New to kegging, ball lock disconnects will not connect to corny

[cpferris]

I admit, this is odd. I have two corny kegs (ball lock) that I got with my setup. I order both liquid and gas disconnects from midwest supplies.

I noticed when I got ready to force carb, it was extremely hard to get the gas fitting to properly "seat" on the keg post. I remember trying the liquid one, and it snapped on fairly easily. I finally managed to get the gas one connected (though it was WAY too difficult). I want to test my CO2 levels in the beer, so I turn off the CO2, vent the pressure in the keg, then attempt to hook up the liquid disconnect. Low and behold, I am now having the same issue I had with the gas side on the liquid side. I cannot get it to lock on.

Is there a trick to this that I am missing? It can't be this difficult.

 

[BigFloyd]

1) Are you using keg lube?

2) Are you sure that you have the correct posts on the correct side? They are oh so very slightly different. You can ID the gas-in post by the little notches around where you'd fit a wrench.

 

[chickypad]

2) Are you sure that you have the correct posts on the correct side? They are oh so very slightly different. You can ID the gas-in post by the little notches around where you'd fit a wrench.

I'm putting my money on this.

 

[thadius856]

Alternatively, you may have the wrong poppets in the posts.

Push down on the poppets the back of a pen or similar. Do they go down fairly easily? Do they spring back into place?

Is there any crud on the inside of the QDs?

This should be a one-handed affair without much exertion.

 

[day_trippr]

Black = Beer = Smooth Post
Gray = Gas = Notched Post

Use keg lube on the post o-rings, or at least wet them. There's supposed to be a gas-tight fit between QD and post, and a dry o-ring can make seating QDs a pain (and it can fray the o-ring in the offing).

Position the QD on the post, pull up the QD ring, press the QD fully down on the post and release the ring. Once you've gotten it right you'll remember how it all feels...

Cheers!

 

[cpferris]

1) Are you using keg lube?

2) Are you sure that you have the correct posts on the correct side? They are oh so very slightly different. You can ID the gas-in post by the little notches around where you'd fit a wrench.

My cornies are labeled "IN" and "OUT". When I took apart the corny to clean it, I did confirm the liquid rod was on the "OUT" side.

I also attached the gray gas to IN and the black liquid to OUT.

I did not have keg lube. I did notice that the harder I pushed, it's as if the plastic inside the disconnects was shearing off in little slivers as if the the top of the post was too wide.

Both poppets went down fairly easily with a pen cap.

It could be possible that posts were reversed, though I disassembled them and reassembled them one at a time so if they were reversed, it would have been from the previous owner (all of this stuff is new to me...just acquired it).

The QDs are both brand new, so I assume there is no issue with those.

I am going to check for the notches on the gas post as you reference. Will post back with my findings.

 

[thadius856]

My cornies are labeled "IN" and "OUT". When I took apart the corny to clean it, I did confirm the liquid rod was on the "OUT" side.

I also attached the gray gas to IN and the black liquid to OUT.

I did not have keg lube. I did notice that the harder I pushed, it's as if the plastic inside the disconnects was shearing off in little slivers as if the the top of the post was too wide.

Both poppets went down fairly easily with a pen cap.

It could be possible that posts were reversed, though I disassembled them and reassembled them one at a time so if they were reversed, it would have been from the previous owner (all of this stuff is new to me...just acquired it).

The QDs are both brand new, so I assume there is no issue with those.

I am going to check for the notches on the gas post as you reference. Will post back with my findings.

You're missing what he's trying to tell you.

The posts, while visually similar, are not identical. They're keyed so you can't put the QDs on backwards. But nothing prevents you from putting the posts back on keg wrong after disassembling.

On the IN side, your post should have a gash. Gash for gas.

On the OUT side, your post should not have a gash.

Maybe this will help:

I'll bet you push the gas post on the liquid side.

 

[TallDan]

I have seven corny kegs. One of them is a firestone keg and it it takes substantially more effort to connect and disconnect that keg than any of the others. This is both with my normal plastic QDs and the SS hansen QDs.

 

[thadius856]

I have seven corny kegs. One of them is a firestone keg and it it takes substantially more effort to connect and disconnect that keg than any of the others. This is both with my normal plastic QDs and the SS hansen QDs.

