Bulk Keg Orings and Keg Parts Reference

homebrew keg parts

Updated: December 16, 2024

You can save a bunch by buying homebrew keg o-rings in bulk.  Here are some part numbers, background and tips on keg gaskets along with part numbers and sources for everything related to your homebrew kegs.

This is a extensive resource post. Here’s what’s covered…

  • Replacement Keg O-Rings
  • Keg O-Ring Materials Selection – EPDM, Silicone and Buna-N
  • Keg Dip Tube O-rings
  • Keg Post O-Rings
  • Keg Lid O-Rings
  • Internal Ball Lock Quick Disconnect O-Rings
  • Ball Lock Keg O-Rings vs Pin Lock Keg O-Rings – are they the same?
  • Universal Poppet O-Rings
  • Universal Poppets – 304 Stainless + Food Grade Silicone & Reliable O-Ring Replacements
  • Food Safe Materials for Keg O-Rings?
  • Shelf Life and When Should I Replace My Keg O-Rings?
  • One-Off and Metric Sized Keg O-Rings
  • Other Keg and Kegerator Rebuild & Replacement Parts
  • Replacement Lids
  • Poppets
  • PRV Valves
  • Keg Posts
  • Post Thread Sizes
  • Keg Lid Feet
  • Keg QD Replacement Parts
  • Replacement Dip Tubes
  • Faucet Repair Parts and Resources
  • Replacement Keg Handles and Bases
  • Keg Quick Disconnects
  • Racetrack Style Keg Parts
  • Tools for Removing Keg Posts
  • Odds and Ends
  • Keg Parts Landing Pages
  • Keg and Draft Related Reviews
  • Rebuild Your Kegs
  • DuoTights
  • Our Curated List of Keg Deals

Replacement Keg O-Rings

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See More About O-Rings in our Keg Rebuild Post – Jump To: Replacing O-Rings

Keg O-Ring Materials Selection – EPDM, Silicone and Buna-N

Food Safe Materials

If you’re using your keg for anything food related (beer=food)… My recommendation is to purchase o-rings made out of material safe for food contact.

Generally speaking, food safe o-rings may cost a little more, but, we’re, generally, only talking a few cents per o-ring.  It’s worth it.

Food grade options are oddly hard to find. One notable supplier features all food safe o-ring offerings.

More on this subject later in the post

Material Selection

I would venture a guess that Silicone and Buna-N are the two most commonly used compounds for keg o-rings. EPDM, which has been the choice of professionals for a long time, is probably a distant third, but coming on strong since they’ve become more accessible to homebrewers.

EPDM is a favorite of many pro brewers for certain applications. It has some real advantages over silicone. One of the big ones is a much lower permeability. That means they’re less porous andmore resistant to absorbing off-smells and off-flavors.

Until now, these have not been available to homebrewers, or at least easily available. Valuebrew now offers these in bulk quantities at a reasonable price, albeit more expensive than silicone and Buna-N.

EPDM vs Silicone vs Buna-N is actually a pretty big question. I have a resource post dedicated to this question. See: Keg O-Ring Materials Selection – EPDM, Silicone and Buna-N. I recommend you take a look at that but here are my quick picks…

Quick Picks:

Keg Dip Tube O-rings

As noted above, I recommend replacing your gas post o-rings frequently.  My suggestion is every other batch.

Dip tube o-rings sizing: Generally speaking keg o-rings are standard sizes. There are some rare outliers out there, dip tube o-rings seem to be the most likely to be non-standard. In my opinion, best practice is to hang on to your originals so you can compare with replacements. In the event that your keg has non-standard dip tube o-rings, you should contact the manufacturer for replacements. Fortunately this is a rare issue, standard sizes fit the vast majority of kegs.

Attention Old Ale Brand Ball Lock Keg Owners: These kegs sold by  Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, Austin Homebrew Supply and Adventures in Homebrewing sometimes use different size dip tub o-rings. See Valuebrew’s Old Ale Brand Ball Lock Compatible Keg Dip Tube O-Rings offering for more on this.

A Note on Gas O-rings I am quick to replace gas o-rings.  A leak at the post is particularly difficult to test for.  I have lost multiple tanks of CO2 before learning this lesson.  In bulk, these are cheap, replace them liberally. See my section on keg o-ring life below, but my suggestion is to change these liberally.

Other Options – correct size, but not food grade

Keg Post O-Rings

As noted above, I recommend replacing your gas post o-rings frequently.  My suggestion is every other batch.

Custom Color Post Options:

Designed to help you quickly and easily identify gas and liquid posts.

Available in two color schemes blue & green (blue for beer, green for gas) and gray & black (matches QD colors). Gray and black are standard colors on ball lock, pin lock (usually the bottom portion of the QD) and even recently released Kegland QDs (center portion). All options are FDA rated silicone.

