[tomsawyer]

I moved a picnic tap off my wonderful Best Bitter, and tonight I see a good half gallon of this brew in the bottom of my keezer.  Darn! X10.  Should I be replacing the poppets in the beer out side, or should I be inspecting the metal exterior of that connection?  its a ball lock keg.  I took one out of service not that long ago for this same reason.  Maybe I should buy more picnic taps and take the leaks out of the picture.

[oscarvan]

Tapping it with the dull end of something heavy may help. Other than that, take it apart. The seal may be bad.

[hamiltont]

I use a small amount of keg lube on the poppets, actually everything with a rubber seal. O-rings, poppets, pressure release valves. Seems to work. Cheers!!!

[saltydawg]

I use a small amount of keg lube on the poppets, actually everything with a rubber seal. O-rings, poppets, pressure release valves. Seems to work. Cheers!!!

+1
Started using CIP film...(actually I think it's just Vaseline) and all those little annoying leaks have stopped. Of course the rubber and the 'seat' areas have to be in good shape.

[tschmidlin]

Yeah, keg lube is great, but buy yourself some poppets to have on hand.  Always have them on hand.

[tomsawyer]

Thanks I'm making an order anyway today so keg lube and backup poppets are on the list now.

[tom]

There's at least 3 different kinds, so make sure that you have the correct one in there in the first place. And if you order more that you order the right ones.

Start with the name of the keg that is usually stamped on the outside.

That's why I take apart one keg at a time.

[bluesman]

My experience has been that when they start going south they don't want to come back and I end up replacing the part which is a winner every time. I keep a supply of keg parts on hand for this very reason. Make sure you order the correct replacement parts as Tom has indicated. They aren't exactly cheap and you won't be happy to find the parts you've ordered won't fit. Good Luck! 

[tomsawyer]

Looks like all of mine are type A, they have the low profile nut on them at least.  I ordered two complete liquid posts and to exra poppets.  I have a couple of posts htat are a bit dinged right in the opening where the seal pushes up against.  The one that failed just seemed to not push up completely, probably a fatigued spring or rubber seal.

I got all my kegs used for $20 so I suppose its time to pay the piper.  It was tempting to just buy more kegs, the liquid post alone was half the price of the entire used keg.

[oscarvan]

The one that failed just seemed to not push up completely, probably a fatigued spring or rubber seal.

Had that happen. The conical seal of the poppet was broken.