Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Capn Ahab
Posts: 887
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:32 pm

Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by Capn Ahab »

A question for those with engineering skill (Mr Lard) and long experience of cornies (Roger) in particular, but all suggestions welcome :-)

I just picked up some dirt cheap cornies that have been sat on an exposed deck of a boat in the floating harbour for the past 2-3 years. They all contained what was once beer, which had turned to vinegar in two of them and had coagulated into strange dark lumps of jelly in the other, and also had all maintained some pressure in varying degrees.

So I tested for pressure this morning and found the following:

Cornie 1: Had maintained about 10 psi; no apparent leaks when sprayed with washing up liquid solution, but when I attached gas to the gas in post it immediately started leaking gas from the post itself.

Cornie 2: Barely a dribble of pressure; lumps of jelly inside; o-ring/seal leaking when tested with solution.

Cornie 3: A fair bit of pressure; only the pressure release valve leaks, and then only when you lift and release it. If you push the valve down again, it stops leaking, but then I only tested it at about 10 psi.

I am keeping Cornie 3 for myself (the other two are spoken for) and want to strip it right down and clean every nook and cranny, but the gas in post has a star type locknut and the beer out post is almost impossible to get a spanner into due to the handles. What tool should I use? Also, is it possible to fix the pressure release valve and/or get a replacement?

I'm guessing cornie 1 will need a new gas in post, or maybe just a really good clean up?

Does anyone recommend any further tests or a maintenance/repair regime?

Thanks.
Eat sh*t or die trying
User avatar
alikocho
Posts: 1540
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:31 am

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by alikocho »

Deep sockets (the star shaped ones) are the way to get the posts off easily. Halfords stock them.

Replacement pressure release valves are available - try http://www.candirect.co.uk/ (they have more listed in German than in English. Assuming these are ball lock kegs, these are what they call NC. They speak English if you call them up, and are pretty good to deal with.

This

http://server3.gs-shop.de/200/cgi-bin/s ... &PKEY=8986

or this

http://server3.gs-shop.de/200/cgi-bin/s ... &PKEY=8986

depending on which type of lid you have.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
User avatar
steve crawshaw
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 8:49 pm
Contact:

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by steve crawshaw »

brewUK also stock cornie spares as do hop and grape. I use gland pliers to get the star type posts off - seems to work OK. If the gunk is really stubborn you can use caustic soda to clean the kegs. Get down the 99p shop. Soak it for a while and take precautions with goggles and gloves etc.

cheers
steve
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
User avatar
alikocho
Posts: 1540
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:31 am

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by alikocho »

Corny 1 might not need a new post, just a poppet (the springy thing inside the post). You need to work out which poppet you need....

Steve's suggestion on Caustic Soda - this will shift everything, and you can buy it cheaply in Best One on Mina Road. I personally prefer PBW as it doesn't make you dissolve as much as caustic soda.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
User avatar
I_used_to_brew
Posts: 2356
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2010 1:06 pm

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by I_used_to_brew »

Capn Ahab wrote:A question for those with engineering skill (Mr Lard) and long experience of cornies (Roger) in particular, but all suggestions welcome :-)

I just picked up some dirt cheap cornies that have been sat on an exposed deck of a boat in the floating harbour for the past 2-3 years. They all contained what was once beer, which had turned to vinegar in two of them and had coagulated into strange dark lumps of jelly in the other, and also had all maintained some pressure in varying degrees.

So I tested for pressure this morning and found the following:

Cornie 1: Had maintained about 10 psi; no apparent leaks when sprayed with washing up liquid solution, but when I attached gas to the gas in post it immediately started leaking gas from the post itself.

Cornie 2: Barely a dribble of pressure; lumps of jelly inside; o-ring/seal leaking when tested with solution.

Cornie 3: A fair bit of pressure; only the pressure release valve leaks, and then only when you lift and release it. If you push the valve down again, it stops leaking, but then I only tested it at about 10 psi.

