24 replies to this topic

[gnef]

I am going to try these out:I like to always have backups on hand for everything, so having over 100 kegs of different styles meant that I had to have well over a dozen spare poppets (can't have just one of the style) in the past. I found these recently, and I've read that they work well for almost all kegs, and for those that it doesn't work for immediately, you can stretch the spring, and it should be able to work well.I bought 8 to keep on hand, and as I need to replace poppets, I'll be using these, and transitioning away from keg-specific poppets.I really like these, not only because it is only one style of poppet that I have to worry about, but because the o-ring is also replaceable, so once I convert a keg, if it ever starts leaking, I can just change out the o-ring, which is really cheap for this size. I also like that these don't have 'feet' that lock into the side of the post that I usually destroy just by trying to remove.I will have to keep track of which kegs I change over to the universal poppets. Ideally I'd like to change over all of them, but that gets pricey really quickly!Anyone else use these, and want to share their experiences?I will try to update this thread in the future when I replace one, and see how well they work.

[MtnBrewer]

I will try to update this thread in the future when I replace one, and see how well they work.

Please do! These would be lifesavers if they live up to their billing.

[realbeerguy]

Who is the vendor?

[SchwanzBrewer]

Because I am clumsy I have about 10 of those in my equipment box. Last time I cleaned my kegs I lost one of the poppets because I wasn't paying attention and I sprayed the hose into my hand on jet and sent the little plastic piece off into the yard.They work fine, definitely worth having around.Cheers,Rich

[tag]

They look like they won't get stuck either.There are also universal lid pressure relief valves too. https://www.chicompa...&products_id=18

[gnef]

I bought mine from here:https://www.tuxedoparkbrewers.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_21&products_id=469Nut they had a volume discount at the time if you bought at least four, they were only 2.50 a piece, plus shipping. They changed their pricing structure after I bought mine, I don't think they expected people to buy 8 at a time. Shipping was pretty steep at a flat rate of 8 dollars or so that cost them less than a dollar to ship - I'm sure this makes up for when they have to ship 50# for the same 8 dollars though.Here are a few other sources I found in my searches:https://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=711370&showprevnext=1https://www.homebrewstuff.com/universal-keg-poppet.htmlkegkits.com also has them, but I have not had good experiences with him in the past - he has been slow and non-responsive to contact.I haven't had to recondition kegs recently, but when I do, and I find a poppet that needs to be replaced, I will let you all know how well they perform for me, and for what style keg!

[Stout_fan]

This looks like a great idea. How are they working?I found the wrong type sometimes gets coil bound and doesn't flow right.Plus I've a few problem kegs that....well to be honest, I've lost the poppets to when I thought I was smart and tried rebuilding three at once. :smilielol:edit..Does this use an "O" ring?That means I can buy a thousand replacements from McMaster-Carr for forty two cents!Yowza!!!

[Stout_fan]

Guyz,I ordered four of these fromhttps://www.homebrewstuff.com/universal-keg-poppet.htmlAt four they send USPS first class.You order eight and the shipping changes. What the??? I'll let y'all know how they fit.

[gnef]

Definitely update this thread with your experiences, I still haven't used any of mine!

[Stout_fan]

I primarily use pin locks. My experience so far:Dimensions:

[*]poppet OD:0.234"[*]length past "O" ring: 0.075"[/list]Spring (conical profile):
[*]length: 0.542:[*]base OD: 0.420"[*]top OD: 0.356"[/list]O ring:
[*]OD: 5/16"[*]thickness: 3/32"[*]ID: 1/8"[*]I'm guessing that is a AS568A dash-104 part in Buna N McMaster-Carr p/n 9452K318 at $1.79/100[/list]In a Cornelius Super Champion, they work great and will be my new replacement poppet instead of the usual KEG540 part from More Beer.I just rebuilt several kegs and threw out three leaky poppets. Replacing bad seals on these universals will cost a whopping $0.18. :)Quick removal of the gas fitting from the keg with 10PSI yields a quick snapping sound as the poppet slams shut. NICE!! That's the good news. Now the bad:The poppet extends about 1/16" past the valve body, so if you put something on top of the keg, it will depress the poppet. But that's what they make those black handles for. Spartanburg kegs that have Hansen fittings (P4723) will not work. The spring is about 1/10" too short. Making the spring longer will greatly increase the seating pressure on normal fittings, so it cannot be a truly universal fitting.It would be nice to get some longer springs, however, no sites seem to list the manufacturer (oddly enough). Sorry folks, that's my limited testing so far.