Compare: William’s Brewing has some alternate color options. However those are much more expensive on a per o-ring basis and, at least as of this posting, product descriptions give no indication at all what these are made from.

Other Options – correct size, but not food grade

Compare: William’s Brewing has some alternate color options. However those are much more expensive on a per o-ring basis and, at least as of this posting, product descriptions give no indication at all what these are made from.

Keg Lid O-Rings

Other Options – correct size, but not food grade

Leaky Lid O-rings

William’s Brewing Oversize Keg Lid O-ring is slightly over-sized and made from a softer rubber.  It’s designed to help you achieve an airtight seal for leaky ball and pin lock keg lids.

Internal Ball Lock Quick Disconnect O-Rings

Dash 013 o-rings are not OEM internal ball lock QD gaskets, but in my experience they have fit in all the QDs that I’ve tried.  Your experience may vary.  Check out my post on the subject including some photos – See: CMBecker Ball Lock QDs + Replacement O-Rings

Other Options – correct size, but not food grade

If you’re looking for CM Becker OEM replacement parts, check out Keg Connection.  They have a nice diagram that shows all the parts and pieces – (gaskets, spring, stem and caps) for both ball lock and pin lock QDs.  See: Disconnect Parts List at Keg Connection

Ball Lock Keg O-Rings vs Pin Lock Keg O-Rings – are they the same?

pin lock oringsPin Lock Post O-Ring on Left, Ball Lock Post O-Ring on Right

Standard pin locks and ball locks use identical dip tube o-rings and lid o-rings

Post o-rings are a different story.  Standard pin lock keg post o-rings are slightly larger than ball lock keg post o-rings.

It may be difficult to see in these photos, but the left side shows a pin lock post with a ball lock o-ring installed on it.  The right side shows a pin lock post with the pin lock o-ring installed on it.  The pin lock o-ring extends out just a little bit further than the ball lock o-ring.  The ball lock o-ring is nearly flush the the lip on the post.  That small amount is the difference between the two o-rings.

I recommend stocking up on food grade spare o-rings.  This is especially true for post o-rings.  I recommend you change those liberally.  See: Why Won’t My Homebrew Carbonate? Fixing Beer Carbonation Problems – for more information on that.

Buying in bulk means you save money and you’ll have spares when you need them

Food Safe Replacement O-Rings – More Info

Related: What’s the Difference Between Ball Lock Kegs and Pin Lock Kegs

Via our Keg Rebuild Post – Jump To: Replacing O-Rings – Jump To: Pin Lock Section

Universal Poppet O-Rings

Size Dash 008 fit all styles of Universal Poppet that I have tested.  Since universal poppets can vary slightly between manufacturers, I cannot guarantee they will work with your poppet.

See: Installing and Adjusting Universal Poppets via our Keg Rebuild Post

Universal Poppets – 304 Stainless + Food Grade Silicone! & Reliable O-Ring Replacements

universal poppetsValuebrew has released a 304 Stainless Steel + Food Grade Silicone Universal Poppet option!

I’ve long advocated for tossing OEM o-rings. I’m excited that there’s finally there’s an option that comes with quality o-rings made from the right materials out of the box! Beyond that, Valuebrew has pledged to always carry replacement o-rings, so you’ll always have a source when the time comes for replacements.

Food Safe Materials for Keg O-Rings?

Most of the o-ring part numbers that are linked in this post are not specifically marketed for food use or as food safe.

In my experience, it’s extremely difficult to find offerings that claim to be safe for food contact.  Maybe some of the o-rings that are available are food safe, but very few are actually labeled as such.

But why?  One possible reason… they aren’t food safe.  Beyond that, one industry insider I spoke with said suppliers have a potential problem with fulfillment.  Since many options and materials are available, It’s difficult for some distributors or sellers to guarantee you’re getting a food safe option.

  • Just because an o-ring is marketed for use in a keg doesn’t automatically mean that the materials and production processes used are food safe.
  •  If you think about it from a random supplier or manufacturer’s perspective… they don’t know what you’re putting in your keg, maybe it’s not even food.  The problem that we, as homebrewers, have is is… beer is food and meant for human consumption.
  • You cannot say all o-rings made from [fill in material here] are food safe.  Certain quality standards and processes are required.

There are some food safe options.  One notable supplier features all food safe o-ring offerings.

When I know that something is sold as food safe, I’ve labeled it as such in this reference.

Generally speaking, food safe o-rings may cost a little more, but, we’re, generally, only talking a few cents per o-ring.  It’s worth it.

If you’re using your keg for anything food related… My recommendation is to purchase o-rings made out of material safe for food contact.

Check each product page for specifications and application recommendations.  These can change.  Contact manufacturers with questions about suitability for a particular application.

Shelf Life and When Should I Replace My Keg O-Rings?

