Disconnects and duotights

[ozdevil]

Hey all

I know alot of ya still bottling however any you keggers out there  had any issues with  Disconnects from Kegland and doutights?

This morning  i just noticed a bit of spillage coming out of my kegerator   this is not the 1st time this happened

I have made sure all disconnects and fittings are secure   but still beer is getting out of the keg onto the floor of kegerator 
then to kitchen floor


I am now deciding to go stainless stell beer disconnects and clamps  , i was going to do this the other week
but decided to make sure discconects and lines was secure

not a great start to easter sunday seeing beer on the ground
 

[Worthog]

I only use ss fittings. Old story, you get what you pay for. I dismantle and soak connectors every few kegs and use food grade lube on the post seals. You only need to nick a seal and...

Cheers

[Shamus O'Sean]

27 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

I know alot of ya still bottling however any you keggers out there  had any issues with  Disconnects from Kegland and doutights?

Hi OD, I have not had issues with the Kegland plastic disconnects themselves.  I have about 10 gas and 10 beer across my system.

I did have one MFL screw on to 8mm duotight leak on the gas side.  Lost a full 6kg tank of CO2.   Leak was at the threaded end.  Nipping it up a bit further than recommended solved the issue.

I also have another MFL screw on to 8mm duotight where the 8mm gas line seems to work itself loose.  This is on a disconnect between my gas bottle and the kegerator.  It gets the most use of any because I use this one to pressurise stuff outside the kegerator.  I think the line just comes loose with my clumsy fingers.  I reckon that I must push the collar in enough to ease off the grip of the internal jaws then the gas pressure in the line is enough to push the tube loose.  It only comes out enough to hear the dreaded hiss.  These days I check this line is properly inserted after I play around with it. 

[Journeyman]

I have CMB disconnects - rfecommended by guys on here and not had a problem at all.

I have duotights. I had 1 I could not get to not drip - CPB replaced it. I had JG push-in connectors for the shanks at the back of my taps - could not get them to not drip when I opened or closed the door. I took pics of the difference in depth the line pushes ihn between duotights and the JG's and CPB refunded me and I used the barbs with cable ties. Never a drip since.

The trick with duotights is the cut - it must be dead flat across the line and square to the length. Then push it all the way in and pull on it slightly - it should be a 2-stage push in and then move out less than 1mm. 

Also make sure they aren't set up where something will push the line sideways near the disconnect.

[Red devil 44]

I use the plastic ones for both beer & gas, can’t say I’ve had any issues over 2 1/2 years of kegging. When I have to replace them I’ll upgrade to the SS ones. 

[kmar92]

I have been using plastic disconnects for both beer and gas for over 12 months, I have some CMB and Kegland disconnects and I have not had any problems at all. I also use duotights on all my gas and beer lines and I have never had a leak. As @Journeyman says the trick with duotights is a clean straight cut and making sure that you feel the line push past both o-rings when you insert the line into the duotight fitting and then pulling the line back and feeling the barbs engage the tube.

[ozdevil]

The thing is   its just weird as   i used   a tube cutter  on flat level service made sure  they are all square  with clean cuts like you all have suggested and pushed them in as far as possible and pulled the tube back in the duotight fittings.

i have nearly had the kegerator for near on 12 months and  has had several kegs with no issues  however last 2 kegs  its decided to dispense on the inside of the kegerator

i was going to replace wit SS soon enough but looks like i will be moving to SS disconnects  alot sooner then i planned   and may look at clamping the tubes instead of duetights

[Noibeer]

I had the same problem @ozdevil. I can't remember exactly but it was either a duotight that needed a slight tighten on to the disconnect thread or just a disconnect that needed a bit of lube on the keg post o ring.

[Lix]

Another thing that can catch you (me) is if you have put the beer side poppet spring in upside down. That dispenses beer inside the kegerator really well.

[Journeyman]

On 4/5/2021 at 7:48 AM, ozdevil said:

i was going to replace wit SS soon enough but looks like i will be moving to SS disconnects  alot sooner then i planned

You know SS disconnects is unlikely to resolve the issue, right? Unless you have something faulty in the plastic ones, the issue is the seals, not the body of the disconnect. 

2 hours ago, Lix said:

Another thing that can catch you (me) is if you have put the beer side poppet spring in upside down. That dispenses beer inside the kegerator really well.

I'm guessing that's an interesting story.

[ozdevil]

30 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

You know SS disconnects is unlikely to resolve the issue, right? Unless you have something faulty in the plastic ones, the issue is the seals, not the body of the disconnect. 

