Tips on removing a Sanke spear and valve?

[yellowthere]

I'd like to do this with out messing up my sanke and without the 80$ tool from more beer. Any tips?

Thanks guys,

-Yellow

[captain carrot]

I had an empty sanke in the garage so I ran down and took the spear out. Be very careful releasing the pressure in the keg. Wear some safety glasses or goggles. First take a towel in one hand and a flat blade screwdriver in the other and depress the ball in the center of the valve to release any keg pressure using the towel to block any spray. Use a thin screwdriver to pry out the retaining ring from the outside in through one on the notches in the opening. I wound up using a small punch and a hammer to tap the retaining ring out. Next rotate the keg valve untill the tabs on the valve line up with the notches in the opening and lift it out. Good Luck!

[DannyW]

I much prefer using a sankey coupler (the thing you attach to the keg when you want to drink from it) to release the pressure. Much more controllable and less messy. When the pressure is released, push the ball down with the handle of your screwdriver and poke a loop of heavy gauge wire between the ball and the side of the ball cage. As long as you see that wire there you know there is no pressure. Kind of like those "remove before flight" ribbons you see on airplanes.

Oh, and getting the spear out it the easy part. Wait till you try to get it back *in* again!

[11amas]

The trick is holding the spear down as you pull the ring; there is some pressure which the vise tool relieves so you can knife out the ring. I found that a really small screwdriver can twist the ring out enough to grab it with another screwdriver. ...or, you can drill a really small hole in the top layer of the ring and use some sort of awl to pry it out.
I use a pliers to put the ring back in. I start by hand and then clamp it in around the circle until it is locked in place.

That part becomes relatively easy after a few times. The hard part is making sure the fucker is clean inside before you use it again (without caustic or blindness).

[ajdelange]

The "proper" way to do this is, of course, with the tool designed for the purpose. I remember that Jeff Renner (from HBD) had a scheme in which he put one end of a 2 x 4 through one of the hand openings in the chine and used it as a lever. Obviously he had something between the 2 x 4 and the valve assembly (golf ball, large ball bearing?) thus taking the pressure off the ring so you can remove/install it easily.

[yellowthere]

The trick is holding the spear down as you pull the ring; there is some pressure which the vise tool relieves so you can knife out the ring. I found that a really small screwdriver can twist the ring out enough to grab it with another screwdriver. ...or, you can drill a really small hole in the top layer of the ring and use some sort of awl to pry it out.
I use a pliers to put the ring back in. I start by hand and then clamp it in around the circle until it is locked in place.

That part becomes relatively easy after a few times. The hard part is making sure the fucker is clean inside before you use it again (without caustic or blindness).

Thanks 11amas. that's the advice I needed. I ended up hammering the edge of the ring to the notch, then I could pull it up easily with needle nose pliers. All in all it was pretty damn easy. I'm cleaning it now. I'm going to use this to ferment 10 gallon batches. Let's see if I can manage not to break my back as I lift it into my chest freezer.

thanks guys,

Yellow.

[11amas]

You can get one of those tall pony kegs, they are 7.7 gallons and can ferment a 5 gallon batch nicely. They don't hurt the back quite as much.

[ajdelange]

... 10 gallon batches. Let's see if I can manage not to break my back as I lift it into my chest freezer.

You may be OK with 10 gallons but I well remember the first time I put a full keg (15.5) into a chest freezer or rather I well remember when I tried to get it out. The geometry is just wrong - you cannot stand anywhere that lets you handle a keg the way you would when that freezer wall is not between you and the keg. What I wound up doing was buying a block and tackle (or rather some pulleys and putting one together) then hangin that from a screw-eye in a ceiling 2 x 12 (this was in the basement). You might want to experiment with water first (or just do the block and tackle thing). Or maybe you are strong enough to dead lift 100 lbs.