Is it time to toss the old soda cornys for new SS cornys???

[WissahickonBrew]

We've been brewing and bottling for years. Started kegging about a year ago and will never go back! Don't get me wrong, we will still get out the capper for a few six packs with the Blichmann Beer Gun, but the bulk of the happy juice goes into the cornys.

My question to the group is are you getting tired of the nasty black rubber tops and bottoms rubbing off on the floor and your hands? Replacing seals and hoping they hold? Recently we kegged an IPA, fulled carbed. I disconnected the CO2 line to do another keg for a few days. When we tapped it to enjoy a cold one it was mostly flat! The seals did not hold I suspect. I never noticed this problem before because my CO2 tank being connected (for dispensing purposes) @ 5psi was actually constantly replenishing pressure lost through the seals!

At $100 a pop for new SS Cornys it makes me pause. But I am getting closer to making the jump. We put so much time and money into planning, brewing and prepping our precious brew, then we entrust it to a 50 year old soda keg that's been through the war and back! Thank god for keg lube!

 

[Newsman]

Keg lube is your friend on those seals. I just bought two new grade 2 cornies from Beverage Elements and had to keg lube the seals on the lid before it would seal. You're going to have that problem whether it's new or old. I'd say as long as your keg is holding pressure, keep 'em, or sell 'em to help pay for new ones if you're determined to get new ones.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'd say it's time to invest in better quality replacement o-rings.

Go to this HBT thread and buy the following:

Dip Tube O-rings Quad Sealing (for the gas and liquid tubes)
Post O-rings Silicone (for the gas posts)
Post O-rings Buna-N (for the liquid posts)
Lid O-rings Silicone (for the lid)

Once I switched over to the better quality stuff I have ceased to have leak problems.

 

[JuanMoore]

If my keezer was a tiny bit bigger I'd replace all of my cornies with sankeys in a heart beat. Much better system IMO. Unfortunately I can only fit 3 sankey sixtels in my keezer, as opposed to 4 cornies.

I've not had any problems with my cornies, but I also spent time restoring them all, and keep them well maintained. Even so, they have way more potential leak points than a sankey.

 

[m3n00b]

Do it! Sell your old cornys to me!

Sankes would be nice!

 

[b-boy]

I bought a few new ones. They work fine, but I don't see them lasting as long as the older cornies will. They're just not as well built. Mine have the welded strap handle on top. I just know those suckers are going to snap off eventually.

 

[beersk]

I bought a few new ones. They work fine, but I don't see them lasting as long as the older cornies will. They're just not as well built. Mine have the welded strap handle on top. I just know those suckers are going to snap off eventually.

I doubt that. I have 2 new ones. They're nice, but I had issues at first with removing posts and made sure to ask the homebrew shop to make sure they could be removed before shipping. I had to send 2 back because of that. But otherwise, they're nice. Kind of wish they had two handles, but it's not a huge deal.
Oh and the other pain the ass is the fact that the poppits don't come out. You have to pry them out and get the universal poppits if you want them to be removable.

I'll still probably buy new if I get anymore kegs in the future. I have 5 already, so I think I've got plenty.

 

[day_trippr]

I'm up to 16 ball locks, all selected by myownself over the years, and each one went through my own OC adoption process (totally broken down, scoured inside and out, tube-brushed, Oxy soaked, re-ringed, externally matt polished, tested, sanitized, and then finally put into service). I trust each of them, and haven't had a keg issue, ever.

There's a lot of beater kegs out there with all kinds of resultant issues, some likely more trouble than they're worth. As long as I'm still seeing stacks of really good looking ball lock kegs I don't think one needs to go to the level of "brand new keg" with the commensurate hit in the pocket.

btw, there was a thread that showed at least one manufacturer of new SS corney style kegs says you're not supposed to remove the posts from their kegs. If there's an actual functional reason for that (like, something fatally breaks) it'd be an instant deal breaker for me...

Cheers!

 

[Newsman]

btw, there was a thread that showed at least one manufacturer of new SS corney style kegs says you're not supposed to remove the posts from their kegs. If there's an actual functional reason for that (like, something fatally breaks) it'd be an instant deal breaker for me...

Cheers!

Well, Beverage Elements, where I got my two new kegs, cautions against removing the posts, saying that if you aren't careful you could damage the threads by overtightening, etc. They don't say you CAN'T just say to be extremely careful and don't use too much force either way.

 

[WissahickonBrew]

That makes sense for a manufacturer to put out a customer warning, even if it's common sense, it saves their butt to some extent. Good luck getting any feedback from the soda corny makers, those factories went the way of the brontosaurus. When the new SS corny makers bring their prices down, or the soda corny's get so scarce the hoarders are getting $85-$100, economics dictates rolling the dice with the old ones and lubing up the gaskets!

Well, Beverage Elements, where I got my two new kegs, cautions against removing the posts, saying that if you aren't careful you could damage the threads by overtightening, etc. They don't say you CAN'T just say to be extremely careful and don't use too much force either way.

 

[WissahickonBrew]

Thanks for the links to gaskets, etc. Seems silly to purchase 100 gaskets at a time when I only need 2, and will likely never use the other 98. Has anyone found a package kit with just the amount of gaskets needed for ball locks?

I'd say it's time to invest in better quality replacement o-rings.

Go to this HBT thread and buy the following:

Dip Tube O-rings Quad Sealing (for the gas and liquid tubes)
Post O-rings Silicone (for the gas posts)
Post O-rings Buna-N (for the liquid posts)
Lid O-rings Silicone (for the lid)

Once I switched over to the better quality stuff I have ceased to have leak problems.

 

[JuanMoore]

Thanks for the links to gaskets, etc. Seems silly to purchase 100 gaskets at a time when I only need 2, and will likely never use the other 98. Has anyone found a package kit with just the amount of gaskets needed for ball locks?

You can buy just enough o-rings for one keg from any online homebrew store for $4-6, or for $16 you can buy enough diptube and post o-rings for 50 kegs, and enough lid o-rings for 10 kegs. No, you'll probably never use all of those o-rings, but chances are you'll need to replace quite a few of them over time. They do wear out, get torn, etc, and if you ever buy any used kegs you'll probably want to replace all of the o-rings before putting them in service. If you ever keg sodas, you'll want dedicated sets of o-rings for that, unless you want the next beer in that keg to taste like root beer.

If you really only want enough for one keg-
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_40_271_560&products_id=1201

 

[FredTheNuke]

But if you decide to boot those 50 year old ones I will take them off of your hands... You anywhere near NC? I have 33 ball locks but could use a few more... Just don't tell my Wife...

 

[LandoLincoln]

Thanks for the links to gaskets, etc. Seems silly to purchase 100 gaskets at a time when I only need 2, and will likely never use the other 98. Has anyone found a package kit with just the amount of gaskets needed for ball locks?

You can score some points with fellow homebrewers if you buy 100 sets of gaskets and give them a few when they're rebuilding their kegs and they see how much better the improved rings are. This may lead them to give you some free growlers of beer that they've brewed. So it's worth it.