Corny Keg Troubleshooting

[JayZeus]

Hello,

Long story short, I have some used kegs in my possession that held pressure for about a year. My conundrum is that when I finally went to use them, they started leaking.

3 out of 5 are no longer holding pressure and they either leak from the PRV or the lid. It seems strange to me that they would hold pressure for that long and then leak after all I did was relive the pressure, remove the lid, put some star san solution in and seal it back up and give it a shake.

I'm hoping a new O-ring or PRV will do the trick.

Thoughts?

 

[Spikybits]

both those should fix it - check your O rings on poppets too. because its been under pressure for so long, it could have distorted the large O ring, basically compressed it out of regular shape. so when its resealed, it too flat and not thick enough

 

[Dr_Jeff]

JZ oftentimes a bit of keglube on the big o-ring helps as well

 

[day_trippr]

It's highly common for a decades old corny keg to require some pressure inside to maintain a lid seal. Simply locking the bail is often not enough. Some folks stick coins under the lid bail feet to provide extra pressure...

Cheers!

 

[JayZeus]

Great tip! I was concerned that there wasn't enough resistance. I will try that. Thanks!

 

[PCABrewing]

It's highly common for a decades old corny keg to require some pressure inside to maintain a lid seal. Simply locking the bail is often not enough. Some folks stick coins under the lid bail feet to provide extra pressure...

Cheers!

I always thought they required pressure as a general rule, at least mine all do, a mix of new and old.

Internal pressure is best IMHO. 1-2 PSI should be adequate.
The bail doesn't distribute pressure evenly.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

Great tip! I was concerned that there wasn't enough resistance. I will try that. Thanks!

You can replace the o ring on the lid. If the resistance is still low, sometimes the feet will wear over a (very) long use. I bought used commercial soda kegs, and replaced the bail feet. They have two sizes at Adventures in Homebrewing.

 

[bwible]

I always thought they required pressure as a general rule, at least mine all do, a mix of new and old.

Internal pressure is best IMHO. 1-2 PSI should be adequate.
The bail doesn't distribute pressure evenly.

Yeah some of mine have to be shot at 20 pounds to get them to seal.

 

[SeeMont]

Start by isolating the leak, I spray with StarSan and look for bubbles. The lid O ring compresses over time, meaning that when you go to reseal the lid, it does not fill the gap. New O rings are not expensive. You can reuse them by letting them rest to regain their original shape. Also, I have been trying the silicone gaskets with good results. Use Keg Lube and also insure that the lip in the keg is clean and smooth. Hope this helps cheers

 

[balrog]

If it unscrews, remove the PRV and clean and check the gasket in there, and use keg lube on it when replacing.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

A trick that I have used is, lift the full keg by the handle of the lid using the weight of the full keg to seat the lid, then flip the bail.