Need some help with this keg. Can't figure out how to open it.

[siskoraban]

So... in a great stroke of luck for me as a newbie to home brewing, my father decided to give me his kegerator. He used it exclusively for Aventinus which is a German beer, and I believe this to be an "M-type" valve (not sure if I'm using the right terminology here). I pressed the ball down to release what little pressure there still was in the keg, but can't seem to do anything else to open it/release the valve system from the keg. I'm of course trying to get in there to be able to make sure it is clean before I put anything in it. I read somewhere that these valves can be removed, but in order to get it back on, you need an expensive proprietary tool that is generally only owned/used by breweries. Anyone know if this is true?

Worst case scenario I'll just buy a corney and have to re-fit the line with the appropriate coupler, but I'd like to use the equipment I already have if at all possible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[benbradford]

Holy, never seen that kind of keg before...

Have you taken apart a sanke before? There has got to be a spring clip of some kind. Can you get anything under or around that plastic looking ring around the ball?

 

[Pascal]

I would try to unscrew the top cap using something similar to a tap wrench. I would bet they use a tool that fits around the lower collar into the pin holes and then rotates.

 

[Pascal]

As buddy said on the other blog: "push down on the rubber ring against the spring preasure, lift the metal center at the same time and twist it to disengage the spear. Then you just unscrew the top and the lot comes out.

The center spear has a 3 pin rotating locking system and one of the pins is extended to make it dificult to remove the spear".

If this didn't work it may have been that you need a tool to rotate the assembly. I wouldn't imagine they are hand tight and you would need to rig a tool to do the job.

 

[itsme6582]

Sell the keg to a scrap yard and buy some cornies. You should be able to add a couple of extra taps to the door and serve several beers at once.