Ball lock QD difficulty

How difficult is it supposed to be to remove the liquid side disconnects from a ball lock keg? I only have two kegs and both of them are a mother to get off, I need to keep twisting while pulling up, and sometimes need a screwdriver to get it started. The "in" side is a little stiff on both kegs but manageable, nowhere near as hard as the liquid "out" side.

I can assume it's not supposed to be this hard, I have keg lube on the post o-rings. Are you supposed to slather the lube on or just enough to cover the 0-rings?

Also the QD's are brand new, do they need to have some time to "break-in"?

Thanks for the help.

It should be very easy to remove them. I just lift up on the locking ring and pull them off without much effort. You are using gray for gas and black for liquid, right?

Do you have the posts in the right place? There are a couple of different style posts for the ball lock kegs. The gas in post could be a twelve point or a six point with notches cut into the flats. The liquid side would just be a six point with no notches.

Here is a photo of some different style ball lock gas in posts. The twelve point style is not pictured here, but you can see that these clearly all have notches cut into the flats that signify that they are gas in posts.

Good point. A gas connector will go on either a gas or liquid plug without any problem. A liquid connector can be forced onto a gas plug, but it isn't easy. Unfortunately, the screw thread is exactly the same and it's easy to reverse them.

I've also had connectors where the balls get sticky & stuck. If the plugs are correct, try soaking the connectors overnight, then apply a little lube to the balls themselves.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll check these out later. I wonder if maybe I was sent the wrong ones with the kegs? Like I said, the Gas in side is easy enough--I just have trouble with the liquid side.

The only time mine get stuck is when the post o-rings need a little lube.

david_42 said:

...then apply a little lube to the balls themselves.

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LOL!

Sorry David, I couldn't resist!

The only time mine have been hard to get off is when they are on the wrong side. When I put the gas on the out side, it take forever to get it off.

hey guys, what tools do you use to remove the posts pictured above.

I have mostly standard posts i can use a socket set on. However, I have one that has about 10 tips on the fitting (not sure what to call the piece at the bottom of the post. I'm not sure if it's the one pictured in this thread or not.

I've not taken any of the posts out, but i need to take the one i just described as i found a leak last night with the soap and water.

Are you sure it has 10 and not 12 points? If it has 12 points you can get a 12 point socket at the regular hardware store. If it has 10 points I have no idea.

Johnsma22 nailed the problem, after checking both kegs I can see that the posts are in the wrong place. I am pretty sure I returned them to the same place I removed them from, but at least I know now what the problem is.

Thanks, Johnsma22.

When you break them down to clean them, the one with the groove is the gas one. You don't want to get them backwards or you'll have this problem all over.

rdwj said:

When you break them down to clean them, the one with the groove is the gas one. You don't want to get them backwards or you'll have this problem all over.

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You know, I read a bunch of threads about kegging before I jumped into it and never saw anything about posts with different slots. Oh well live and learn. I definitely won't make that mistake again.

Illinibrew said:

hey guys, what tools do you use to remove the posts pictured above.

I have mostly standard posts i can use a socket set on. However, I have one that has about 10 tips on the fitting (not sure what to call the piece at the bottom of the post. I'm not sure if it's the one pictured in this thread or not.

I've not taken any of the posts out, but i need to take the one i just described as i found a leak last night with the soap and water.

Click to expand...

You will need a 7/8" twelve point deep socket to fit that style gas in post. The other size that ball lock fittings come in is 11/16". Liquid out fittings will always be 6 point, but since a twelve point socket will fit a six point post (and not the other way around) your better off just getting twelve point deep sockets.

John

Flyin' Lion said:

Johnsma22 nailed the problem, after checking both kegs I can see that the posts are in the wrong place. I am pretty sure I returned them to the same place I removed them from, but at least I know now what the problem is.

Thanks, Johnsma22.

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My pleasure FL! I'm glad I could help and that it was something simple.

John