Corny Help

[Niederhofer]

I recently bought two ball lock corny kegs. When I tried to take them apart this evening to clean them, everything came apart as it should except the gas in valve on each keg. Is there a trick to getting them off? One is a regular hex nut, and the other is a 12 pt star. I have WD-40'd them and tried brute strength, but I am stripping the edges. I would rather not destroy them, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Scimmia]

WD-40 sucks as a penetrant. Try something with more power, like PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench.

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

you need an impact wrench or drill. the jarring action should do the trick.

 

[JesseRC]

You really just need the right tool. What are you using. You should be using a 12 point wrench or socket. Those post really just bottom out and just a 1/8 turn and they are tight. The orings keep them from leaking not how tight they are. So really the right tool and lay the keg on floor, sit on it and a slight turn should get it off.

 

[Jmac00]

soak upside down in a bath of hot water, might help.....usually holding the kegs between legs and giving the wrench a wack with hand does the trick for me. If the keg moves, get someone else to hold it if you don't have an impact...even a long bar between the two handles to stop the keg from turning while trying with the wrench helps.

 

[jds]

You need one of these guys:

It's the perfect tool for disassembling ball-lock kegs, and it only costs about $12 at Sears.

More Info: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f158/craftsman-11-16-x-7-8-wrench-ratchetin-120392

 

[Niederhofer]

OK, thanks for all the help. I took the kegs up to Lowe's and they helped me get the posts off. I also came home with a new wrench for future use. FYI, the required size is 7/8".

 

[JesseRC]

OK, thanks for all the help. I took the kegs up to Lowe's and they helped me get the posts off. I also came home with a new wrench for future use. FYI, the required size is 7/8".

Ok but how hard were they to get off once you had the right tool?

 

[david_42]

FYI, the required size is 7/8".

In some cases, but other manufacturers have different sizes.

 

[CrazyJames]

You need one of these guys:

It's the perfect tool for disassembling ball-lock kegs, and it only costs about $12 at Sears.

More Info: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f158/craftsman-11-16-x-7-8-wrench-ratchetin-120392

I would not say that it is the "Perfect" tool, but it certainly is a handy tool

As on some of my kegs there was not enough room to get the wrench fully seated on the post due to the profile of the keg and the closed end of the wrench.

Had to go back and get a deep socket for 2 kegs.

 

[Niederhofer]

Ok but how hard were they to get off once you had the right tool?

It was still pretty hard. I had the guy at Lowe's put all his weight on it while I worked the wrench. I'm about 6'4'' and still had to put all of my weight behind it to get it to budge. Not sure what they put those on there with, but it was pretty tight.