab. How to do this is what I need clarification on.
- To make sure I'm clear about nomenclature, I'll define what I'm talking about with image 2
--- "inner spring valve" is the small, spring loaded valve that is about 3/8" in diameter. It can be depressed using a screw driver into the middle of the spear
--- "outer spring valve" surrounds the inner spring valve and is the diameter of the opening. This one has a black rubber seal. It can be depressed with a little more force outside the inner spring valve. In the third image I've kept it depressed by wedging a couple of nuts between the bottom of the housing and the top of the outer spring valve
--- part of the "safety tab" is just visible when the outer spring valve is depressed
In what I've read, it's the "safety tab" that's keeping the spear in, and therefore it's what must be manipulated to get the spear out. Some posts suggest, hitting the safety tab to dislodge it. Some seem to suggest hooking and pulling it towards the middle so that it no longer catches. I also read something that sounded like someone pulled out the "inner spring valve" with brute force and that helped to release the safety tab. Others made it sound like once the outer spring valve was depressed, the safety clip would disengage and the spear would lift out.
So far, none of the above have worked for me, but I might just have been interpreting the instructions incorrectly.
Could anyone clarify the steps to remove the spear? I don't mind if the spear is damaged but really don't want to cut the top (because I want to use it as a fermentor).
Thanks in advance!