Stuck Poppet Valve

[medbrew]

Hey all, I am a regular forum lurker who has used this site for awesome info for the past few years. Thanks for all the great advice!

I recently started kegging (what a godsend), and I encountered a problem with my English Pale Ale that is currently carbonating. When I switched the liquid and gas connections from my one corny to the English Pale Ale corny, all was well. I sampled the Pale and decided to switch back to the other keg, (which had a NB St Paul Porter inside, fyi) but the poppet valve on the gas in post seems to be stuck a bit open, so gas comes out at a pretty rapid rate.

It is the second beer in that keg which is a reconditioned one from Chi. I just left the gas and liquid lines on that English Pale keg for now so I don't lost carbonation. My question is, can I disassemble the gas in post and poppet and clean them out quickly and reattach with the beer still inside? I figure I can just put some tin foil over the space where the post is and will lose some carbonation. Thanks again for the all the tips!

 

[chode720]

Yes, u can take it off and reattach, just make sure to sanitize it before you put it back on, to be safe. The head pressure will come out of the keg, but it shouldnt lose too much carbonation, especially if it stays cold and it doesnt take you long.

There are 2 things you may want to try first tho:

A. Take the gas line off and flick the poppet with your finger. Sometimes if you hit it just right, it will help reseal it a bit.
B. Take a screwdriver and push down a bit on the poppet and then let it go. Sometimes you just need to depress and let it pop up a few times and it will seal again.

I have tried both of these tricks in a situation like yours and they have worked and I havent needed to disassemble.

Good luck and WELCOME TO HBT!

 

[medbrew]

Awesome! That worked like a charm. Just had to push the valve up and down a bit like you said. Thanks for the timely help! I will celebrate this kegging victory by drinking another brew tonight in honor of your advice.

 

[ezerhoden]

You can take apart the post and clean the post and poppet. I do this with about every new filling. They do get sticky and will leak if you attach and remove the quick disconnects frequently. Sometimes I just take a small batch of hot water water and pour it on the out post if I remove the disconnect with beer still in the keg.

 

[chode720]

Awesome! That worked like a charm. Just had to push the valve up and down a bit like you said. Thanks for the timely help! I will celebrate this kegging victory by drinking another brew tonight in honor of your advice.

:rockin: