I now have two corny legs that won’t seal at the main lid. I’m sure the metal of the keg is slightly bent, preventing the O-ring from seating. If I try to fix it, I’m bound to make it worse.
So what can I do with these kegs? Most of the things I can think of require a seal.
Is the metal visibly bent, or is it just an assumption? I ask because I own lots of kegs and have swapped lids on most of them to find the combo that seals well. Things that help me get a good seal every time :
1. Change all keg seals twice/year.
2. Use a thin layer of keg lube every time on the lid seal.
3. After kegging, hit the keg with 30 psi for a minute or so to firmly seat the lid, and then dial down the pressure to your carbing level.
4. As mentioned, swapping lids can help.
+1 to all this Jon.
I’d like to add to this list, if I may:
As for a bent keg lid area, I had one corny like that and I took a hammer to it using a block of wood as my “chisel” and was able to take out enough bend to get it sealing better. It used to take like 15psi to form a seal and with enough hammering I can get a reliable seal as low as 8psi, which works for my since I’m usually floating around 9-12psi. I started by laying a flat object on the lid seal area to determine where the highpoint or dip was, then started working on that area.
Yep, meant to add that one, too !
I had a problem with a leaky keg a few years ago. I bought an oversized 0-ring for the lid, and that fixed the issue. I’m sure they’re widely available, but here’s one source:
I’ll try that. Thanks.
I have one that doesn’t seal, I use it for fermenting.
This +1. I just got an oversized one made of silicone. It’s softer and bigger, it seals up a keg I have had problems with for quite some time.
From experience of fixing hundreds of kegs in my time, there are many ways to fix them. If you are talking about the lid area only, I always start with a new lid seal and test the bale wire on the lid. It should snap down tight with no slack on a empty keg. The bale wire can be squeezed together ( I would put one side in a vise to squeeze them tighter together). If you can feel a bump or see a rise on the lid lip. Try this trick. Use a 12 or 15 inch adjustable wrench. Screw the wrench down over the bend and lift or lower easy a few times. The wide smooth face of the adjustable will be able to bend the lip slightly to pull out small bends and dings with out damaging the keg opening.
Good brewing
A corny has a front and a back? Is there a preferred direction to install the lid?
There are few variations - some of mine have a lid that can only close in one direction (without hitting the carry handle). Others have lids that can be closed in either direction.
Good call! Sorry, I forget most folks use ball lock. Pin lock kegs, which I use, have a definite preferred direction for closing the lid since the posts are on one half of the lid (whereas on ball lock they are opposite each other).
Ah, got it. Mine are all ball-lock.
Mine are all ball lock too, but I have a few pretty old school ones with a single hard plastic carrry handle that only lets the lid close in one direction. I’ll try to post a pic later.
Is there a preferred orientation for ball locks? For consistency, I put the “in post” to the left when viewed from the top and I use red o-rings on the “in posts” for my kegs, so I don’t mix them up as badly when hooking lines up.
Sorry for the double derail of the original thread… one use for a cornie that won’t seal would be to store StarSAN in it, but like everyone noted above, I would try to fix it first…
I don’t orient them left-to-right consistently, but I do use colored o-rings - green for “gas” and blue for “beer”.
Not a kegger yet, but I really like this idea Lee. I see colored orings in my future of kegging
I haven’t much trouble with lids not sealing. Now and then I have to put some keg lube on the rings and that’s about it.
I’ve never had any trouble telling the in and out posts apart. The gas in post have small slits cut in the area that forms the “nut”. The out post don’t. I see no reason to label them twice. 8^)
Paul
I had one that had fallen off, or been hit by a truck - definitely out of shape. I took all the fittings off of it and gave it to a guy that makes swords out of old lumber mill saw blades. He uses it to dunk the sword into water after hammering it on the anvil.
Not a common usage, but the idea is something that needs to be filled with water but doesn’t want a 55 gallon drum.