Goodbye bad poppets

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rushpapers

Son-of-a-Booch
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Just thought others might have similar experiences. I became tired of using the Cornelius Style poppets with the three legs. I bought universal poppets. I got 10 on eBay for $12. They work great and they are so much easier to clean. I like them so much I bought another set so all my kegs can have the same poppets.
 

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Yeah, the universals are kind of a PITA when threading the post, but I haven't had one fail yet.
 
Right. OEM cornelius type keg posts came with poppets that had three "legs" at their base and looked like one of these:

poppets.jpg

Cheers!
 
Exactly. Those little legs always tear apart dip tube O-rings too. And, the spring tension seems to be limited to the length of the center rod.

The replacement style is just working better for me--easier to clean, interchangeable between any keg, the poppet O-ring is replaceable, and they have a lot of spring tension, which makes a better seal.
 
Otoh...I have limited experience with "Christmas Tree" style "universal" poppets, and most of it was not good. I had a few instances where the tiny O-ring on the universal poppet got wedged sideways inside the post upon removal of a beer QD, with the obvious epic spewage result thereof. It doesn't take more than two of those to convince an "old school" veteran to stay away from such purported "universal" solutions.

That said, I have noticed of late some "universal poppet" designs have evolved into something that might be worth pursuing in the future - once I run out of my oem spares...

Cheers!
 
Exactly. Those little legs always tear apart dip tube O-rings too. And, the spring tension seems to be limited to the length of the center rod.

The replacement style is just working better for me--easier to clean, interchangeable between any keg, the poppet O-ring is replaceable, and they have a lot of spring tension, which makes a better seal.
In my experience, some universal poppets have been much more prone to causing damage due to the end of the spring not being flat. In the first keg I ever bought, it bent the flange on the gas dip tube and I ended up losing all of my CO2. The official Cornelius, Spartanburg, and Firestone poppets are designed to have those legs rest above a small ridge inside of the post, holding the poppet securely in, even with the post removed from the keg. I expect that the only reason they could damage an o-ring would be if they hadn't been seated properly and their legs aren't securely locked in place. Once they've been removed, though, I have found that most never fit very well again, which is when I could see them causing damage.

So, if one is in the habit of disassembling posts for cleaning, a good universal poppet is probably a better choice. I use them in my Picobrew Z brew kegs, whose poppets are prone to collecting debris during the brew and need regular disassembly.
 
I always wondered if other people did a full breakdown and cleaning...

I do, but always wondered if I'm going overboard.
If it gives you peace of mind, then no, you're not going overboard.

For my serving kegs, I use a keg washer which pushes cleanser through the posts, so I generally think that's sufficient. However, if I were to dry hop in my kegs, I might consider removing the posts for a more thorough cleaning. You never want debris in the post because it can cause foaming.
 
Yeah, I don't see any other way but full breakdown.

Plus, I'll clean 15 kegs at clip, so with the universals, I can throw all the poppets into one bucket for cleaning and don't have to worry about mixing them up.

With the OEM poppets I always had to keep them organized, which was time consuming.


I've always had some universal poppets that came with new Old Ale Corny Kegs and never had a problem. Crossing my fingers.
 
The universal poppets are a blessing. I discovered them some years ago and like other posters, I switched out the poppets on every corny keg I own. With the old style poppets, they were all different (like day_trippr's illustration) and some wouldn't work while some would. It really was a hassle to figure out which poppet to use on a particular keg.

The next innovation for me will be air locks made of colored plastic. I usually sanitize a lot of my stuff in a big tub and can't see the air locks and have to "fish" to remove them for rinsing.
 
Not to hijack this thread but on the old leg style poppets I have one set that I cannot remove from the post. The legs are jammed into the threads so makes it very hard to clean. I normally disassemble everything and clean and sanitize each keg after it kicks. Any good tricks to get these poppets out of the post?
 
I've always removed the poppets during keg cleaning. I do a full breakdown each time. Guess that explains why some poppets are troublesome to remove.
 
They're stainless and very hard metal. You're not going to do too much damage to them as long as you don't muscle them like Hulk.

However this is the point of my post. They're a pain in the ass. The Replacement style seems a lot easier and since they're so cheap why the hell not replace them all.

Of course I didn't throw away my oem poppets... jic.
 
I have lots of OEM poppets that just fall out when breaking down the keg. Some just need a little push from the top. And some that are a B*tch.

think I'll be investigating these universals too.
 
I have lots of OEM poppets that just fall out when breaking down the keg. Some just need a little push from the top. And some that are a B*tch.

think I'll be investigating these universals too.
Most of mine fall out as well but one set I can’t get out whether it’s push or pull.
 
Where'd you find the colored O-rings?

Those are silicone, not rubber. I got tired of orings getting deformed in my disconnects and decided to try silicone. I'm moving my kegs to an indoor bar and really really really want to avoid 5g of ipa on my wood floors.

111 Silicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Red, 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 3/32" Width (Pack of 100)
by Amazon.com
Learn more: 111 Silicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Red, 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 3/32" Width (Pack of 100): O Ring Seals: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

111 Fluorosilicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Blue (Pack of 10)
by Mr O-Ring
Learn more: 111 Fluorosilicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Blue (Pack of 10): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Also, I used gel pens to write the post function on the keg rubber. The text color matches the orings :)

1619037482902.png
 
I run universal poppets on all seven of my kegs. The only issue I've had with the universals is when their o-ring fails and they leak everywhere. That's happened 3-4 times now so I bought a sack of poppet o-rings and replace them every 4-5 tear downs.
 
Those are silicone, not rubber. I got tired of orings getting deformed in my disconnects and decided to try silicone. I'm moving my kegs to an indoor bar and really really really want to avoid 5g of ipa on my wood floors.

111 Silicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Red, 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 3/32" Width (Pack of 100)
by Amazon.com
Learn more: 111 Silicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Red, 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 3/32" Width (Pack of 100): O Ring Seals: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

111 Fluorosilicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Blue (Pack of 10)
by Mr O-Ring
Learn more: 111 Fluorosilicone O-Ring, 70A Durometer, Blue (Pack of 10): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Also, I used gel pens to write the post function on the keg rubber. The text color matches the orings :)

View attachment 726562
Nice markings, but you do realize the gas posts have a notch to indicate gas.
 
Nice markings, but you do realize the gas posts have a notch to indicate gas.

Yes I know that. But you don't realize that, even knowing that, I have successfully connected beer to gas and gas to beer many, many times. It's dark and drunk inside my keezer.
 
I too have replaced my oem poppets with the universal one's. I have noticed that not all universal poppets are equal. I have some that are just hard to get the gas and beer Fittings to click in place. I've noticed there doesn't seem to be a standard. But I've never had one leak.
 
My eye sight ain't what it used to be...I feel post before connecting. The beer post has a larger "whatever"...
 
Not to hijack this thread but on the old leg style poppets I have one set that I cannot remove from the post. The legs are jammed into the threads so makes it very hard to clean. I normally disassemble everything and clean and sanitize each keg after it kicks. Any good tricks to get these poppets out of the post?
I've used needle nose too but something I found better were some of the picks I had from a set of various angled/shaped picks I bought many years ago. It was a pretty handy set but most have broken or gotten lost. Mostly worn out over time. As an example, one of the set looked like a dentist cleaning pick with a hook. That was one of the best ones. I have just one or two of the oddball ones left. For OEM poppets, I found hooking the "ankle" to work well without bending the leg itself. Steady gentle pull they are kind of bendy. I used to break them down completely but now do it less frequently since I built a keg washer.

Here's an example pick set.
 
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