Suggestions for a repurposed corny keg?

[Brewmex41]

I got a corny keg for free a few months ago. Today I finally got around to bringing it into the LHBS to see if anything needed replaced.

The guy at the store hooked up the co2 to it and put some soapy water on the top.
I don't know how to explain it, but basically where there is a leak can't be fixed.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what, if anything, I could repurpose the keg for, related to brewing.

 

[broadbill]

Try to explain where the leak is...you might be surprised to learn your LHBS guy either doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, or does know his ass from a hole in the ground and is trying to sell you one of his kegs.

I can't think of where a corny might be leaking that can't be fixed, short of an actual puncture in the body. Now the price to fix may not make it worth the effort, but that is alot different from not being able to be fixed.

Plus, there are a bunch of handy guys/girls on here, who know their way around a corny keg...I better one of them have run into the problem you have and have a fix for you.

Worth a shot, anyway.

 

[Brewmex41]

Well he didn't try and sell me one.

Ok, I don't know much about kegs, but the oval opening up top is where the leak is coming from. He grabbed a new o ring and tried again. It still leaked. I felt around where it was leaking and I could feel that it was some what straight, where it should be curved.

I work in a metal fab shop, and could have someone weld a piece to possibly fix it, but I don't think our welds are food grade, since we make truck bed tool boxes.

 

[P-J]

A picture of what you are dealing with would help.

Help us help you...

 

[TIPA0303]

Could it be your oval lid is F'd? They sell new lids for like $10-15 I think

 

[Stealthcruiser]

If it was "straight" where it should be "curved", use them metal fabbin' skills of yours and fix it!.......... : )

And yes, a pic would help.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Or send it to me............ : o

 

[Raenon]

I wonder if you mean the long side of the opening is straight as opposed to curved... meaning you might have a "racetrack" top keg as opposed to the much more common oval.
If so, it just means you have to pick up a special lid, as the one that came with it doesn't match. Still cheaper than a replacement keg.

Photos are good.

 

[Brewmex41]

The keg is still in the car so ill snap a pic when I leave for work.
I do know that it isn't the lid. We rotated the lid 180* so that the pressure relief valve was on the opposite side, and it still leaked in the same spot. The opening to the keg somehow warped and now the lid and the opening aren't lining up exactly the way they should.

The guy said if I were to fill it, and put it at 30 or so psi, there should be enough pressure to keep it sealed and force carb, but once I drop it to serving psi, the lid could work its way back out of place and start leaking again.

 

[stlbeer]

There are topics on this forum for fixing corny kegs. If you have metal fabricating skills a little bit of bending will take care of it.

 

[DrewschBag]

It's hammertime...

 

[antitelephonica]

i have a keg like that, I just use 2 o-ring gaskets, works fine.

 

[broadbill]

Also, try a good smear of silicone grease on that O ring; I do it on all my kegs as insurance.

Who knew we'd have have a convince a metal fab guy to take a hammer to a piece of metal! --j/k

 

[Brewmex41]

Silicone grease and two o rings?

 

[broadbill]

doesn't look any better or worse than any corny's in my collection? What exactly are you trying to show us here?

 

[Jsslack]

Try putting some keg lube on your o-ring, the tend to seal much easier with a little lube.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I unfortunately do not have the link available but there is a McMaster Carr O ring for that which is thicker and softer which can often help seal stubborn kegs. Additionally, you can try putting pennies/nickles under the legs of the bail to seal things tighter and lube the O ring with some keg lube or whatever.

Some kegs need you to throw upwards to 30 PSI on it and move the lid around to get it to seal then are fine afterward.

 

[Brewmex41]

doesn't look any better or worse than any corny's in my collection? What exactly are you trying to show us here?

When I posted last night, I got an error message saying that the app crashed and they were sending an error report to the developer. So I didn't realize the pictures uploaded. I was going to say I took pics as requested, but they are not very helpful.

 

[Brewmex41]

I unfortunately do not have the link available but there is a McMaster Carr O ring for that which is thicker and softer which can often help seal stubborn kegs. Additionally, you can try putting pennies/nickles under the legs of the bail to seal things tighter and lube the O ring with some keg lube or whatever.

Some kegs need you to throw upwards to 30 PSI on it and move the lid around to get it to seal then are fine afterward.

One of my coworkers suggested putting something under the legs to raise it up.

Id hate to put money into kegging if the most crucial piece isn't working.
I will try some of the suggestions here, then maybe brew up something with a quicker turn around like a blonde ale and see how it goes.

 

[Carlscan26]

When I posted last night, I got an error message saying that the app crashed and they were sending an error report to the developer. So I didn't realize the pictures uploaded. I was going to say I took pics as requested, but they are not very helpful.

Can you explain where it is leaking in those pics?

 

[broadbill]

One of my coworkers suggested putting something under the legs to raise it up.

Id hate to put money into kegging if the most crucial piece isn't working.
I will try some of the suggestions here, then maybe brew up something with a quicker turn around like a blonde ale and see how it goes.

no need to have beer to make sure the fixes work. gas it up empty, or fill it with 5 gallons of water first.

If it holds pressure empty, it will hold it full.

 

[ColeR]

if its the lid, that is leaking, due to being warped/cracked or what ever, you can buy new lids, so if its the lid get a new one.

 

[Brewmex41]

The lid is fine. It's the opening in the keg itself.

 

[P-J]

Place the lid in the keg without a gasket in place. Pull the lid up and check that the lid lip and the keg opening match closely all the way around. The opening might be deformed and this will allow you to see where the 2 surfaces are not matching. You can then adjust the opening so that the lid rim closely matches the opening. I suspect that the opening is deformed so that the lid cannot provide a good seal.

It's worth a try.

 

[oneandahalfshepherds]

Use it as a fermenter

 

[The_Mad_Scientist]

I have some corny's that act like yours.... Pretty much try a different lids(see if you can borrow one if you only have 1 keg) you will be surprised to see that a different lid or slight style difference will make it seal. That and a good coat of keg lube or similar does wonders