Are My Keg Seals Leaking

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OCC

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just got home all excited with new [2nd hand] keg under my arm, after cleaning & sterilising i filled with clean water and tipped it upside down and it leaked outta the top, but when i gas it up it seems to hold pressure.
did the old car valve trick and rub spit around the lid and no bubbles came out .
should i keep the excitment goin and fill the thing force carbonate it and proceed ta smash myself ??????
or should i wait and buy new seals if so do i need to do anything with the relief valve on the lid occ :(
 
I'd make up a solution of dish washing and water solution in a spray bottle.
Half fill the keg with hot water and give a good shake.
Spray the disconnects and relief valve and hatch with the solution. If you don't get bubbling, then wack on the gas at 200 kpa and repeat the spray of the solution.
If no leaks are evident the go ahead and fill with beer, otherwise fix the point that is leaking.

Beers,
Doc
 
Don't panic, they usually need a bit of pressure in them to maintain a proper seal.

I'd avoid leaving the gas permanently connected until you are confident that your system is gastight - if you've still got good pressure in an empty (or fully carbonated) keg after a few days at the same temperature, you should be right.
 
thanx for the tips boyz, i did what ya said and everything looks fine,but what did happen when i gas it up to 200 kpa and took the gas line off was it started to bubble up outta the connection stump, dose the ball lock give it the seal when its connected or do i need to service the stump ??????
 
Try fitting and removing the disconnect a few times, it might just be a bit stiff if it hasn't been used in a while. Otherwise you probably need a new poppet in the post (stump).
 
You might need to buy some new poppets for it.. this is what they look like (for Cornelius kegs)
Or try removing the valve and giving it a good clean, could be stiff from old beer that has dried.

POP-C.jpg
 
A bit of keg-lube may fix your problem. If not buy a handful of the "poppets" (US Morebeer.com) might be cheaper. Just make sure that you choose the correct ones for your system.
 
cheers boyz a few disconnect / reconnects did the trick seems to be holding pressure ok,but still thinkin i'll redo the seals just for piece of mind,so where is the best place to buy seals in sydney and i don't think i'll leave it under pressure all night don't want to lose a big bottle of free co2 the first time i used it, that would mean i would have to use one of the other 3 that i "found" at work. occ ;)
 
Kegsystems is one in NSW. Could be Craig Deakon. Not the cheapest in the world though
 
Darren said:
buy a handful of the "poppets" (US Morebeer.com) might be cheaper.
[post="82163"][/post]​

I hit the checkout on morebeer.com and it wanted just under $60 for shipping on 16 poppets...f*ck that!

I'd be better off just buying them from the guy on the other side of town who charges $4.50 a piece...helping local business and saving money at the same time :ph34r:

PZ.
 
Crikey! Never had to look at poppets. Despite the outrageous price for the SS disconnects for my pinlock kegs, the reseal kits are dirt cheap. Pulling the turrets apart and putting them together with a generous application of keg lube is a very Zen experience as well.
 
Hey FB, I've probably got some spare poppets - I bought a bulk lot a few months ago.

Let me know how many you need and I'll see what I've got.

I can probably beat that price too...
 
Fingerlickin_B said:
Darren said:
buy a handful of the "poppets" (US Morebeer.com) might be cheaper.
[post="82163"][/post]​

I hit the checkout on morebeer.com and it wanted just under $60 for shipping on 16 poppets...f*ck that!

I'd be better off just buying them from the guy on the other side of town who charges $4.50 a piece...helping local business and saving money at the same time :ph34r:

PZ.
[post="83549"][/post]​
If you need to buy it from "morebeer.com" send them an email and ask for shiping cost that way. Their automatic postage advice to overseas does not work.

:chug:
PeterS....
 
Wortgames...I need 16 of them...I'm sure you can't part with that many :eek:

I'll just drop by and see Colin @ Canberra's only good HBS on the weekend.

Thanks for the offer though :)

PZ.
 
Fingerlickin_B said:
Darren said:
buy a handful of the "poppets" (US Morebeer.com) might be cheaper.
[post="82163"][/post]​

I hit the checkout on morebeer.com and it wanted just under $60 for shipping on 16 poppets...f*ck that!

I'd be better off just buying them from the guy on the other side of town who charges $4.50 a piece...helping local business and saving money at the same time :ph34r:

PZ.
[post="83549"][/post]​
You can get a good idea what the rate is by going to the USPS website calculator. Here is a snapshot for postage for goods weighing 1lb or less. This would probably be the rate for a few poppets and note that airmail($14.50) is actually cheaper(and much quicker) than surface rate for goods weighing only a few pounds.

As PeterS suggests best to ask for a quote from B3 b4 commiting.

ahb001.jpg
 
Yeah, I did email them roach (no reply as yet), but based on the shipping calculator results and exchange rate I'll actually be spending a tiny bit less buying them here...and I can just go pick them up :)

Morebeer.com:
16 poppets @ $2.70USD each = $43.20USD
plus $14.50USD postage = $57.70USD = $77.17AUD

Brew Your Own at Home:
16 poppets @ $4.50AUD each = $72AUD :chug:


Thanks anyhoo :beer:

PZ.
 
Not suer if andale in Brisbane has fixed their poppet price yet, but they were going for around a buck each a few months back..... it will be a long time before I need to buy any more poppets :)

this has been mentioned in a thread before if you can be bother tracking it down.

dreamboat
 
Mkae sure you get the right poppets for your kegs. There are lots of different ones around
 
If you have no luck I can supply you 16 for $3.00 each plus $4 registered post, total $52.
Direct deposit or Paymate (credit card). You'll have them in a couple of days.
 
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