I have twenty-four ball lock kegs. I have not experienced this with any of mine. I have an mix of Cornelius, Firestone V, Firestone VI, Challenger, Super Challenger, and one John Wood.

If the QD is tougher to get on, perhaps the post o-ring is too thick or not lubed.

 

[TallDan]

If the QD is tougher to get on, perhaps the post o-ring is too thick or not lubed.

Guilty as charged on not using keg lube. I've been kegging for over a year and just got some lube in the last month after having such a hard time with that keg.

 

[thadius856]

Guilty as charged on not using keg lube. I've been kegging for over a year and just got some lube in the last month after having such a hard time with that keg.

Really helps with seating lid o-rings.

 

[cpferris]

You're missing what he's trying to tell you.

The posts, while visually similar, are not identical. They're keyed so you can't put the QDs on backwards. But nothing prevents you from putting the posts back on keg wrong after disassembling.

On the IN side, your post should have a gash. Gash for gas.

On the OUT side, your post should not have a gash.

Maybe this will help:

I'll bet you push the gas post on the liquid side.

So on the keg I have filled, the posts ARE backward so that is my problem. What I was trying to say in my last post was that when I cleaned this keg, I took of the in post, cleaned it and immediately put it back in. Then repeated with the second post. So that would indicate the posts were crossed before I started cleaning it. Nonetheless, an easy fix.

I will no better to check this on keg #2 before I use it.

Thanks guys, appreciate the info. I knew there was something fundamentally wrong!

 

[BigFloyd]

Glad we were able to help you solve the mystery.

Now-------go forth and buy ye some keg lube. Use it on every o-ring and seal (including the lid o-ring). You may as well get some new post o-rings while you're at it. The ones that you saw shavings come off of are now damaged and may not seal well in the future.

 

[Rockn_M]

Keg lube fixes almost all problems!

 

[glassbottom]

wanted to bump this thread to say thanks to everyone who gave their input. been using pin lock, got a ball lock and tried putting my disconnects on. had trouble like the OP and ended up getting my gas QD stuck on the liquid post..finally pulled it off, lubed the posts an put the QDs on right. go figure, they fit perfect now.

thanks again everyone!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[bosster01]

I also just experienced this identical issue and this post solved it for me. Thanks!

Question is - now that the keg is fully carbed do I switch the posts back or just use it as is?

 

[chickypad]

I also just experienced this identical issue and this post solved it for me. Thanks!

Question is - now that the keg is fully carbed do I switch the posts back or just use it as is?

No, you never switch the posts back to the wrong side. Why would you think you might? Do you now have the diptubes on the wrong side or something? If that's the case then you will need to move the diptubes to the correct side in order to dispense the beer.

Again: Black, beer, smooth post, long diptube
Grey, gas, notched post, short diptube.

 

[bosster01]

No, you never switch the posts back to the wrong side. Why would you think you might? Do you now have the diptubes on the wrong side or something? If that's the case then you will need to move the diptubes to the correct side in order to dispense the beer.

Again: Black, beer, smooth post, long diptube
Grey, gas, notched post, short diptube.

So I had the diptube on the right side. The keg post on the wrong side so that when I attach my picnic tap it is a pain in the ass to get it on.

I ended up switching the posts back - I did get my hand in the beer a tiny bit.. hopefully I don't have contamination issues now.

 

[SGTSparty]

So I had the diptube on the right side. The keg post on the wrong side so that when I attach my picnic tap it is a pain in the ass to get it on.

I ended up switching the posts back - I did get my hand in the beer a tiny bit.. hopefully I don't have contamination issues now.

You probably will be fine as long as you keep it cold and drink it quick.

Also Just a note to anyone stumbling across this thread: Once you get your QD stuck or have forced it down, chuck it and buy a new one. Once you forced it on to the wrong post, its warped. It may work fine but odds are you're going to develop a slow leak that's really hard to track down. Save yourself the pain and the wasted CO2 and just replace the DQs.

 

[shetc]

Yea, Keg lube! Such a nice simple solution, I wish I had read about this before. Thx!