Leaking keg

[kharper6]

Alright so I picked up a set of 3 kegs off of craigslist last month. They are literally "new" looking (I got lucky). They are ball-lock. Two of them are fantastic. However, unfortunately I decided to rack into a bad one for my serving. I put all new lubed o-rings on it and the lid leaks no matter what I do. At about 5psi it leaks a lot. at 10psi it leaks very little, and about 15psi the leak stops. I don't serve at 15psi because I don't want a frothy mess.

Any ideas? It seems there is just a large gap between where the o ring sits and the edge of the hole. Almost like the lid doesn't fit. Should I get some "softer" o-rings? Maybe they will smoosh a bit more to seal the gap

 

[m3n00b]

Crank it up to 30psi to set the lid, then reduce to serving pressure. I had the same issue with one of mine.

 

[angrysparrow]

Put one of the other cornie lids on that keg to see if it seals. If so, you know you just need a new lid.

 

[Newsman]

Are you using keg lube on the lid?

 

[mikescooling]

Did you try turning the lid 180*? You can also double up on the 0-ring's. You know where the feet of the compression bar sit on top of the lid, you can bend or shim those up so the lid sits high'er. It sounds like the poppet in the lid may be leaking.

 

[kharper6]

Put one of the other cornie lids on that keg to see if it seals. If so, you know you just need a new lid.

I tried the other lids. Same size leak. When I come down from higher PSI it starts leaking again. It is just sitting in my fridge at 15psi now to prevent leaking.

 

[kharper6]

Did you try turning the lid 180*? You can also double up on the 0-ring's. You know where the feet of the compression bar sit on top of the lid, you can bend or shim those up so the lid sits high'er. It sounds like the poppet in the lid may be leaking.

Tried turning it 180. It isn't the poppet, I can track it to a certain spot using some shaken sanitizer, the bubbles are quite obvious.

 

[kharper6]

It seems like there is something wrong with the keg, not the lid. I may have to shim it up or get a softer o ring. It just isn't making a seal.

 

[angrysparrow]

It seems like there is something wrong with the keg, not the lid. I may have to shim it up or get a softer o ring. It just isn't making a seal.

If the lid hatch is damaged (out of round, not flat), then yes it's the keg.

A softer o-ring might work, but if you go that route you'll always need to keep some around just in case.

If you can find exactly what the problem is, you might be able to fix it. If the hatch isn't flat, you might be able to coax it with a rubber mallet, etc.

 

[Pie_Man]

Using a good amount of keg lub on the lid, maybe the outside o-rings on the posts and the poppits can help.

 

[rorypayne]

I have had this issue, tried 3 dif lids tried setting the lid with 30psi and still a leak. So I grabbed some pliers rubbed a little MAN on it and bam got a keg that seals.

Good luck!