What happened here?

[BigKutta]

Odd situation just now. Tapped a keg (pilsner) 2 weeks ago. Used same ole procedure I've used for 10 years. Beer was pouring fine and have probably poured 15-20 beers already. Go out to pour a beer, all good. Go back after 30 minutes for another, no beer!!! Gas is showing plenty left, line had beer, keg is not frozen (I shook it), so what is going on? Help! Its Saturday and I need my beer? I even uncoupled and re-coupled but it didn't work. Something blocking the tap assembly possible?

[djc]

Frozen lime?

[BigKutta]

Hi djc - No everything looked good. I decided to uncouple and inspect everything, including taking the tap off. When I took off the coupler I, noticed the ball in the shaft did not move. I tried to shake it loose and then reinstalled it and beer is flowing well again. That was really odd...I dont think I've had a stuck ball before. Of important note...this is a new coupler S type I bought because my original S coupler failed, so its my first time using it. Could it be the ball? Do they get stuck?

Thanks

[djc]

They do occasionally stick, some people take them out and leave them out. The only issue in doing that is that when you uncouple there is nothing to stop the beer in the line from coming out.

[BigKutta]

They do occasionally stick, some people take them out and leave them out. The only issue in doing that is that when you uncouple there is nothing to stop the beer in the line from coming out.

So, I went to pour a beer today and again no flow. Uncoupled and saw the ball was sticking so I took the ball out. Re-coupled and no flow. Could it be the coupler? My original coupler was not cutting it so I quickly ordered a $30 one from Amazon, and while it fit and worked right away, I suspect its not of the quality of the brands we see around here. Is that possible that the coupler fails? They all are made of the same materials and dimensions...

[djc]

Anything is possible I guess. What was wrong with the other coupler, can you swap it back in and see if the problem goes away?

[BigKutta]

Anything is possible I guess. What was wrong with the other coupler, can you swap it back in and see if the problem goes away?

Ok, this is the weird part and I'm glad you asked. I've had an A, S, and D coupler for years now as those are the types of beer kegs I tap. Used each one multiple times over 10 years or so, and no issues. I get a keg of Eggenberg Konig Pilsner a couple of weeks ago, which I've tapped 2-3 times before, bring it home and put on my original S coupler and it wouldn't fit. It went into the slot, I turned it and it wouldn't go deep enough to make a good seal. I was so confused!!! I tried a few times, but still loose and no luck. I also know that I didnt confuse it with the D coupler that looks similar. So I thought maybe I was confused about the coupler Eggenberg would take, so i called the distributor, and they confirmed S. I was baffled. I went on Amazon and bought an S coupler, and lo and behold it fit perfectly and worked (well, until now). I seriously cannot tell you what was wrong with my original S coupler, and what happened here....

[djc]

Anything new here, did you sort it out?