[Jimmy K]

After buying used kegs and taking the posts off for cleaning and o-ring replacement, I'm wondering - when I put the posts back, how tight should I tighten them.
 
Purely academic at this point, since I basically wrenched them down until they cried out for mercy, then kept tightening until the crying stopped.

[bluesman]

Jim...you only need to tighten them to the point they make contact with the mating surface. They are designed to just make contact and the rubber o-ring does the actual sealing. You don't need to torque them down.

edit: they do need to be tight so that they don't work themselves loose upon connecting and disconnecting...so just enough torque to hold them in place.

[Slowbrew]

I have always spun them down till they were finger tight and d pulled them tight with my socket and ratchet.  Tight is defined as "till the post stops turning without me working too hard".  There's no need to torque them.

Paul

[tubercle]

Finger tight plus 1/2 turn is plenty. Check for leaks w/starsan.

[euge]

When you said Purely academic at this point, since I basically wrenched them down until they cried out for mercy, then kept tightening until the crying stopped. I cringed.

[oscarvan]

From memory feel......20 ft pounds sound OK?

[bluesman]

From memory feel......20 ft pounds sound OK?

Sounds about right. Just enough to keep the post from becoming loose upon normal use.

[richardt]

Finger tight plus 1/2 turn is plenty. Check for leaks w/starsan.

This.  Check your lid, posts, poppets, and pressure relief valve everytime you seal up a keg.
Usually it is the lid, but every now and then a PRV, poppet, or post will leak when you pressurize w/ CO2. 
Best to detect it early before you lose a whole tank of CO2.

[Jimmy K]

They were used and still had soda in them. I had to sit on the keg and put my weight on the wrench to get the posts off, so I thought they needed to be that tight. Later it occurred to me that I was probably just mangling the o-rings doing that. Thanks.

[bluesman]

They were used and still had soda in them. I had to sit on the keg and put my weight on the wrench to get the posts off, so I thought they needed to be that tight. Later it occurred to me that I was probably just mangling the o-rings doing that. Thanks.

I've had this happen to me before. If it requires excessive force to remove them, then they're way too tight.

[beersk]

Can't remember where I saw it (it was on youtube somewhere) but the guy said turn the post finger tight then tighten with a wrench a little and give the wrench one "whack".  That's what I do. 

[oscarvan]

Can't remember where I saw it (it was on youtube somewhere) but the guy said turn the post finger tight then tighten with a wrench a little and give the wrench one "whack".  That's what I do.

Would that be a metric or a standard whack?

[bo]

The o-ring seals it. Wacking it is just asking for stripped threads or difficulty taking it off in the future.

[euge]

All 16 of my kegs' posts stop when tightening. No need for pushing matters. Relax, getting the posts off initially was tough but no need to force anything.

[beersk]

The o-ring seals it. Wacking it is just asking for stripped threads or difficulty taking it off in the future.

It's not a very hard whack.  It's more of a smack, really...
You know when you..........wait, nevermind.