Just got 2 kegs...

[UpstateMike]

Ok, so I am going to be slowly moving from bottling to kegging, Just got two older used kegs the other day, and they appear to be Firestones. When I took them apart, I noticed that the gas dip tube is nylon, and narrower than the replacement stainless steel dip tubes. They are discolored, but appear to be still functional. I have time before I get a keezer, so I'm looking at my options for the gas dip tube. Here is what I see so far:

1: Clean the existing tubes and reuse them.

2: Buy new nylon dip tubes for Firestone kegs.

3: Drill out the IN side of the keg with a 5/16" cobalt drill bit so that a replacement stainless steel dip tube will fit.

4: Use a tubing cutter and cut down a standard stainless steel dip tube to 1/4 inch so that it will fit in the IN side and rest on the existing shoulder, no drilling required.

Thinking of doing #4, I really don't see why the gas dip tube needs to extend into the tank. I'm sure others have seen this before, and would like to know what you did.

 

[chickypad]

I've seen posts on here where folks have done what you're describing in #4, I would think it just needs to be long enough to hold the o-ring in place. I've got one of these but I just bought the plastic replacement dip tubes from Williams. Lots of folks go with #3 as well.

 

[day_trippr]

If there's nothing wrong with the dip tubes, I'd find something else to replace.
One of my keg fleet has a pretty red plastic gas dip tube that's entirely intact.
I've used it for years and see no reason to replace it...

Cheers!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I would just go with what you've got, referring to the old "if it ain't broke..." idiom.

 

[UpstateMike]

So I went with option #4, and I think its a good thing that I did. The replacement O rings did not seem to fit properly on the nylon dip tubes. But with these ones cut down, I believe it will work out. They are short enough so they don't hit the collar inside the dip tube, and the O ring sits like it should.