# Pin Lock V Ball Lock?



## lordofthebottleshop (2/1/11)

SO after a couple of years of stategically leaving bottles around the kitchen, the missus has finally given me permission to start kegging  . I've been looking around, and I'm a little confused as to the difference between ball lock and pin lock kegs. Would anybody happen to know if there is any major difference, or does anybody have a preference of one over the other?

Any other advice on what to look for?


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## michael_aussie (2/1/11)

lordofthebottleshop said:


> SO after a couple of years of stategically leaving bottles around the kitchen, the missus has finally given me permission to start kegging  . I've been looking around, and I'm a little confused as to the difference between ball lock and pin lock kegs. Would anybody happen to know if there is any major difference, or does anybody have a preference of one over the other?
> 
> Any other advice on what to look for?


idk which is "better" but ball lock is far more widely available in Australia.
9/10 ads are for ball lock kegs and fittings.
less than 1/10 are for pin lock.

Sometimes pin-lock kegs are slightly cheaper than ball-lock. 

However, if you find in the future you have Beta when everyone else has VHS you'll be kicking yourself.


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## Quintrex (2/1/11)

lordofthebottleshop said:


> SO after a couple of years of stategically leaving bottles around the kitchen, the missus has finally given me permission to start kegging  . I've been looking around, and I'm a little confused as to the difference between ball lock and pin lock kegs. Would anybody happen to know if there is any major difference, or does anybody have a preference of one over the other?
> 
> Any other advice on what to look for?




Pretty much everyone over here uses ball lock, so for ease of interchangeability/ease of purchasing of kegs etc ball lock wins. I've picked up a few pin lock kegs cheaply and they are fine but it's nice having everything standardised.


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## wood88 (2/1/11)

Ball Lock lids are more likely to have a pressure release valve compared to the pin lock ones.


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## wobblythongs (2/1/11)

I started off on ball lock as pin wasn't around AFAIK. just starting back into HB and building a better collection of kegs and other paraphernalia is telling me I should of looked at pin lock. The cheap plastic ball lock connections are easy to confuse from liquid and gas only made that mistake once.

The down side to pin lock for me is I don't know anyone with pin connections so keg swapping or visiting is not an option for me thats why I stuck with ball lock.


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## woodwormm (2/1/11)

i reckon as long as you're going to be self contained, ie not taking kegs to hook up at mates houses or keg swaps etc... pin lock will be fine...

my only issue with them is that all the disconnects seem to be barb fitting and i started on all barb fittings (ball lock) but have now changed to threaded fittings on the disconnects so i could use John Guest fittings.... 

my other concern with pin locks is sourcing more down the track if you want more kegs... 

having said all this, if i was setting up right now, with the info i've learnt over my brief but expensive (don't tell SWMBO) kegging time i'd look at these...

http://www.mybeershop.com.au/index.php?mai...ex&cPath=11

i'd buy one of their keg kits with reg/tap and 2 kegs and an extra 4 kegs... as i reckon 6 kegs is an ok number to manage some decent lagering/aging times and maintain a keg on the go all the time...

these are good prices (no affiliation) i'm just waiting for their next batch of ball locks as the rest of my setup is ball locks...

my 3 cents.

good luck and good work on 'getting' SWMBO permision!


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## dr K (2/1/11)

I used ball locks for years then swapped to pin lock.
Far superior, better connection and no post stuff up.
I recently bought from mybeershop.com.au and have nothing but praise, overnight from Melbourne to Canberra right on Christmas..brilliant, and that was just with a receipt for payment from my bank, great people, yes will buy from them again.

K


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## peas_and_corn (3/1/11)

Ball Lock Advantages:

-More common
-All have pressure release valves, apparently some pin locks don't

Pin Lock Advantages:

-Tend to be a bit cheaper
-You never confuse the posts


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## Logman (24/1/11)

First post - awesome looking forum, I am about to start my kegging journey, so stoked to have found this place  


Time to buy my first set of kegs. The ball lock kegs look simpler to release the pressure when cleaning etc - any truth to that?

How do you release the pressure from a pin lock? Are there some pin locks that don't even have one?


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## gone_fishing_ (24/1/11)

Pinlocks are wider and shorter so more easily placed into a fridge/freezer.

I have two ball lock kegs without pressure release so that must be a furfie. Pressure releases are most common in the lid, no?
GF

(EDIT: I have 15 pinlocks and love them. Nothing worse than ramming a beer out connector onto a gas in connection as can happen with ball locks)


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## jasonharley (24/1/11)

I went to pin locks for my 19L kegs and ball locks for my 9 L kegs ...... while ball locks are more popular I fine that pin locks are easier to fit onto the posts compared to ball locks. Pin locks have a mechanical interlock and seal ... and the id issues between gas in and beer out as mentioned before ...... pin locks are cool

5 eyes


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## Logman (25/1/11)

How do you let the pressure out of a pin lock? Is there a way using the post that the line connects to or something?


