Keg Lube ?

[crushnbugs]

Hey all,

I have not kegged my first batch yet but I am in the process of getting everything ready to go.

Can anyone tell me about Keg Lube? I have heard from some that it kills the head on the beer, is this true? I wouldn't think so, BUT I wanted to ask some of you all that have experience.

Im in the process of taking apart the ball valves, inspecting, cleaning and seeing what if anything needs replacing.

I have also heard of some that shorten up the tube inside the keg, is this necessary too? Why do we do this? Is it just to prevent the particles on the bottom from getting lodged in the tube?

Thanks

 

[badbrew]

People shorten the tube to avoid sucking up sediment. I haven't done it. use keg lube on the o-rings to help seal and last longer. Just don't put on so much. Just squeeze in your finger tips and rub your fingers around the o-rings. You might want to be liberal on the keg posts so that the lube sticks to the ball connectors.

 

[Hammy71]

Keg lube won't hurt your beer. You use it sparingly to lube your o-rings. It is essential to creating a good seal. Some cut their dip tubes to leave some of the gunk on the bottom of the keg. I don't bother, and I would suggest you don't either. Just waste the first pint or so and you'll get the same result. It's easy to cut, but very hard to put the piece back if you decide you made a mistake. Your just leaving beer in the keg IMHO.

 

[crushnbugs]

I like that idea of dumping the first pint if full of sediment, THANKS!

So the lube does not make anything go flat then…it really didn't make much sense when this guy was telling me it will go flat anyway.

 

[Hammy71]

Actually lack of lube can cause your beer to go flat. No lube, means your gaskets will probably leak.

 

[wailingguitar]

Keg lube won't hurt your beer. You use it sparingly to lube your o-rings. It is essential to creating a good seal. Some cut their dip tubes to leave some of the gunk on the bottom of the keg. I don't bother, and I would suggest you don't either. Just waste the first pint or so and you'll get the same result. It's easy to cut, but very hard to put the piece back if you decide you made a mistake. Your just leaving beer in the keg IMHO.

This ^

 

[joeybeer]

the lube is great for sealing leaky Orings.. the post that people may be talking about instead of the beer out tube, is the gas in tube.. if you cut that tube super short (like 3/4" or so) you can fit an extra couple of pints in the keg!

 

[crushnbugs]

Thanks for the help and suggestions. I just placed an order through Northern and added on some ball lock parts and some keg lube.

I can't wait to try this beer that's fermenting...

 

[wailingguitar]

the post that people may be talking about instead of the beer out tube, is the gas in tube.. if you cut that tube super short (like 3/4" or so) you can fit an extra couple of pints in the keg!

No need to cut the gas tube off, it doesn't hurt anything if it extends into the beer.

People are, in fact, talking about cutting the OUT tube. The idea is that it will draw beer from above the sediment, much in the way a racking arm does in a unitank. This is also not actually necessary since after the first pint or so the sediment will have been drawn out. More beer is usually wasted in the kegs with the cut tubes than is when drawing up the sediment.

 

[tektonjp]

Lube, but definitely sparingly. A month ago, I over lubed the lid O-ring. It caused the ring to remain stuck (momentarily) to the keg when I pulled the lid off to check on the beer level. Of course, the O-ring then fell into the beer. doh. Needless to say, I didn't fish it out.

 

[Alucard1983]

I tend to use vegetable oil instead of keg lub and it has not failed me yet