Cleaning Duotight Disconnects

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have little red and yellow Duotight disconnects. A Youtube video says they're easy to take apart and clean. You just twist the little plastic cap off the top. Well, I can't budge them. I feel like Scrawny-Arms Rob Lowe, trying to open the mayonnaise.

Are these things permanently sealed or what?

 

[day_trippr]

I just watched the video and the presenter made it look like a baby could unscrew the cap...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Well I should hire that baby.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I should offer $5000 to any man who thinks he can open this just by twisting it with his fingers. There would be a lot of sad, embarrassed little faces.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

In case anyone is interested, I bought these things from two businesses. I contacted both, along with Kegland.

Kegland has not answered my email.

One business has not answered.

The second business sent an incoherent email requesting video.

 

[DuncB]

Maybe try a little immersion in some warm water.

You are trying to undo the other yellow end trapped in the vice? Sure the vice isn't helping to hold it shut by deforming it?

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Turn it the other way

I have two red ones, and it's not very difficult to twist them off.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The vise was not my first thought.

I bought several of these things, and none of them will come off. I am wondering if they're Chinese fakes.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Turn it the other way

I have two red ones, and it's not very difficult to twist them off.

I know they're not difficult to twist off. Unless there is something wrong.

I should post a video of me breaking one with pliers to prove they're not normal.

 

[Knightshade]

I bought mine from Williams Brewing.

They definitely took a bit for the initial breakdown, which I couldn’t do by hand either. Ended up using a set of channel locks and a rag. Subsequent efforts haven’t been as troubling and can be done by hand.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I guess I could force one, but then if it broke returning it would be a problem.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I put one in a padded 5-inch mechanic's vise, covered the cap with a rag, and twisted it with water pump pliers. It came off, but of course, it's damaged.

Are the people at Kegland total incompetents? I can't believe they would send a product out like this. Really stupid.

I have several pairs of these things. I wonder how many will survive the cleaning process and what they will look like afterward.

 

[DuncB]

Many a kegland product is developed in the firing line. Only have to read the brewzilla 4 thread to see product release then extra base plate and Bluetooth thermometer to help it work.
I've got a couple of yellow and reds of these at home and you've got me worried. Although I have only taken rwo ball lock connectors apart in 4 years. One was the kegland adjustable flow one which is rubbish.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I emailed them. They said they come from the factory tight and that I should use water pump pliers.

That is ridiculous. They advertise tool-free disassembly and created a deceptive video showing a guy popping one open effortlessly. So obviously, he used pliers off camera and then pretended everything was fine in front of customers.

I think I'll return these. I see no advantage at all over the old disconnects. I'll just fix them up for EVAbarrier. I'm not going to take ten disconnects to the workshop and spend half an hour trying to fix them.

I thought I was going to snap this thing when I opened it. I was amazed when it gave. Now it's marred, so basically, I paid for a new disconnect and got a scratch and dent.

 

[scrap iron]

I bought a few Duotight QD fittings and had trouble getting them on the ball lock posts on my kegs. They fit on very tight and are hard to push completely on the post. I finally gave up on them and switched back to regular QD with 1/4'' flare plus a Duotight flare fitting.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Any disadvantage to your new setup?

 

[scrap iron]

Any disadvantage to your new setup?

No, not really other than a little extra cost of buying the two parts. The only drawback I see is the Duotight QD where the tubing comes out is more space saving. The tube outlet is horizontal and the old style QD comes out at an angle. If you have minimal space above the kegs or stack kegs it might be an issue. I have ample space above my kegs so not an issue for me.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Where's the best place to buy your fittings?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Looks like a conversion will run me around $12 per keg.

I have found that a few of the Duotights can be opened without pliers.

 

[scrap iron]

Are you asking me? I got them from my LHBS but I have bought some from Williams in the recent past, the Duotight flares.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Any disadvantage to your new setup?

One potential issue is that the adapter (Duotight Push-In Fitting - 8 mm (5/16 in.) x 1/4 in. Flare | MoreBeer) is a fairly soft plastic material. That means you have plastic threads on the female end and metal threads on the male end. I generally like to take apart this connection when cleaning, so I have some concerns how long these threads will last.

I also picked up one of the Kegland disconnects to try. I did not have quite the problems unscrewing the cap, but I recall it was on fairly tight. The form factor is nice and it is nice to have it all in one unit. The plastic does not feel as solid as my several CMB disconnects.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have an update. Things aren't as bad as they seemed.

I got out all the disconnects I ordered. I have a total of 16. I am lucky enough to have a 5" mechanics vise with padded jaws. I put the disconnects in the vise, gripping the caps, and twisted the other ends as hard as I could.

If memory serves, 25% of the disconnects could be opened by hand from the factory. One was so bad, I had to use water pump pliers and a rag in addition to the vise, and I gouged the cap, but the disconnect works. Most of the rest eventually yielded to the vise

Two disconnects withstood the vise, but fortunately, I have an expensive pair or Japanese padded pliers, and they worked. I suspect the vise squeezes the caps against the disconnects so much it increases the friction, so it works against itself. The padded pliers don't squeeze as hard, but they grip very well.

I still have two disconnects I haven't fooled with because they are in use.

Overall, a disgraceful performance by Kegland, but if you have the right tools, you should be able to get your disconnects open.

 

[BongoYodeler]

@KegLand has a presence here. I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say about this.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I told them they should ship the disconnects unassembled.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I had 4 disconnects I was using. I just replaced them and checked them. One was okay. Two could be removed with the padded pliers. The fourth was a real bear, but the vise got it off. It looks like you need a tool that will apply lots of torque while squeezing as little as possible.

After fixing these disconnects, I took the ones I was not using and applied a tiny amount of silicone grease to the threads.

 

[balrog]

I bought two ea of the gas and liquid and while tight, they were not pliers-tight to disassemble.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I bought two ea of the gas and liquid and while tight, they were not pliers-tight to disassemble.

I'll have to check mine. I bought one pair as a test.

 

[Yesfan]

I bought two ea of the gas and liquid and while tight, they were not pliers-tight to disassemble.

Same here but nothing that a pair of channel locks couldn't handle.