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## Benniee (25/1/11)

Logman said:


> How do you let the pressure out of a pin lock? Is there a way using the post that the line connects to or something?



I don't own any pin locks so I'm only spouting this having read it somewhere before. You can bleed/burp off the pressure by manually pressing down the gas post (without any disconnects fitted).

But I've also seen that you can fit the "newer" lids to the pin lock kegs that have a ring-pull pressure release valve fitted to them.

I got this info from talking to the guys over at the mybeershop website. They seem to have started the use/discussion of pin locks recently.

Listening to some of the US brewing podcasts a lot of guys over there are finding the pin lock stuff cheaper and easier to get. Don't know how that will translate to us over here is Aus.

Benniee


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## DU99 (25/1/11)

you can get lids for pinlocks with relief valve
http://www.mybeershop.com.au/index.php?mai...products_id=105


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## Logman (10/2/11)

I ended up going for 4 Pin Lock kegs - they gave me free ring pull pressure relief lids for buying a heap of stuff.  

What do you guys remove the posts with on a Pin Lock - I assume the pins get in the way of a ring spanner?

Edit - looked online and these guys are making their own tool - I guess some sort of a spark plug spanner with notches cut with an angle grinder will do the job....


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## DU99 (10/2/11)

my son-in-law made me one with a used an spark plug socket..as per above post


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## Logman (10/2/11)

Ok thanks. Glad I went with the advice on the Pin Locks - I like the way that you can't put the wrong post on.

Is it standard to put the 'one way CO2 valve' on the gas lines with pin locks? Never thought to get those.


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## Nick JD (10/2/11)

I heard Ball Lock kegs are Pepsi and Royal Crown, and Pin Lock kegs are Coca Cola.

Dunno if that's true. Anyone got a Ball Lock with Coke on it?


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## Logman (10/2/11)

That's the way I understood it too - my Pin Locks have the Coca-Cola logo on the black handles up the top.


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## mwd (10/2/11)

Logman said:


> Ok thanks. Glad I went with the advice on the Pin Locks - I like the way that you can't put the wrong post on.
> 
> Is it standard to put the 'one way CO2 valve' on the gas lines with pin locks? Never thought to get those.



I would say getting a non return valve is pretty much a necessity for the one time you do something daft like having more pressure in the keg than in the gasline and you get beer flow into the reg. For $6.00 it is good insurance.

P.S. I read up on kegs and Coca-Cola use pinlocks Pepsi the taste of a new generation use Ball Locks not sure about other Soft drink companies.


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## Logman (10/2/11)

> I would say getting a non return valve is pretty much a necessity for the one time you do something daft like having more pressure in the keg than in the gasline and you get beer flow into the reg. For $6.00 it is good insurance.



I've been getting my gear together over the previous month - I order a pile of stuff and the next day I have another order ready :lol: 

My first beer for kegging (FWK) has been in for 5 days, time is going < snail pace - want to try it sooooooo bad


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## Amber Fluid (10/2/11)

This might be a dumb question but, can you actually put pin lock posts on a ball lock keg?
I haven't seen a pin lock keg as yet so don't know if there is any difference between them.


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## adryargument (10/2/11)

Amber Fluid said:


> This might be a dumb question but, can you actually put pin lock posts on a ball lock keg?
> I haven't seen a pin lock keg as yet so don't know if there is any difference between them.



No, pin locks have pins in the side of them.

I have 2 Ball Valves and 4 Pin locks.

Main reason is that i can only fit 3 kegs of either in my kegerator, or i can fit 2 of each for a total of 4 kegs + gas bottle in a standard size chest freezer. (Shorter pin locks sit on the compressor hump, and slide under the taps.)

I prefer the corny's for ease of use.
Pin locks can be a pain to depressure: i normally press in the gas fitting with a small screwdriver, or attach a gas fitting with no hose.
Pin locks can also leak slightly if they have sidewards pressure while attached. (They are taller then the ballvalve fittings)

At the end of the day, they are pretty similar..


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## mybeershop (10/2/11)

Hi Guys,
Here is our tool that we use for servicing the kegs




It is just a 13/16 socket, and we used an angle grinder with a cut off disk to make the slots to acomodate the pins. Been used many times and working well so far.

