Been doing some searching and have not really found an FAQ type thread on what the difference between ball and pin lock kegs.
Wondering if one is better or they are just different. Seems that one is cheaper than the other but I cant recall at the moment.
I have seen a few set ups for sale on craigslist and my brother just bought a new fridge and his old one is just taking up space in his garage…which got me thinking about making a set up for kegging.
Is there a big difference in which style kegs are used? Is one generally better than the other?
Other than different connectors, ball locks are a little taller but have less diameter. Thus, pin locks are a little shorter but wider.
If you use a barbed swivel nut at the end of the beer’gas lines you can use both with a simple change out. You can also have a quick change out to a sanke or other tap.
Ball locks are more widely used and easier to find parts for. If I was starting out I would go with pin locks. They are much cheaper and you can get all the hardware online. The only problem with those is the width, many mini fridges barely fit 2 ball locks side by side.
I went with ball lock because of they are narrower. I wanted to easily fit eight in my 14.5 cu. ft. keezer.
Pin lock kegs are MUCH cheaper though and easily available online along with all of the necessary fittings. If you shop around, you should be able to get 4 pin locks for the price of 2 ball locks.
Some people prefer ball lock kegs, because they have a pull style pressure relief valve. But that shouldn’t be the deciding factor. It would be cheaper to buy pin lock kegs and replacement lids with the pressure relief valves you want.
Well I bought them…they still had a lot of pressure in them so I assume that’s a good sign. Now just having troubles getting the lids off…I have depressurized them…am I missing something?
You will want to replace the o-rings. Here is a list of the Buna #. You might be able to find them at the local hardware store. Except the lid might be hard to find. Or order in bulk from McMaster Carr.
I’ll second buyng new o rings. I did that when i bought 3 off ebay. Soaked them in Brew Clean for a day or 2, greased them with Petro Gel (a little goes a long way). Only issue I had was a small leak in the pressure release & through a poppet (whatever the thing is called inside the tap posts with the spring).
Learning from my experience, I’d say disassemble the posts when you soak them to make sure they’re fully cleaned & test the kegs for leaks before using them for beer. The pressure release had to be replaced & the poppet just had to readjust.
Now all i do when i change kegs is rinse out the old beer & soak with Star San. I also run star san solution through the lines.
[quote=“mubrewer”]
Learning from my experience, I’d say disassemble the posts when you soak them to make sure they’re fully cleaned & test the kegs for leaks before using them for beer. [/quote]
IMO this is really is so easy to do when cleaning a keg that there is no reason to skip this step as part of every keg cleaning SOP. It adds very little time to the process.
