Life expectancy of a reconditioned keg

[Gravity88]

I inherited my kegging system from a friends some years back and was wondering, how long do they stay safe and is it just me or is any one else afraid of a blow out when force carbonating?

 

[LLBeanJ]

I expect that my used kegs will outlive me.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I expect that my used kegs will outlive me.

This is very true. Other than o-rings and popets kegs have few moving parts. Unless of course you drop it and the metal tears or fractures then you will want to replace it.

 

[Gravity88]

I guess I am just wondering if they were reconditioned once, would they ever need to be re-recondtioned

 

[bhanson]

Reconditioned means cleaned, gaskets replaced, and tested. There is no reason that can't be repeated as often as you require, for a couple of dollars. No worries.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Reconditioning is an ongoing process. Replacing O-rings and poppets on occasion constitutes reconditioning. However, like fuzzy stated, unless the vessel suffered from some sort of trauma or chemical reaction, the integrity should remain sound for decades, I would think.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I guess I am just wondering if they were reconditioned once, would they ever need to be re-recondtioned

These things were designed to be hauled all over the place and handled very roughly. If you don't handle them roughly, they should last longer than you do. The o-rings will occasionally need replacement, since they're rubber or silicone and they do wear out.

When your o-rings are having problems keeping a seal, it's time to replace the set.

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)

The better quality o-rings seem to make a difference to me. I haven't had a leak yet since switching over to them.

The only other things that might wear out are the poppets and the gas relief valve. But they last a lot longer than the o-rings do. Like...decades.

 

[Gravity88]

Gotcha, I was under the impression that the vessel itself was conditioned some how. Great, now I won't worry about my face or balls getting splintered with keg shrapnel anymore.

I had heard of kegs exploding but I guess now that I think about it, it's only been when they were pressurized with condensed air or something

Thank you!

 

[BigFloyd]

No worries.

Even if you are burst carbing, you're only hitting the thing with a max of 30psi. I expect that the pressure needed to burst that rolled stainless vessel is way, way higher than that.

 

[JuanMoore]

No worries.

Even if you are burst carbing, you're only hitting the thing with a max of 30psi. I expect that the pressure needed to burst that rolled stainless vessel is way, way higher than that.

Yep, they're rated up to 130 psi, and the PRV's are designed to vent pressure at ~60 psi.

 

[N3Bruce]

If looking at a reconditioned keg, check the molded rubber handles to make sure they are sound, you don't want to pick up a 45 pound keg and have the handles rip off. It's not technically a show stopper, but I have 2 kegs with slightly cracked handles that soon cracked all the way through. Unless the keg has really been abused, o-rings and gaskets usually fix any problems.