Just to clarify, pin-locks are used by coca cola, and ball locks are used by pepsi. The reason that they are different is so that customers of pepsi cannot put coke kegs onto their systems and vice versa.

The ball lock and pin lock lids are exactly the same size, so are interchangable. In the future our pin lock kegs will come fitted with ball lock lids (i.e. pin lock kegs with manual pressure relief valves).


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## dr K (10/2/11)

mybeershop said:


> Hi Guys,
> Here is our tool that we use for servicing the kegs
> View attachment 43981
> 
> ...



For what its worth I have bought kegs (pinlocks indeed) from mybeershop and found the service fantastic (overnight to Canberra 2 days from Christmas) and the kegs the most pristine I have ever bought, of course I may have just been lucky...insert smile.
I also bought some other gear, equally satisfied.

K


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## donburke (10/2/11)

Amber Fluid said:


> This might be a dumb question but, can you actually put pin lock posts on a ball lock keg?
> I haven't seen a pin lock keg as yet so don't know if there is any difference between them.




i dont know if you can put pin locks on a ball lock, but you can certainly replace the posts on a pin lock keg to be ball lock

i have 4 coke kegs that have ball lock posts, i bought them that way so whoever owned them before me did the hard work

they are slightly shorter and have a larger diameter than the normal ball lock kegs


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## jasonharley (10/2/11)

Nick JD said:


> I heard Ball Lock kegs are Pepsi and Royal Crown, and Pin Lock kegs are Coca Cola.
> 
> Dunno if that's true. Anyone got a Ball Lock with Coke on it?




I got some 9L balllock cornys from Germany last month .... one of them still had coke syrup in it ..(definitely not that oversweet pepsi smell)

5 eyes


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## DU99 (11/2/11)

:icon_offtopic: bought mine from mybeershop,cheap delivery..and a few other items


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## Ross (11/2/11)

We have avoided importing pinlocks (even though we can source cheaper than ball lock that are rapidlly running out) mainly due to the fact that you cannot fit 3 of them in a kegerator, being shorter & fatter than a ball lock. 

cheers Ross


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## mchitiea (13/2/11)

To all,
If you need to convert a Pin Lock keg to a Ball Lock fitting, we have those available.
Can ship via USPS Priority Mail Int'l Small Flat Rate Box.
http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_p...e8514ad717dbcbd

Matt
The CHI Company


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## Quintrex (14/2/11)

mchitiea said:


> To all,
> If you need to convert a Pin Lock keg to a Ball Lock fitting, we have those available.
> Can ship via USPS Priority Mail Int'l Small Flat Rate Box.
> http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_p...e8514ad717dbcbd
> ...



Hi Matt,

Thanks for your time posting here. Just so you know aussie pinlock keg posts have a male thread not female like you have in the US.


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## DanRayner (14/2/11)

I like the idea of using both pinlocks and ball-locks in you're brewery like some of the guys in The Brewing Network - they use ball-locks for their normal beers and pinlocks whenever they make gueuze/lambics/Orval or any other beers with Brett, Pedioccocus etc so they can never mix the two different sides of the brewery.

Alternatively, a liberal use of caustic to clean and oxonia to sterilise like the commerical breweries would mean they wouldn't have a problem if they did mix the kegs up...


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## mwd (14/2/11)

Quintrex said:


> Hi Matt,
> 
> Thanks for your time posting here. Just so you know aussie pinlock keg posts have a male thread not female like you have in the US.




A little confused is that a picture of a ball lock connector ?
I think the question was whether pinlock and ball lock fittings have the same thread and size so you can easily convert one keg to another and vice versa.

The ideal system to confuse matters even more would be to have pinlock gas in and ball lock beer out :huh:
no chance of mixing up your connections.


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## Acasta (14/2/11)

Tropical_Brews said:


> The ideal system to confuse matters even more would be to have pinlock gas in and ball lock beer out :huh:
> no chance of mixing up your connections.


A pin lock gas in and beer out have a different set of pins so u physically can't mix is up haha :lol:


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## Quintrex (14/2/11)

Tropical_Brews said:


> A little confused is that a picture of a ball lock connector ?
> I think the question was whether pinlock and ball lock fittings have the same thread and size so you can easily convert one keg to another and vice versa.
> 
> The ideal system to confuse matters even more would be to have pinlock gas in and ball lock beer out :huh:
> no chance of mixing up your connections.



Sorry! To clarify, that is the ball lock fitting you need if you want to convert your aussie pinlock keg to ball lock.

Ball lock kegs in oz have a male thread on the keg and thus the post needs a female thread. 
The aussie Pin lock kegs have a female thread in the keg and thus to convert them to ball lock you need this ball lock connector with a male thread.


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