Any way to reshape the lip of a dip tube?

[J2W2]

Hi,

A few of the lips (flanges, whatever) on my dip tubes are fairly distorted. Is there any way to reshape these without making them worse? I've tried "tapping" on them with a hammer, but since they're stainless steel, it's going to take more than that. I've enclosed a picture of one of them. This one is bad enough that it chews up an o-ring every time I keg with it. I'm slightly surprised it doesn't leak.

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Some of the "new to me" kegs I've bought had dip tube with bent flanges that kinda looked like that.
I set them in a bench vise, hanging down from the flange, and then gently tightened down so the bends were atop a vise jaw.
Then I tapped them with a hammer to flatten them, rotating the dip tube as needed to get the flange uniformly shaped.
Worked a treat...

Cheers!

 

[Golddiggie]

Honestly, I wouldn't screw around with trying to fix that. Even if I got it to where it looked "OK" to the eye, I'd be concerned about it eating o-rings. Keg Connection has replacement dip tubes you can get off them (I've bought more than a few over the years).
https://www.kegconnection.com/used-liquid-out-dip-tube-replacement/
They have over 1600 of the ball lock liquid dip tubes in stock right now. $16 each.

 

[J2W2]

Some of the "new to me" kegs I've bought had dip tube with bent flanges that kinda looked like that.
I set them in a bench vise, hanging down from the flange, and then gently tightened down so the bends were atop a vise jaw.
Then I tapped them with a hammer to flatten them, rotating the dip tube as needed to get the flange uniformly shaped.
Worked a treat...

I'm not sure why I was thinking the flange should be rounded - I guess because the o-rings are. Looking at some of my other tubes, I see it should be flat all the way around (no wonder the curved part cuts up the o-rings). I'll give your method a try.

Honestly, I wouldn't screw around with trying to fix that. Even if I got it to where it looked "OK" to the eye, I'd be concerned about it eating o-rings. Keg Connection has replacement dip tubes you can get off them (I've bought more than a few over the years).

I had searched for replacements, and saw they run around $16. I thought I'd check here first to see if there was a fix. I think I'll give Day Tripper's suggestion a try, and if it seems to straighten it well I'll pressure test it empty to see if it holds and how the o-ring fares. If there's any issue at that point I'll just replace it.

Thanks to both of you for the help!

 

[IslandLizard]

They have over 1600 of the ball lock liquid dip tubes in stock right now. $16 each.

I've seen several models of long dip tubes on sale at AIH for about $3-4 a piece.
That's much more reasonable than $16. I've bought whole ball lock kegs for $30.

 

[J2W2]

I've seen several models of long dip tubes on sale at AIH for about $3-4 a piece.
That's much more reasonable than $16. I've bought whole ball lock kegs for $30.

Looks like around $5 right now, for used dip tubes. They say "with ears" or "no ears". They have a photo comparing the two, but kind of hard to tell. "With ears" may be a rounded flange, while "no ears" is a flat flange? Hopefully their quality control is good; I wouldn't want to pay $5 for the one I have!

 

[IslandLizard]

Looks like around $5 right now, for used dip tubes. They say "with ears" or "no ears". They have a photo comparing the two, but kind of hard to tell. "With ears" may be a rounded flange, while "no ears" is a flat flange? Hopefully their quality control is good; I wouldn't want to pay $5 for the one I have!

Damn, prices go up everywhere...
Yet, $5 is still better than $16. Maybe there are some other things you'd need while you;re shopping.

"Ears" on dip tubes refer to 2 extrusions on opposite sides of the dip tube right below the flange. They're for certain keg brands where the inside of the threaded stub on top has indentations to match. I guess it prevents the dip tube from rotating.

If you're concerned about the quality of those tubes, particularly the flange, contact them. They've always been friendly and extremely helpful.
I'm pretty sure those dip tubes (lids and other parts) were pilfered from old kegs, before they were scrapped. My LHBS had a bucket full of them (not for sale) probably to service used kegs before they put them up for sale.

To reshape the domed flange of the bent/flattened ones, you'd need to fabricate a small "anvil" with the right dome shape. A tight fitting, drilled out nut and a grinder/dremel/file to shape a dome. Use a piece of hardwood and a hammer to tap/stretch the flange back over the dome. You could get more elaborate...

 

[day_trippr]

No need to dome the flanges, the O-rings have enough thickness to deal with them flat...

Cheers!

 

[Golddiggie]

I've seen several models of long dip tubes on sale at AIH for about $3-4 a piece.
That's much more reasonable than $16. I've bought whole ball lock kegs for $30.

Sure, $5 (as posted after this) is a better price. I usually just check KC first since I know they get them. If you can locate them for cheaper, even better. I still have a few spares (haven't made more of what they get used in yet) so it's no issue. IIRC, I bought them on sale for <1/2 of what they are now (at keg connection).