nylon gas tubes

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Ive been reconditioning some kegs I got a few weeks ago, and 3 of them seem pretty ancient and were caked with soda residue. Multiple oxyclean soaks later, the soda smell was gone and I removed the posts, replaced O rings and soaked everything in oxyclean again. I pulled out the gas in tube, and was surprised to see it was nylon, and tapered. Obviously, the SS tube wont fit in the hole, and I dont particularly want to drill out the hole.

I was planning on kegging a pale ale, and this posed a problem. The dip tubes were just caked in soda, and the post doesnt seal without them in place. So I decided to cut the tube. Out of the 3 nylon tubes I had, this one seemed to be the cleanest. My hopes were that I could cut it short enough that it wouldnt come in contact with the beer and I wouldnt have any off flavors.

I suppose only time will tell...

I was wondering what other options, or opinions you all might have on this situation. My LHBS doesnt carry the nylon tubes, and I have a hard time justifying the fact that Ill be paying more in shipping than for the tubes if I order them online.

If my beer doesnt contact the tube, I shouldn't have a problem with soda flavors, right?
Anybody have luck getting around this situation without drilling out the hole?

Thanks!