Corny poppet valve replacement

[chrisbjones202]

Morning all,

I've a couple of cornies with dodgy poppets that weep a bit if I disconnect at serving pressure. I've replaced the other seals last year. Kegs are aeb and cornelious.

Where is a good place to get them and are they all the same for ball lock posts.

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[AdrianTrace]

I find that these work fine, and the o-rings will be easy to replace when needed:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cornelius-Typ ... 58d52493ab

The springs are actually longer than in the picture, but they've fit into all my kegs

[Kev888]

The poppets can be different between different brands, and sadly not all are interchangeable even amongst ball-locks. Sometimes the universal types work well and so can be a good call, but sometimes they don't work as well as hoped.

In all the AEB ones I've had, the posts were a bit taller and the poppets didn't fall out of the posts when they were unscrewed - they had splayed toes to the 3-legged base that held them in and could be most fiddly to remove (someone made a video here which may be of help)

Back then I couldn't find a UK supplier. However, they used O-rings for the seal so I didn't need to replace the whole poppet anyway, just the ring. The BS008 size of O-rings fitted mine very well. I think there may be a smaller-ringed version about too though.

The cornelius ones tend to be more common; I had these on all my cornelius and britvic branded kegs, some were black rather than yellow. They use bespoke rubber seals that require the whole poppet to be replaced when its shot; the shafts are too tiny for O-rings.

These poppets can be bought from several places, I got a couple of the 'A' type from hop and grape

However after some thought, I replaced all my cornelius style with what were sold to me as 'becker' style poppets

that were directly compatible but used O-rings for the seal; meaning easy/cheap replacement in future. I needed lots so it was cheaper to import, however I'm sure there are sellers of similar things here these days.

BUT all that said there are also other types, yours may differ. It is a mine-field of slightly different variants, plus (especially if second-hand) different posts can end up on different keg brands. I can only go by what were on mine, I think I've identified those pictured above correctly but please don't place 'too' much faith in that.

EDIT: Also, even the best/newest poppets can weep if they don't seat properly for some reason when a disconnect is removed. Pressing the poppet gently down with the tip of a teaspoon handle briefly can give them a second chance to seat - on the beer post either very briefly or after de-pressurising to minimise showers!

[chrisbjones202]

Thanks for the feedback, I like the idea of the ones fitted with orings.


I find if i move the poppet around when it's not sealing I can find a spot where it seals. They were from home brew company and the other seals were well used.


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[Kev888]

Its not unusual really, I had quite a lot of used cornies at one point and got so frustrated with their individual foibles, I replaced all their poppets and O-rings, which made quite a difference to reliability. Even most of the 'refurbished' cornies don't have new poppet or PRV seals, just the post and lid rings.