how often or when do you replace gaskets/O rings

[MHBT]

how often do you replace gaskets/ o rings?..Im guessing as soon as they leak right? i never had a problem with flavor transfer from batch to batch..maybe i answered my own question but just wanted to get your opinions

 

[jmcquesten]

I changed the o-rings in all my kegs when I got them. Then, I'll change if one gets twisted and leaks or if one breaks.

 

[day_trippr]

Almost totally reactionary here - about the only proactive O-ring/gasket maintenance I do is to refresh all of my keg post O-rings every couple of years.

I actually can't remember a hot-side O-ring or gasket failing ever - my Blichmann kettles are all on their original O-rings and some of those kettles are over 10 years old.

Otoh, I did come back from a week away from home recently to find one of my six Perls was showing signs of seeping under the bonnet so I did a full rebuild of that faucet. That's only the second leaky faucet in roughly 8 years...

Cheers!

 

[seatazzz]

I only change mine out if they are showing signs of wear. As long as you use keg lube and don't ramp down too hard when attaching the posts they should last quite some time. The big O-rings under the lid have a tendency to absorb more odor/weird flavors (one of my kegs was once used for homemade root beer, that o-ring was just indundated with root beer smell) so maybe should change the big ones more often. I've had to change out the post O-rings a few times due to wear, but they are super cheap.

 

[Doug Bogg]

This was a question I was wondering about. I've took apart a couple of kegs and checked the o-rings.

Looks like the tube o-rings could possibly last a few years and and probably you don't want to tighten the posts too tight. It looks like the sign of a bad tube o-ring is when they flatten out.

Looks like the big lid o-ring could also last a few years because they don't get a lot of wear and the ones I checked seem good. But I guess the rubber gets old and less flexible and I never thought about them picking up a left-over smell.

Looks like the post o-rings would wear out by far the fastest and could need to be replaced every year or two depending on how much the connects are attached and disconnected.

Does anybody agree with that? If so I wonder if first, after replacing all the o-rings on an old keg I can then just replace the post ones as they wear out. Is it possible to buy a package of just post o-rings?

 

[day_trippr]

You can certainly buy post O-rings in quantity, I bought a 100 count of Buna-N ball lock post O-rings years ago, may have used a quarter of them since.
If one is not in the habit of fully breaking down kegs after each use, I would agree the post O-rings will be most-oft replaced.

fwiw, I crank my kegs posts down 'til they stop turning. Never have dip tube or post leaks that way

Cheers!