13 replies to this topic

[Fatman]

I ordered some cornies off eBay from a guy I'd ordered from before. He's dirt cheap (partly because the shipping isn't real far), but the kegs need some TLC and are always a bit off. The thingies that interface with the disconnects (posts? bungs? taps?) are always mixed up. For the life of me I can't tell a beer bung from a gas bung. How do you do it?

[Genesee Ted]

I know that the star ones are for gas, but not all have the star ones, I think only older ones. I have no idea other than that though. I always have to go back and look at other kegs when I disassemble mine for cleaning or repairs. I would be interested in seeing what others chime in with.

[Thirsty]

The gas will always have 1 of 2 telltale markings. The base of the post will either be a 16 point or there will be slots in the points of the hex head. Meaning if it is a 6 point hex, the corners will have slices in them. That is for ball lock. The gas post should always be on the side stamped "IN" or a dimple will be stamped on either side.Pin lock will have 2 tits on the side of the post, and 3 (like an alien) if it is liquid.

[Genesee Ted]

Wonderful knowledge.

[jammer]

I ordered some cornies off eBay from a guy I'd ordered from before. He's dirt cheap (partly because the shipping isn't real far), but the kegs need some TLC and are always a bit off. The thingies that interface with the disconnects (posts? bungs? taps?) are always mixed up. For the life of me I can't tell a beer bung from a gas bung. How do you do it?

I used to always screw them up. Its hard to serve a beer that way. lol. I just remember "star, short, in". Star shaped [or grooved], with the short dup tube, marked IN opening.

[Thirsty]

My buddy just pissed through a 5# tank mixing them up. he called me and said I had to look at his connection, he narrowed it down, but didnt know if it was a faulty QD, bad post, bad poppit, or o-ring. So I went over with a slew of replacement parts, then saw he had a 2 liquid posts on the same keg. We searched the other kegs and found his maibock conditioning, had 2 gas posts on it. Switched em out and all was fine. If cleaning multiple kegs, be careful of returning proper parts to proper places!

[Fatman]

I took a quick look and it all makes sense now. Thanks for the info!

[MyaCullen]

My buddy just pissed through a 5# tank mixing them up. he called me and said I had to look at his connection, he narrowed it down, but didnt know if it was a faulty QD, bad post, bad poppit, or o-ring. So I went over with a slew of replacement parts, then saw he had a 2 liquid posts on the same keg. We searched the other kegs and found his maibock conditioning, had 2 gas posts on it. Switched em out and all was fine. If cleaning multiple kegs, be careful of returning proper parts to proper places!

When I do mine, I tear down each keg separately and mark the keg with a sharpie. Each kegs parts go into a quart ziploc bag, to soak in oxy. I mark the outside of the bag with the same # as the keg.

[tag]

Ditto. There are several different sizes of post threads too. I soak my kegs in hot PBW and hang the parts in the keg in a hop bag.

[gnef]

I now only tear down one keg at a time. I know it is a slow process (especially with how many kegs I have), but it is how I guarantee I don't mix things up (which I am sure I would do at some point).

[Jeff]

Um ... all of my kegs have IN or OUT etched into the keg near the fittings. Others do not?

[Stout_fan]

Um ... all of my kegs have IN or OUT etched into the keg near the fittings. Others do not?

Nope, some (early Spartanberg) only have a depression under the liquid out tube.I always associated it to weight. Liquid is heavier than CO2, so it needs an extra pin to hold it.Stupid, I know, but it keeps my feeble mind on track.

[MtnBrewer]

For ball locks, don't mix up the QDs. Aside from the problem Thirsty mentioned, you can also get them stuck. The posts are not the same size or shape and the gray disconnects are not the same as the black ones. The mnemonic for that is Beer-Black, Gas-Gray.