 

I do know that, my intentions  was alway to eventually  change over to  ss disconnects anyway

having the issues and i do agree it could be just seals that is causing my issues and thats an easy fix 
and i will be stripping down  next weekend and will look at the seals and everything



 

[jamiek86]

20 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

 i will be stripping down  next weekend 



 

hope this isn't something you post 

[Classic Brewing Co]

29 minutes ago, jamiek86 said:

hope this isn't something you post 

Yes, please save us that 

[James Lao]

I haven’t had any issues with my Kegland plastic duotight disconnects until the last week or so.

Stripped the disconnect and cleaned with warm sodium percarbonate solution then Starsan, smidge of keg lube on the seals etc., and it has been behaving so far.

Will add disassembling the fittings to my keg cleaning routine I think.

Prefer the duotight type ones to the barb and hose clamp ones though (they were on my last kegerator).

Cheers

James

[ozdevil]

1 hour ago, jamiek86 said:

hope this isn't something you post 

hmmmm  Stay tuned to   "oz strips for diy coopers lol

don't worry i dont want to see mysely  stripping down either  

[Journeyman]

21 hours ago, James Lao said:

Will add disassembling the fittings to my keg cleaning routine I think

I keep meaning to do mine but it's like, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" - plus I'm lazy.

[James Lao]

I think I will just do the other disconnect - strip down, clean and lube up (sounds dodgy but isn’t).

Then leave them alone until  they start playing up (if/when).

I think you’re approach is correct JM,     if it’s not broke don’t fix it!

Sometimes can cause more problems !!

Cheers

James

[ozdevil]

hey all,  i havent had a keg in the fridge for awhile as i have  done some bottling for a change

i finally got of my backside and  checked everything  with the lines and made sure they are in the duotights nicely  

i decided to get rid off the plastic disconnects  (they will come in handy for other things lol)

i now have 

5x stainless steel Gas lines
4x stainless steel liquid disconnects




at 18 bucks pop   they should last awhile and  should be more durable then the plastic disconnects   however they are alittle bit heavier then the  plastic ones and i think will give a better seal 
then the plastic disconnects 

however  i found where my issues was coming from   and it wasnt   the duotights or disconnects it was the kegs 
the  gas post and liquid posts was not making a seal   so have tighted the buggers up after a bit of maintence

 

[Aussiekraut]

15 minutes ago, ozdevil said:

however  i found where my issues was coming from   and it wasnt   the duotights or disconnects it was the kegs 
the  gas post and liquid posts was not making a seal   so have tighted the buggers up after a bit of maintence
 

I take it you are still using the duo tight hex connectors for the lines?

From what I have read, the better quality plastic disconnects are fine, just the cheap and nasty ones may be an issue.

[ozdevil]

5 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

I take it you are still using the duo tight hex connectors for the lines?

From what I have read, the better quality plastic disconnects are fine, just the cheap and nasty ones may be an issue.

Yes Still using them mate,   I am just carbing up a keg at the moment and have not connected the taps
hopefully this weekend i will see if i have anymore issues.

if i do i then will go  clamps..

[Journeyman]

18 hours ago, ozdevil said:

Yes Still using them mate,   I am just carbing up a keg at the moment and have not connected the taps
hopefully this weekend i will see if i have anymore issues.

if i do i then will go  clamps..

Only a few things can go wrong with duotights. O-rings inside perish - there's usually 2 in there, which leads to 2nd thing - not pushed in past the 2nd resistance point and 3rd, end of line not squarely cut. (or has bump on it)

Also just make sure there's no sideways pressure on it near the disconnect. 

[ozdevil]

4 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Only a few things can go wrong with duotights. O-rings inside perish - there's usually 2 in there, which leads to 2nd thing - not pushed in past the 2nd resistance point and 3rd, end of line not squarely cut. (or has bump on it)

Also just make sure there's no sideways pressure on it near the disconnect. 

Mate i did double check today when i was running some sanitiser through the lines

each one  I made 100% certain lines cut squarely as possible and pushed right in 

and no leakages from them

I still have a love of duotights as they are easier then clamping

 

[Journeyman]

1 minute ago, ozdevil said:

I still have a love of duotights as they are easier then clamping

And for clamps, I use cable ties - SO much easier to go 'snip' rather than try to loosen the clamps.

[ozdevil]

2 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

And for clamps, I use cable ties - SO much easier to go 'snip' rather than try to loosen the clamps.

yes i agree there

thats 1 reson why i like duotights easier to get the line off 

[iBooz2]

Only problem I have had with the duotights is a couple of the outer rings cracked/split.  They did not leak but you would not trust them not to leak in the future so they were replaced after a while.  Also I think some people only push in the tubing past the first resistance ("O" ring) and not all the way home past the second one.

Will post a pic tomorrow so you can see what I mean.