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Keg replacement o-rings

 
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:02 pm    Post subject: Keg replacement o-rings Reply with quote


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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:

These work on all kegs, ball lock or pin lock.

If you're just looking for the 5 pack, they're available here (these are mostly Buna N however):

Adventures in Homebrewing
MoreBeer
OntarioBeerKegs

(Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you! )

Kal


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Last edited by kal on Mon Apr 11, 2022 7:29 pm; edited 15 times in total
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luke_l




Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 63
Location: Kingston, ON


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:28 am    Post subject: Re: Keg replacement o-rings Reply with quote

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.
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Were the others that you were using on the pin lock also silicone? (They're purposely tight). Or were they rubber, meant for ball lock?

Kal

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luke_l




Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 63
Location: Kingston, ON


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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 Sad 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.
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jcav




Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 205
Location: Central Florida


PostLink    Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 1:01 am    Post subject: Re: Keg replacement o-rings Reply with quote

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:

Dip tube o-ring (2 required per keg)
Post o-ring (2 required per keg)
Lid o-ring (1 required per keg)

These work on all kegs, ball lock or pin lock.

(Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you! )

Kal


Thanks Kal, just ordered a pack of 100 each for my keg posts, and dip tubes. Thanks for posting, I used your links!

John

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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 1:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks John - it's appreciated!

I have 100 packs for the keg posts and dip tubes as well. I don't have to replace them often so that's likely a lifetime supply.

Kal

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Diveralan




Joined: 19 Apr 2015
Posts: 27



PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.

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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've never replaced them. Most of mine do not have an o-ring that's replaceable - they look like this:


Though there are some that may be replaceable that look like this:

Kal

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itsnotrequired




Joined: 15 Sep 2015
Posts: 177
Location: central wi


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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?

https://www.amazon.com/008-Silicone-O-Ring-Durometer-Width/dp/B000FN0X2M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkId=ab88bffa0e9524054c4b8afc91a7bfee
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

itsnotrequired wrote:
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?

I have not. I don't know if the o-ring you linked to will work - sorry!

Kal

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Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
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mjo2125




Joined: 27 Feb 2017
Posts: 248
Location: Dayton, OH


PostLink    Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11114
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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!

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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