Universal Poppets??

[Clint Yeastwood]

Suddenly, I have a bunch of Corny kegs, and as I have been working on them, I have noticed that some don't have real poppets. They have "universal" poppets that consist of a spring, a little steel mushroom, and an O-ring.

What do other people think of these things? So far, I don't like them. The parts like to jump out of my hand and do their best to land in drains or behind things.

 

[brewbama]

I recently bought poppets which were supposed to be for the make/model of my kegs. They didn’t fit exact, I had to persuade the QD onto the post. Then I disassembled the post and had to adjust the three little feet with a pair of needle nose. They work good now but it’s in the back of my mind that they aren’t ’right’.

I guess my point is poppets kinda suck in general.

 

[Broken Crow]

I've only used one and I don't like like it.. I've used the keg for s few batches or so but at the moment, it's waiting for the correct 'Cornelius Super Champion' poppets I just ordered. When I pull the disconnect off, it has a slow leak, I can see a small ring of foam bubbling up around it, that wasn't there before filling [and No, there are no particles or sediment plugging it up].. Tapping it with my fingernail briefly down and up makes it seal and stop, but that's too delicate for my liking.
I'm wondering if you've scrolled further down the threads yet to see this one:

Quality poppets

About 2 years ago, I ordered a set of universal poppets on Amazon for my kegs. They are the generic open spring type. They've mostly worked ok, other than being a bit too stiff. However, in the past few weeks I've had 2 of them utterly fail on me. In both cases, I pulled off the ball lock QD...

www.homebrewtalk.com

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I force-carbonated a keg, and the little mushroom thing managed to turn sideways and tried to R-U-N-N-O-F-T.

 

[matt_m]

I've used a bunch without much of an issue. Every once in a while I've had to cut off a half or a full coil.

 

[IslandLizard]

There have been quite a few reports/complaints about those universal poppets, from the moment they started appearing.
The most common problem is the (pyramidal) spring being a tad too long, making them hard to depress, while putting too much force on the poppet, forcing the o-ring through the hole, causing leaks.

A simple fix is to clip [EDIT] a half to one full turn off the bottom of the spring. Maybe try one and see if it functions better.

 

[odie]

I have some. I don't have any issues.

they also come out very easy for cleaning. The OEM type do not like to come out of the post.

I like to fully break my kegs down for cleaning.

 

[tracer bullet]

I've bought a slew of new full assemblies - the post, o-rings, poppets, o-rings for the poppets, springs, and so on. At this point all of them are identical to each other and I can swap stuff and have extras. Saved a lot of headaches.

Also have a little strainer thing that goes over the sink drain so I don't lose stuff while I'm cleaning.

 

[balrog]

See @day_trippr post about 5 OEM poppets. Quality poppets

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I've bought a slew of new full assemblies - the post, o-rings, poppets, o-rings for the poppets, springs, and so on. At this point all of them are identical to each other and I can swap stuff and have extras. Saved a lot of headaches.

Also have a little strainer thing that goes over the sink drain so I don't lose stuff while I'm cleaning.

Smart.

 

[sibelman]

new full assemblies

This. Who needs the worry of leaking kegs? It can be achieved for not much money.

Of course, that's easy for me to say -- I sprang for new matching kegs. They all have the mushroom-and-spring poppets that, yes, can fly around until you get used to them -- and DO put a strainer in the drain! They look like this and have worked great with minimal maintenance:

 

[MicroMickey]

When I discovered these things some years ago, it was like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one. I've got a jar full of the old poppets and will never go back to them. Corny posts are so much easier to clean without having to drive the old style poppets out.

 

[Conehead]

I put my thumb on the QD when I am removing it. I have 9 kegs and most are different. I think these universal poppits are great. They fit all of my kegs.

 

[Yesfan]

This. Who needs the worry of leaking kegs? It can be achieved for not much money.

Of course, that's easy for me to say -- I sprang for new matching kegs. They all have the mushroom-and-spring poppets that, yes, can fly around until you get used to them -- and DO put a strainer in the drain! They look like this and have worked great with minimal maintenance:
View attachment 811408

I think these are the same type used in the Torpedo kegs. The Torpedo's diptubes have a slight raised portion for the spring to sit on.