I am keeping Cornie 3 for myself (the other two are spoken for) and want to strip it right down and clean every nook and cranny, but the gas in post has a star type locknut and the beer out post is almost impossible to get a spanner into due to the handles. What tool should I use? Also, is it possible to fix the pressure release valve and/or get a replacement?

I'm guessing cornie 1 will need a new gas in post, or maybe just a really good clean up?

Does anyone recommend any further tests or a maintenance/repair regime?

Thanks.
Your main problem is "what is a Cornelius keg?" Personally, I got pissed off with them big time. Too many variants and too much to keep on top of in way of servicing. I went for Jolly kegs in the end, all mine are exactly the same Image

But back on topic....

*edit* all the below presumes you are going to jetwash the bulk of the shit out first so you have a reasonably clean keg to start off with....

Replace all the O rings, do not save any. First dismantle them as much as possible, don't worry about the correct spanner, they are going to be some obscure yankee size that an imperial or metric spanner may or may not be a close enough fit for. Use mole grips. dump everything that comes off inside the keg and clean it all together.

Clean them with something fairly serious, Sodium Percarbonate (eco dishwasher type ingredient) in near boiling water. Exposing them to Caustic may well knacker them unless it's a fairly brief encounter.

Dip tube O rings and post O rings should be replaced every few uses, particularly the dip tube ones which get hammered a lot.

See where you stand after replacing the 5 main O rings before panicking further.

Poppet valves inside the posts, and the posts themselves are a pain in the ass, so many variants. The posts will be fine, the poppets may need replacing, this is difficult due to the variants but there is a solution, "universal poppets" http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-pop ... 1037666321 there are probably other suppliers, search...

Leaking PRV's, never known this after a clean. The rubber seals are practically impossible to obtain, replace the PRV, all of them are interchangable as far as I have experienced. Try Norman normansplace@hotmail.com for the O rings and the PRV's. He can probably do the poppets, but because of the variability he may need to see a pic or be sent the one you have.

Other than that, dismantle and clean the discos after each use and you should be fine.

And then enjoy your "corny kegs" as there are no more. What is on the market is probably it. A decent keg will sell for £70. I remember buying two for £30 delivered with a pair of discos not that long ago....
Last edited by I_used_to_brew on Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
periolus
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:50 pm

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by periolus »

Mark. Will follow this with interest, as I am about to service my cornies. Might need to compare notes!
FV1: EMPTY
FV2: EMPTY
Conditioning: NOWT
Drinking:Countdown Conundrum - Best Bitter; Haka! The Herald - Pacific IPA
Planning: San Francisco 4.9er - California Common; Event Horizon - Robust Porter; Cold Dead Hand - American IPA
Capn Ahab
Posts: 887
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:32 pm

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by Capn Ahab »

Thanks Roger, that's about as comprehensive an answer as I could hope for. Nice one.
Eat sh*t or die trying
mrlard
Posts: 406
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:40 am

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by mrlard »

22mm or 7/8" ring spanners will fit straight onto the posts no need for mole grips that's just butchery.

As Roger said change all the o rings inside and out.

Can direct is the best place I can recommend for for spares. As for which type of cornie keg you have-may I suggest reading the side. ;-)

I have found although poppets and posts vary quite a lot most will screw onto each other. So if you are really struggling you could just buy all new (just take of a post from a cornie you know the make of to check)

Tidy
User avatar
alikocho
Posts: 1540
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:31 am

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by alikocho »

Also, FWIW, one of the most useful tools for cleaning a keg is a toilet brush (keep one just for this purpose).

And what do you mean 'some obscure yankee size' - you do know that they measure spanner and nut sizes in inches in the US, right? The two post nut sizes on ball lock kegs are 7/8" and 11/16", and if you use a star shaped socket or closed spanner, the star nut isn't an issue. These aren't really obscure sizes, and as I pointed out before Halfords stock deep sockets in these sizes (as the nuts also appear on some cars).
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
User avatar
Taz Ales
Site Admin
Posts: 467
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:07 am
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Re: Dismantling/Repairing cornies

Post by Taz Ales »

Toilet brush... I bet I can get that to fit onto my drill driver.
Taz... or Chris. It's up to you.
Post Reply