Clean your disconnects, and learn from my mistakes

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by corbmoster, Sep 29, 2016.

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  1. corbmoster

    corbmoster Pundit (848) Dec 15, 2014 Texas
    Trader

    I had been meaning to post his for weeks. For a while there I had off flavors in my beer that I didn't taste in the hydrometer. Kind of plasticity, and just, off. It wasn't until it had been keged and carbed. Long story short, disassemble your ball valve disconnects and soak them in PBW regularly. Both my CO2, and liquid disconnects had gunk in them. It is a simple procedure, just insert a flat head screwdriver into the slit ontop of the disconnect and unscrew. There is a spring, washer, and plastic needle. They are small, easy to lose parts, so be careful.

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    #1 corbmoster, Sep 29, 2016
    redgorillabreath, InVinoVeritas, GetMeAnIPA and 3 others like this.
  2. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    Thank you for sharing! I take my taps apart once a year I guess it makes sense to do the same with your disconnects. Take care.
     
    #2 premierpro, Sep 29, 2016
  3. scottakelly

    scottakelly Maven (1,487) May 9, 2007 Ohio

    If you are dry hopping in the keg this is crucial. For malty beers, my practice without fail for years has been every few (3) batches
     
    #3 scottakelly, Sep 29, 2016
  4. DrMindbender

    DrMindbender Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2014 South Carolina

    I clean/disinfect my lines and disconnects every time I keg a new beer...it only takes an extra 30 seconds to toss them into some cleaning solution and then sanitize them.
     
    #4 DrMindbender, Oct 3, 2016
  5. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Make sure to soak gas and beer disconnects separately. The plastic piece is a different size and I've mixed them in the past
     
    #5 YamBag, Mar 14, 2017
    PortLargo likes this.
  6. corbmoster

    corbmoster Pundit (848) Dec 15, 2014 Texas
    Trader

    Which part is different? It's all plastic.
     
    #6 corbmoster, Mar 14, 2017
  7. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    The clear plastic piece that probes the ball lock
     
    #7 YamBag, Mar 15, 2017
  8. corbmoster

    corbmoster Pundit (848) Dec 15, 2014 Texas
    Trader

    Are you referring to the poppet needle? I just looked at all of mine out of curiosity and I can not find a significant difference between them. Some are slightly thicker at the contact point than others but I believe this to be a result of different manufacturers. I couldn't find any one mentioning the needles working on one disconnect, and not another in a web search. And, aftermarket repair parts sell poppet needles as being universal solutions for both gas and liquid on kegworks and AIH.
     
    #8 corbmoster, Mar 15, 2017
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