[Stout_fan]

In retrospect, getting a section of 0.405" OD SS pipe chucking it up (collet actually) and cutting of 0.100" bands ought to work OK as spacers.Not too sure of tolerance on OD though.

[Genesee Ted]

I am going to try these out: I like to always have backups on hand for everything, so having over 100 kegs of different styles meant that I had to have well over a dozen spare poppets (can't have just one of the style) in the past. I found these recently, and I've read that they work well for almost all kegs, and for those that it doesn't work for immediately, you can stretch the spring, and it should be able to work well. I bought 8 to keep on hand, and as I need to replace poppets, I'll be using these, and transitioning away from keg-specific poppets. I really like these, not only because it is only one style of poppet that I have to worry about, but because the o-ring is also replaceable, so once I convert a keg, if it ever starts leaking, I can just change out the o-ring, which is really cheap for this size. I also like that these don't have 'feet' that lock into the side of the post that I usually destroy just by trying to remove. I will have to keep track of which kegs I change over to the universal poppets. Ideally I'd like to change over all of them, but that gets pricey really quickly! Anyone else use these, and want to share their experiences? I will try to update this thread in the future when I replace one, and see how well they work.

Holy kegs Batman! Over 100 kegs? Where do you keep them and why do you need so many? Are they full? If so......

[Stout_fan]

Bitjock bought some from kegkits.com. They are about .150" longer IIRC. ordered a few a wek ago. I'll measure them when they show up. Should save me from making washers.

[gnef]

Holy kegs Batman! Over 100 kegs? Where do you keep them and why do you need so many? Are they full? If so......

Haha. I have over 80 filled with something, not all completely full though. I make meads and cicers every year, so part of the reason I have so many is so that I can store some away for 5-10 years at a time. I built a walk-in cooler this past summer so that I could keep as many as I need in cold storage, and I also have a coffin box coming out of the side of the walk-in with 11 taps currently, and I can keep upgrading it gradually up to a maximum of 27 or so ( but man is that expensive for all the stainless pieces!). If you are ever in the atlanta area, you are more than welcome to come by and try some of what I have!

[Stout_fan]

The ones from Kegkits showed up. Despite the board's fears, the order was OK. They are longer and fit the Hansen pin locks found on Spartanburg and Firestone kegs wonderfully. The shorter ones work quite well to replace the poppets found on Cornelius kegs (more Beer KEG540). So it looks like you really need two lengths, that's still a lot better than the six varieties we used to deal with.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I used one to replace one of the ones with the 3 prong spring post (no idea what its called) last weekend and it worked fine. Very pleased I didnt have to clean and sanitize another keg to transfer that beer.Cheers,Rich

[tag]

The ones from Kegkits showed up. Despite the board's fears, the order was OK. They are longer and fit the Hansen pin locks found on Spartanburg and Firestone kegs wonderfully. The shorter ones work quite well to replace the poppets found on Cornelius kegs (more Beer KEG540). So it looks like you really need two lengths, that's still a lot better than the six varieties we used to deal with.

Do the longer poppets not work in the shorter posts?

[Stout_fan]

Do the longer poppets not work in the shorter posts?

It makes treading the post onto the keg a PITA.You also have to really give it a good shove when putting the connector onto the post.Homebrew Stuff, who sold short ones, just went to all long ones.Not happy with this development.

[Stout_fan]

the small spring wire is .062 diameter, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 turnsI balanced a 5 pound plate on it and got .020" deflection.A 10 pound plate got .040" deflection. This works out to a spring constant of 250 lb/in!

[gnef]

Oddly, I just now used some of these universal poppets on three kegs with leaky poppets (argh). They are pretty awesome, I have to say. I am tempted to buy a whole lot more and start replacing all my poppets with these, but that would be tremendously expensive.On a side note, I will probably be buying more to keep on hand (can't keep just five spares!), and I found one ebay listing coming from canada for #25 shipped:https://cgi.ebay.com...n#ht_574wt_1396you will have to wait a while to receive it, but that seems to be the best price shipped that I could find so far.