Generally Speaking, I think you should replace all keg o-rings when you refurbish or obtain a used keg.

What about after that? Of course, you could just keep using them until they break, they smell or look horrible or… until you lose a tank of CO2 due to an o-ring related leak. On the other end of the spectrum some people change o-rings every time they keg.

Depending on material, keg o-rings have a shelf life.  At some point, materials may become brittle. Beyond shelf life, o-rings wear out from use – compression and abrasion. The other potential issue is materials compatibility. Do your o-rings break down from the chemicals you subject them to?

Depending on material, keg o-rings have a shelf life.  At some point, materials may become brittle. Beyond shelf life, o-rings wear out from use – compression and abrasion. The other potential issue is materials compatibility. Do your o-rings break down from the chemicals you subject them to?

Keg manufacturer AEB says to replace o-rings yearly. AEB produces some of the best kegs on the market and I agree with the one year in most cases. Because of their very low cost, I suggest changing high contact, high risk leak o-rings more often.

High Risk:

  • Post o-rings: Especially gas. Leaks originating from gas post very difficult to detect.
  • Gas dip tube o-rings: Leaks here are easier to detect, but I also classify these as high risk. A leak at either the gas post or gas dip tube is invisible and has frustrating consequences… heading to your CO2 source to swap or fill a tank.  Better safe than sorry.

High Contact: Internal QD and Universal Poppet O-Rings. These touch every ounce of beer that’s poured.

I suggest using Daylight Savings dates as a reminder.  Something like this…

Most of these o-rings are pennies each when bought in reasonable bulk quantities. Regularly replacing, costs very little and helps stave off unwanted off flavors, leaks and lost CO2. This schedule should keep your kegs working great from a gasket perspective.

The one gaskets that are a little more expensive are lid o-rings. If you wanted to get a little more life out of those, you could replace lid o-rings in odd years when Daylight Savings Time Ends (Fall). This would make them two years old when they’re replaced.

This section is part of my post on rebuilding kegs – Jump To This Section – If you look through the post you’ll see just how good the keg looks at the end.

One-Off and Metric Sized Keg O-Rings

I’ve heard very sporadic feedback that some kegs feature non-standard sizes. I’ve also heard that some kegs outside of North America use metric sizes.

Most kegs we use in the US are currently manufactured overseas. In spite of that, we’re seeing replacement parts continue to use standard sizes. Maybe there are some one-offs, but the vast majority of manufacturers are using the o-rings sizes outlined in this resource. That’s a good thing.

Dip tube o-rings seem to be the most likely to be non-standard.

Examples…

I’ve never had theses problems myself, but I do believe it rarely happens. My suggestion is to compare sizes the first time you replace keg o-rings. If they look the same, they’re probably the same… I’d go for it. From there I would 1: Thoroughly check the keg for leaks and 2: Hang on to the old o-rings for a while. Discard the old o-rings when you’re sure standard o-rings fit.

Other Keg and Kegerator Rebuild & Replacement Parts

Most retailers feature a good selection of keg parts. These are some picks of individual offerings and sources based on each part type.

TIp: If you’re replacing lids on pin lock kegs, I suggest using ball lock style lids.  Those generally include manual PRV valves that making venting your keg a whole lot easier.  Standard ball lock style keg lids fit on standard pin lock kegs.

Replacement Lids

Poppets

OEM specific poppets can be hard to track down because you need the specific model #. Beyond that they’re usually expensive. Because of that I recommend universal poppets.

  • My Pick: Universal Poppets via Valuebrew – When these are in stock, they’re my pick because of 304 SS Construction + Food Grade Silicone and a reliable source for replacement o-rings. Valuebrew has committed to always carrying replacement for their universal poppets.
  • If Valuebrew is out of stock… Search Amazon for “Universal Poppets” – look for quality stainless construction. I recommend immediately discarding included o-rings and replacing with a known food grade option that’s easy to source when it comes time for replacements.

Tip: I use universal-type poppets exclusively when rebuilding kegs. Tip: In my experience, universal poppets fit the vast majority of kegs without issue.  I have had a couple kegs that ended up being a bit too tight with these.  It’s an easy fix.  Use a pair of wire cutters or Nipper Pliers to trim the universal poppet.  I suggest taking off about half of a coil and testing.  You want the QD to slide on easily and for it to reliably hold pressure when the QD is off.  Taking off a half of a coil and testing helps you make sure you don’t end up making the poppet too loose.

