Tips on opening a U System keg?

[RegionalChaos]

I've got a keg with a U system valve, and I can't get it open. Anyone got a tip? I can see that the collar needs to spin left, but there are no catches to use to turn it...

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/taps-faucets-pid-G408.html

 

[wyzazz]

Stick a screwdriver in one of those grooves and smack it in the direction it needs to thread out with a hammer to loosen it and break the seal. Then cut a piece of solid wood, something nice and heavy like oak to fit in between those grooves to act like a wrench and turn it.

 

[RegionalChaos]

I've tried the screwdriver and hammer bit, I'll continue to try it. I let the gas out yesterday, so I know it isn't under pressure. The problem I see is that the only surface for the screwdriver to rest on is at a 60 degree angle from the top. So any force applied to it transfers 2x as much down against the threads as it does to the left, to unscrew it. Oh well, I am fond of hammers so we'll try that some more.

 

[RegionalChaos]

Will be a nice treat when I'm done though. It's a 50L keg, and it will be my new boil kettle. I've got the port and ball valve already to install. Need a step bit, and I still need to make the dip tube. 10 gallon batches here I come! Now I just need to figure out how to cool them

 

[wyzazz]

I gravity feed a plate chiller from http://dudadiesel.com/ works like a charm!

 

[RegionalChaos]

A few more whacks with a hammer and it broke free. Eventually I could spin the collar with my hand, and lift out the spear. Next I get to cut out the lid! Although first I need to dump out about 7+ gallons of old stale beer somewhere.......

 

[RegionalChaos]

The current chilling plan will be a gravity fed CFC I think. Its right near the top of my build list. I keep going back and forth between that and finishing a ferm chamber. I just finished building a control box with a dual zone controller and a few outlets to feed heat and ac power. Now I need to construct the space and decide on the heating and cooling elements... So much fun stuff to do!

 

[TheBeerNerd]

I also just acquired a Guinness keg. I managed to get the collar off, but can't seem to remove the valve/stem. It lifts partway out (with pliers) and gets stopped by something (threads?) How did you get yours out?

 

[hier]

rotate it and a notch will line up with a groove and it will then be able to lift upwards. You will still need to rotate it again to clear the second notch through the same groove. The spear has an inner collar that rotates either direction to get the spring assembly out. good luck.

 

[RegionalChaos]

Yeah, there were only threads on the collar. I'm curious what the correct way to open them is, I suppose there is a specific tool, but it didn't seem like there was anywhere to catch on the collar cleanly.

 

[Fletch]

Well, if you're making a keggle out of it, you don't really have to remove the valve and spear anyway. Once you're relieved the pressure, drill a hole near the stem to make sure pressure doesn't build back up, then cut the top out.

Also, you don't have to dump out the stale beer first, just cut. If you DO dump it out, you'll want to put a couple gallons of water back in it before you cut the top - makes cleaning the metal debris a LOT easier, especially if you plasma cut it.

 

[hier]

I drilled a horizontal hole, but not all the way through the brass collar and used a hammer to hit a screw driver that was catching the hole. I think I read about that on this site a while back, I cant recall. Lefty loosey on the Guinness keg.

 

[TheBeerNerd]

Thanks! Got mine apart. Took pictures and put a DIY article up on my page.