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Soda Keg parts broken?

Kegging
#1

Hi all,
I have a 3 gallon soda keg that uses those CO2 chargers. Somehow I think I ruptured the parts when connecting or disconnecting them, but I’m confused or unsure if this is completely true. So, #1, the actual charger is now slightly indented so I need to use two wrenches to unscrew it to change the cartridge. This, I assume, I need to replace. Not sure why this happened. But the piece that I’m more unsure of is the ball lock that connects the charger to dispense CO2 into the keg. It seems to connect to the keg fine. It doesn’t show any sign of damage. But, when I unscrew the charger, the pressure is suppose to remain in the keg, right? But now, all the gas releases out of the ball lock, forcing me to fully pressurize the keg each time I change the cartridge. This is causing me to go through many more cartridges than usual. Usually I can go through a whole keg on one, maybe two cartridges. This forces me to go through several more. Is this broken and do I need a new one? They aren’t expensive, but I just want to make sure I understand what’s wrong. Thanks.

Mike

#2

The disconnect is not a one way valve. When you unscrew to charger the CO2 will escape the keg. Remove the whole system from the keg to avoid loose the CO2.

I would suggest a standard regulator and a paintball tank. In the long run it will be less expensive. And it will keep the beer at a steady carbonation level.

~$100 if you buy 2 tanks. Good to have a backup.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commercial-Grad ... 19d4b5e47f http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-adapter-co-2-go.html http://www.ebay.com/itm/CO2-Tank-Alumin ... 337a07426d
#3

Thanks for the advice. Perhaps I’ll look into that. I’m still somewhat confused though, because I swear that before this last mishap, the ball lock was acting as a one-way valve. I’ve never lost pressure in the past when changing cartridges. That just doesn’t seem to make sense. The directions on the charger also explain that you shouldn’t attach the ball valve to the inflator first or else the valvle can be over pressurized and rupture. Always attach the valve to the keg first. So perhaps I am just forgetting what I’ve done in the past. But I simply want to make sure I can change the cartridge without losing pressure in the keg. I suppose I need to take the charger and ball valve off as one unit. But then I would need to do exactly what it says not to do, because if I put the valve on the keg, the pressure will release, but if I attach the charger with the new cartridge to the valve, it may rupture. Why is this all of a sudden so confusing?! It was so simple before. I feel like I did something that broke it but it’s just not making sense. Sorry, I’m just pretty confused all of a sudden.

Mike

#4

Can you put the cartridge in the device to a point just before rupturing the seal on the cartridge? This may be just enough to keep the CO2 inside the keg when you attach the disconnect.

#5

I’m not intimately familiar with these chargers, but the more detail you can provide as to all the parts you’re using, the better people will be able to help.

I’m assuming that we’re talking about this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/ball ... l-gas.html

connected to the gas side of the soda keg, and a charger similar to this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/soda ... arger.html

If I’m correct about that, we’re in business…

First, I’m a bit confused about what exactly you’re disconnecting when the gas escapes…are you pulling the valve off the post? Or unscrewing the MFL connection from the valve? Or leaving both of those connected but simply removing the cartridge?

The first should be fine, the second would immediately depressurize the keg, and the third, I’m not sure. Looks like there’s a “trigger” on the charger that I would assume will not allow gas flow in either direction if it’s not depressed, but again, I’m not sure.

Any details would be helpful…

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