 

[norrismj]

I completely switched my 5 kegs to universal a few years ago. Since then all I get out of my taps is foam. I changed all the o rings and still I get foam. I don't over carbonate as it is usually around 11.7psi. I don't get foam from commercial kegs only kegs with universal poppets. So I am now switching out back to the original poppets. Also changing rings again. For context some of my kegs are very old Corny's, Challenger VI and one is a John Wood. All are at least 40 + years old as I started begging in the 80's. I just bought two new AEB kegs and they work wonderfully. I'll let you know if my foam goes away Or if I trash the kegs.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I bought the Old Ale kegs and they come with these stock. The only issue I had was finding an exact o-ring for replacement. (The poppet and dip tube rings come with metric rings on them) Once you learn to slide a thumb under the post ass it comes off (I use a socket wrrench) they are nice. Really easy to clean and reassemble. I also got a few Italian Pepsi kegs that needed new o-rings. Took hours to get the poppets out of those the first time. And I don't even want to go over the one which was rubber coated and had to be replaced because it had no o-ring. Sounds like they are not universal, so retrofitting them is the tricky part.

 

[IslandLizard]

I completely switched my 5 kegs to universal a few years ago. Since then all I get out of my taps is foam. I changed all the o rings and still I get foam. I don't over carbonate as it is usually around 11.7psi. I don't get foam from commercial kegs only kegs with universal poppets.

That seems to point to headspace CO2 seeping into your beer line. The post/poppet combo should push down on the diptube flange, compressing the o-ring underneath, making a seal with the threaded stub.

If the o-ring under the diptube isn't the original,* maybe double up that o-ring, or use a slightly thicker one. It should also fit rather snug around the diptube.

* The original diptube o-rings look like a flat bun with a groove around the center.

 

[norrismj]

I agree. I just ordered some flat/square rings from
Grainger Hopefully they will work better.

O-Ring: 109, 5/16 in Nominal Inside Dia., 1/2 in Nominal Outside Dia., 75 Shore A, Black, Std, 25 PK​

Item 713T15
Mfr. Model ZUSAVSQ70109

 

[IslandLizard]

I agree. I just ordered some flat/square rings from
Grainger Hopefully they will work better.

O-Ring: 109, 5/16 in Nominal Inside Dia., 1/2 in Nominal Outside Dia., 75 Shore A, Black, Std, 25 PK​

Item 713T15
Mfr. Model ZUSAVSQ70109

^That^ doesn't look anything like a post diptube o-ring.
Better double check...

 

[norrismj]

Agree. But my John Wood keg looks like it uses these as do the Challenger VI. based on the used o rings that I pulled off them. We will see.

 

[MicroMickey]

The dip tube O rings are different between pin lock and ball lock. The section diameter is slightly smaller on the pin lock version.

 

[day_trippr]

I wish everyone using "universal poppets" only the best of luck, but I have to say when you've removed a beer QD on a keg of carbonated beer and had that tiny O-ring wedge itself sideways in the Out post with the resulting beer geyser, you may be motivated to never use them on the liquid side again...

Cheers! (bt/dt, have the stained tee shirt )

 

[kevin58]

Question for those who have had good success with these universal poppets... do you have a link to the ones you like best?

 

[BBBF]

I wish everyone using "universal poppets" only the best of luck, but I have to say when you've removed a beer QD on a keg of carbonated beer and had that tiny O-ring wedge itself sideways in the Out post with the resulting beer geyser, you may be motivated to never use them on the liquid side again...

Cheers! (bt/dt, have the stained tee shirt )

I've had that happen once, but the disconnect I was using had a chip on the stem, causing it to make off-centered contact with poppet. Overall, I have more faith in them than my OG poppets. Especially because I'm sure I've mixed up my posts more than a few times, while cleaning multiple kegs.

 

[sibelman]

Question for those who have had good success with these universal poppets... do you have a link to the ones you like best?

These: BrewHardware.com - High end, practical homebrewing hardware, accessories and ingredients for making beer, wine, mead, and cider.