plastic gas dip tubes

[attyindaburgh]

So I have a couple of kegs that I bought used that have plastic dip tubes. For anyone that has encountered this before, do you replace the plastic tubes or drill out the holes and replace with metal ones? By the way, the existing plastic ones are pretty mangled.

 

[Hopper5000]

Those are probably the old firestone ones. I have one that is like that. I went on williamsbrew and bought new plastic dip tubes but then I didn't like the fact that they were plastic so I ended up just drilling out the hole. I would recommend doing that. It's pretty easy and there are some instructional vids on youtube that show you how to do it.

 

[attyindaburgh]

Thanks. I need to use YouTube more as a resource for information.

 

[Hopper5000]

Yeah it's pretty simple and on youtube it tells you the bit size. Only extra thing you have to remember about drilling metal is you have to have the right type of drill bit and oil the hold a little bit before you start.

 

[douglasbarbin]

I have a couple kegs with the plastic gas tubes and I hate 'em. Never thought about drilling them out, though. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[purplehaze]

I have these also. You can drill them out if you want to but I just bought some ss tubing and used a flaring tool.

 

[douglasbarbin]

I have these also. You can drill them out if you want to but I just bought some ss tubing and used a flaring tool.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Hopper5000]

Sounds like Doug just bought a smaller diameter SS tube, cut it, and flared the end out.

This is a great DIY fix but might be more expensive than drilling it out and buying a dip tube if you don't already have the tools.

 

[IslandLizard]

I have these also. You can drill them out if you want to but I just bought some ss tubing and used a flaring tool.

Care to elaborate?

I'm curious too.

Can you successfully "flare" SS tubing like that? Most flaring tools are for copper tubing, IIRC. And the "flare" on dip tubes is kinda flat, not concave. The reason is, it's supposed to create a seal on the threaded stub with an "o-ring" between. Most original dip tube o-rings have a "squared" profile.

 

[purplehaze]

I bought some ss tubing from grainger for a keezer project. I ended up cutting 1" long pieces and rented a flaring tool from an automotive store. I flared the pieces and found o-rings at HD that fit. Don't buy the flaring tool, the ss is pretty rough on it..