Urgent kegging question

[Ben_Persitz]

I took my corny apart tonight and noticed a couple weird things. I plan on kegging tomorrow and just want to make sure I'll be okay before I put it in there.

First:

The o-ring on my gas post is a little worn, seems like it's got a crack in it, the keg still pressurizes though (tried it awhile ago and co2 comes out the release valve when I seal it and pull up).

Second:

The poppet valve on my liquid out line seems to be stuck in the post.

Will I still be okay to keg?

 

[Hammy71]

If it's the o-ring for the dip tube it may/will give you some problems down the road. If it's the o-ring off the post you should be fine to keg and simply stop by your LHBS or shop on line and get one to install before you attach your serving line. They are cheap. Some of my poppet valves need 'persuasion' to get out. A small screw driver and a slight 'love tap' usually removes them.

 

[TheDom]

If you need to keg before making it to a store to pick up a new o-ring, itld help if you had some kinda lube for the rings to keep 'em happy. If its holding pressure now, some lube may help it form a better seal for a bit longer. Silicone grease is the best, from what I've gathered here, but vaseline can work in a pinch. I think the vaseline will degrade the o-ring over time so I wouldn't hit all yor rings with it, just the troubled one.

For the poppet, don't worry about it too much. If I've read correctly on here, some poppets just don't come out, and a good soak in whatever cleaner you use will be fine to get it cleaned out.

 

[P-J]

What Hammy71 said - plus:

There is a style of corny keg (not very commom) that has the poppet installed in a manner that makes it very difficult to remove:

The feet of the poppet rest on a ledge and must be pried out for it to be removed.

 

[Bobby_M]

Some also just pressure fit to the sidewall of the post. Sit it on a piece of cardboard and push the popped down with a screwdriver.

 

[TheDom]

Was I wrong in telling the OP that the poppet doesn't really need removed? Please correct me if so. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Ben_Persitz]

The o-rings on my posts are fine. They're red and yellow, weird. It's the o-ring on my liquid out tube that is screwed up. I have an extra one but I don't know if it's supposed to fit over the bottom of the post or the tube?

 

[Ben_Persitz]

So I just put some water in my keg, put the pressure to 10 and immediately poured it through my faucet. I noticed that there seemed to be some air in my beer lines. Pockets of air, and it seemed like the keg was making a loud noise on dispensing, kind of like I had a leak. I want to keg today but I'm worried my system is screwed up. Can anyone provide any good advice?

 

[TheDom]

Fill a spray bottle with some soapy water, hook your keg up and pressurize it, then spray down both posts and the big top seal and see if any bubbles form. If you get bubbles, you know where your leak is.

As far as your o- rings, the o-ring on the tube is supposed to sit on the tube, just touching the flared out part at the top. When I replaced mine I just slid the old one down offthe bottom of the tube, and put the newone on in the reverse order.

You also mentioned your o-rings are yellow and red.... Is this a used keg that you'll be using for thefirst time? If so, you should replace all the o-rings before filling it to avoid getting soda flavors in your beer.

 

[AKbrewer]

Clean and sanitize your keg, lube up the rings and pressurize to about 30 pounds to seal everything up. Let some pressure out until you have about 10 lbs in the keg. Get some sanitizer and pour it over all your connections, lid posts etc. If there are no bubbles showing leaks keg away.:rockin:

 

[Ben_Persitz]

Tried the leak test, not seeing any leaks. The o-ring on my liquid dip tube is cracked, could it be possible it's not sealing and air is getting into the line right there?

Also--when i pour the water from my tap the first little pour kind of squirts (explodes) out. Seems like it'd make beer really foamy. Doesn't matter what PSI I set it to.

Could this be temperature differences (cold water, warm beer line) or air?

 

[Ben_Persitz]

Decided to hold off till tomorrow. I'm going to go get a new dip tube o ring on my lunch break. Plus I'm going to take the keg in and have them peek at it and see if it's okay.

I think the combo of no o-ring on my liquid out tube and an unbalanced system is giving me problems.

I do think the keg is holding pressure fine though. I pumped 12 PSI into it 2 hours ago and it's still holding. No leaks.

I've only got 4 feet of line, which according to kegman means I can only serve at like 6 psi. I'm going to get 9 feet of line tomorrow and that should help.

 

[P-J]

... It's the o-ring on my liquid out tube that is screwed up. I have an extra one but I don't know if it's supposed to fit over the bottom of the post or the tube?

So I just put some water in my keg, put the pressure to 10 and immediately poured it through my faucet. I noticed that there seemed to be some air in my beer lines. Pockets of air, and it seemed like the keg was making a loud noise on dispensing, kind of like I had a leak. ...

Tried the leak test, not seeing any leaks. The o-ring on my liquid dip tube is cracked, could it be possible it's not sealing and air is getting into the line right there?

Also--when i pour the water from my tap the first little pour kind of squirts (explodes) out. Seems like it'd make beer really foamy. Doesn't matter what PSI I set it to. ...

The dip tube o-ring should be placed like this:

A couple of thoughts for you. The o-ring seals the beer out path from the head space in the keg. If the o-ring is damaged or not placed properly, co² can enter the liquid stream and give you the results you are experiencing. Generally, there will be no leaks to the outside of the keg, therefore, pressure testing will not detect an issue. The best indication is that you are trying to dispense noncarbonated water as a test and it is coming out as a broken stream.

BTW - I've experienced the same problem with a liquid out dip tube that had a pin hole in it above the keg liquid level.

Hope this helps you.