When purchasing used kegs, it's recommended that all 5 of the o-rings be replaced. This is especially true if the kegs previously held root beer as that flavour permeates the o-rings and is impossible to remove.
Many home brew shops will sell you a pack with all 5 ready to go, but below is how you can do it yourself and save money. O-rings can tear or become damaged over time so purchasing extras is always wise. I purchase the smaller dip tube and post ones in packs of 100 and the larger keg lid o-rings in packs of 5:
That said, I use and recommend using red silicone o-rings instead of the black nitrile rubber (Buna N) o-rings that manufacturers normally use as silicone stays softer at lower temperatures so there's less chance of leaks. These are available here:
Joined: 30 Oct 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Kingston, ON
Link Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:28 am Post subject: Re: Keg replacement o-rings
kal wrote:
These work on all kegs, ball lock or pin lock.
While this is what everyone always seems to say, the two kegs of beer I have vacuumed out of my keezer beg to differ. Pin lock kegs *mostly* work with the ball lock o-rings, until you do something in the fridge and bump the line and don't remember to check it for a few days. I have all pin lock kegs since I got a good deal on them, and until I finally found the right o-rings, getting the liquid side to seal without a tiny leak (a drip every 15-20 seconds or so) took the proper planetary alignment, holding your breath and tiptoeing away, as well as copious amounts of keg lube. I bought some from OBK that work properly, and have kept me happy...
Ontario Beer Kegs Pin Lock O-Rings
Not sure if its just my pin locks or not, but I have been meaning to figure out what the difference in the o-rings is (the new ones I have now definitely are a tighter fit) and order a bunch off of amazon.
Joined: 30 Oct 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Kingston, ON
Link Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:13 am Post subject:
I've tried both silicone and rubber ones. I'm not sure if there is actually a difference or not, as I have never had a ball lock keg, but I see some places sell "universal" ones and some places sell different ones for the two types of kegs. That and the fact that I have lost 2 batches of beer means that I now only use the ones that I know work. (It could however just be like a lucky penny, and the fact that I haven't lost a batch since I switched is just coincidence...).
It's on my list of things to research that I never get around to. A buddy of mine down the road has ball locks and just replaced all his posts and o-rings, so maybe I will wander over, drink some of his beer, and compare o-rings.
Joined: 21 Sep 2011 Posts: 194 Location: Central Florida
Link Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 1:01 am Post subject: Re: Keg replacement o-rings
kal wrote:
When purchasing used kegs, it's recommended that all 5 of the o-rings be replaced. This is especially true if the kegs previously held root beer as that flavour permeates the o-rings and is impossible to remove.
I recommend using red silicone o-rings instead of the black nitrile rubber (Buna N) o-rings that manufacturers normally use as silicone stays softer at lower temperatures so there's less chance of leaks.
Many home brew shops will sell you a pack with all 5 ready to go, but here's how you can do it yourself and save money. O-rings can tear or become damaged over time so purchasing extras is always wise. I purchase the smaller dip tube and post ones in packs of 100 and the larger keg lid o-rings in packs of 5:
Link Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:49 pm Post subject:
Kal,
Do you ever replace the o-ring on the pressure relief valve? I have had a couple valves that leaked and had to replace the valve but If I can find the correct o-ring it would most likely take care of the problem. _________________ Alan
Joined: 15 Sep 2015 Posts: 177 Location: central wi
Link Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:20 pm Post subject:
kal, i use the same 'old ale' kegs from adventures in homebrewing that you use. have you ever replaced the o-ring on the poppet valves? any idea on the size? after some $0.10 research, looks like the below will work?
Joined: 27 Feb 2017 Posts: 248 Location: Dayton, OH
Link Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:11 pm Post subject:
I recently found out that not all Keg lid o-rings are the same. I had some problems with relatively new keg lids leaking - tried to replace the black o-rings with one's I got at my local brew supply store. But they were the same type and I still had leaks. I thought is was a problem with the lid itself. It wasn't until the other day when I visited a keg restoration facility in Cincy that I learned there are different o-ring materials available for kegs. They gave me softer black o-rings. I put them on and no-more leaks. So even with new kegs, there could be issues depending on the o-ring material used.
Joined: 12 Dec 2010 Posts: 10950 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter
Link Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:33 pm Post subject:
mjo2125 wrote:
I recently found out that not all Keg lid o-rings are the same. I had some problems with relatively new keg lids leaking - tried to replace the black o-rings with one's I got at my local brew supply store. But they were the same type and I still had leaks. I thought is was a problem with the lid itself. It wasn't until the other day when I visited a keg restoration facility in Cincy that I learned there are different o-ring materials available for kegs. They gave me softer black o-rings. I put them on and no-more leaks. So even with new kegs, there could be issues depending on the o-ring material used.
Agreed - that's why the links to Amazon above are for the softer silicone ones, not the harder Buna N ones. (See my original post above). Cheers!
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means that I now only use the ones that I know work. (It could however just be like a lucky penny, and the fact that I haven't lost a batch since I switched is just coincidence...).