Related: Universal Poppet Tips and Tricks

Keg Lid Pressure Relief PRV Valves

Keg Posts

Post Thread Sizes:

Keg Type Gas Post Size – Thread Liquid Post Size – Thread Product Link

  • Cornelius Spartan 19/32″ – 18 19/32″ – 18
  • Cornelius R (Pin Lock) 19/32″ – 18 (2 Pin) 19/32″ – 18 (3 Pin)
  • Firestone A (Pin Lock) 9/16″ – 18 (2 Pin) 9/16″ – 18 (3 Pin)
  • Firestone R (Pin Lock) 9/16″ – 18 (2 Pin) 9/16″ – 18 (3 Pin)
  • Firestone Challenger 11/16″ – 18 3/4″ – 18
  • Firestone Super Challenger 9/16″ – 18 5/8″ – 18
  • Firestone V Challenger 9/16″ – 18 5/8″ – 18
  • Firestone VI Challenger 9/16″ – 18 5/8″ – 18
  • John Wood 85 11/16″ – 18 3/4″ – 18
  • John Wood RA (Pin Lock) 9/16″ – 18 (2 Pin) 9/16″ – 18 (3 Pin)
  • John Wood RC (Pin Lock) 9/16″ – 18 (2 Pin) 9/16″ – 18 (3 Pin)
  • Super Champion 19/32″ – 18 19/32″ – 18
  • AEB Kegs 19/32” – 18 19/32″ – 18

Thanks to Keg Outlet for this information. They carry many of these options.

Universal Keg Posts

These aren’t universal the same sense that universal poppets are universal. They are threaded to work with most ball lock kegs not all kegs in general. They are universal in that they work with both gas AND liquid QDs.  Make sure your keg threads are compatible

Keg Lid Feet

Bad or missing keg lid feet can cause keg lids to seal improperly. They help the lid bails to contact the top of your keg and provide back pressure that seals up the lid enough to hold pressure when you apply CO2.

Keg QD Replacement Parts

Replacement Dip Tubes

Floating Dip Tubes

Adding a floating dip tube can be a great upgrade

My Explanation of How Floating Dip Tubes Work:

When we carbonate a keg, pressure is being applied to the keg from the top, via the head space. Beer at the top carbonates first. That carbonation works it’s way down the keg. I’m sure there’s also some movement in the keg that helps to mix things up and distribute carbonation. But just sitting there, I think that mixing is a slow process. However it all works, practically speaking, the beer at the top carbonates more quickly compared to the beer at the bottom. This allows you to serve from the top accessing the more carbonated portion of the keg. It’s also a benefit for clarity because trub settles out heading downward. You can see this stratification in a glass carboy. As the beer starts to clear, the top clears first. I don’t think if this is exactly accurate, but I picture carbonation happening with the same sort of stratification until the beer reaches equilibrium and is equally carbonated throughout.

Faucet Repair Parts and Resources

Related Reviews:

Replacement Keg Handles and Bases

To my knowledge, replacement handles and bases are not generally available. However, in a lot of cases, you can fix loose rubber handles and bases.

See: Fix It! Repairing Loose Cornelius Keg Handles and Bases

Keg Quick Disconnects

  • Kegland Flow Control Ball Lock Liquid QDs – at William’s Brewing & MoreBeer – These ball lock QDs are made from stainless steel.  Beyond that they also have a unique feature that allows you to change the resistance that the QD is exerting on your beer.  That means you can dial in flow right at the QD.  That allows you to make modifications for lower or higher carbonation levels without changing tubing lengths.
  • Gas QD with Integrated Check Valve – Prevents Beer Back-Feeding – Ball Lock – Pin Lock – keep beer from flowing the wrong way
  • Inline Check Valves – MFL, Barbed
  • Low Profile Pin Lock QDs (5/8″ Shorter) – Liquid – Gas – Combo – these are great if you’re having clearance problems.
  • This is another item that Amazon can have some good options – search “keg quick disconnect” to shop around

Kegland DuoTight QDs

An easy choice if you use the great DuoTight System

Stainless Steel Ball Lock Quick Disconnects

 

Racetrack Style Keg Parts

Racetrack style kegs – standard kegs, both pin lock and ball lock are… standard.  Some parts on those are interchangeable – dip tubes, o-rings, universal poppets.  The big outlier are… racetrack style ball locks.  These perform the exact same function but some of the parts are not what I would call standard – the lids are more oval and the dip tubes and other parts are different.

5 Gallon Ball Lock Racetrack Kegs… $25!

Tools for Removing Keg Posts

Odds and Ends

ball lock jumper

Keg Parts Landing Pages

Reviews!

We’ve got loads of Draft and Kegerator related reviews!  Check out the lineup…

Rebuild Your Kegs

DuoTights!

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing. They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility. They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced. DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

As you’re considering repairing and replacing parts in your kegerator, I think DuoTights deserve a hard look

duotightreview

Our Curated List of Keg Deals!

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10 Most Recent Homebrew Resource Posts & How-To’s!

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Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions.tag:lnksfxd toppost:kegoringsandparts rs:8 tag:tpr

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