Anyone else have a Firestone 2 Gallon Keg? I need advice

[baldm79]

So I got a 2 gallon Firestone keg, and FINALLY found the right keg posts for it. My only issue is that the poppets stay down once they are compressed. So once the gas/liquid disconnects are hooked up, the poppet is pushed down (but not putting any resistance to allow flow from the disconnects) and CO2 and Liquid will not flow.

Anyone else ever had this issue? And what did you do?
I really appreciate any advice (the only way i can have a second keg in my fridge is if I use the little guy)!

 

[LLBeanJ]

Strange. I've never run into that situation before. Not sure why they would stay depressed and not spring back up. Maybe look into getting some universal poppets.

 

[WBB]

Can you unscrew the post and take a pic of the components? Maybe the spring is installed upside down?

 

[singybrue]

Are there o-rings under the dip tubes?

 

[baldm79]

I have had it apart and the spring is in right. Looks like maybe I'm missing a couple of these https://www.homebrewing.org/Plastic-Racetrack-Insert_p_3656.html

 

[Inkleg]

Are there o-rings under the dip tubes?

^^This^^
Plus are the dip tubes installed? Been there got the Darwin Award.

 

[Marcale]

I think I had the same problem. The back pressure from the poppet will not open the disconnect. I tried stretching the spring, which didn’t work and eventually bought new posts.

 

[baldm79]

I think I had the same problem. The back pressure from the poppet will not open the disconnect. I tried stretching the spring, which didn’t work and eventually bought new posts.

It’s weird though because these are new posts. I think there is some kind of extension missing from under the spring like the one I linked a few posts back

 

[day_trippr]

The pic is tiny but those posts do not look like anything I've found on a Firestone Challenger keg.
This is what all of my Firestone posts look like:

They are squatter than all of my other keg posts.

My guess is the OP acquired the proper poppets for true Firestone posts but as whatever he has fitted to his keg are taller the poppets don't reach the top...

Cheers!

 

[Minky]

I believe that keg is what they call the "racetrack" style. You can tell because the lid, instead of being completely oval, has straight sides. They are fairly rare and the parts are not available everywhere but, luckily, Adventures in Homebrewing seems to have a pretty good supply. I have not fully researched them, so I'm not sure how the plastic inserts are installed, but pay particular attention to the o-rings under the posts. They are thick and more like a grommet. If you have the thin round ones they will not work. Here's a link to the AIH page:

https://www.homebrewing.org/search.html?k=racetrack&AffId=160

 

[day_trippr]

^That^ looks solid - the race track style posts look like what the OP has on his keg, so there's a good chance the inserts are all that is missing...

Cheers!

 

[baldm79]

I bought the posts through AIH so that makes sense. I will try the plastic inserts and report back!

 

[Minky]

Here's what AIH is showing for the dip tube o-rings for the racetrack style kegs. They are calling it a grommet.

 

[baldm79]

Just to report back for any future humans with a similar issue, the part that I linked to a few posts back fixed my issue. Adventures in homebrewing is the spot to look if you have a racetrack keg issue. Thanks for everyone’s input, and happy brewing to all!