Beverage Factory Kegco Regulator parts?

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TheKeggingPart

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I recently damaged the membrane of a friend's Kegco regulator by restricting flow at he shutoff and letting it hum. It was laziness; I just didn't want to reset the regulator from 40 PSI down to the 5 PSI I wanted to work with "just for a min". The telltale sign is that the regulator no longer holds a consistent pressure. The low pressure gauge slowly climbs to max pressure, then triggers the pressure relief valve. A classic tell for a damaged membrane (the hum is the membrane vibrating).

I called the Beverage Factory and was informed that the regulator is exclusive to them and that they don't sell repair parts. This seems silly to me. Has anyone else found a work-around? Another company's membrane that works? Repair tips to DIY?

Specific regulator is the Kegco 542. http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/premium_double_gauge_542.html
 
The reason they are so cheap is because they are disposeable. They are made very cheaply and have poor quality control. If you want a good inexpensive regulator get a chudnow. They are all American made and it's very easy to get replacement parts.
 
Thanks for the advice. I am looking to refurbish this regulator (if possible), not replace it. Has anyone figured out how too do that?
 
Take a picture and post it up of the internals. I have rebuilt plenty of regulators, I can tell you if anything looks familiar. Have you disassembled it yet to see what part was damaged?
 
Here are a series of pictures taking this regulator apart. I was surprised that I didn't see any obvious tears in the membrane. It also looks like another manufacturer's but I can't recall whose. It actually looks more like seepage from the high-pressure side to the low pressure side through cracks in the regulatory body itself. I don't know if the camera captured the details inside the body. The back side of the membrane had a regular nut, not a rivet.

0524130902.jpg


0524130903.jpg


0524130905.jpg


0524130905a.jpg


0524130905c.jpg
 
I would try to remove the brass part in the center of the regulator body and see if there is debris somewhere. If the membrane is not ripped it should still work.
 
Brewsader, When I got my first kegging system I had the pressure creep as well. It was reccomended for me to crank up the pressure and pull the relief valve several timesto blow any debris out of the inside of the regulator. This fixed the problem for me.
 
DrunkleJon said:
Brewsader, When I got my first kegging system I had the pressure creep as well. It was reccomended for me to crank up the pressure and pull the relief valve several timesto blow any debris out of the inside of the regulator. This fixed the problem for me.
Click to expand...

I'll give that a try, Jon. It's been an ongoing battle and I'm about to pitch the thing. The issue(s) started with one time it just stopped even holding pressure and was blowing out the release valve. I took it apart, looked ok, worked for a while, and then started creeping. Took it apart a couple more times, figured out the nut was tightened down too much (holding the metal and rubber discs together in the pic above). That worked for a couple weeks, and after pushing air through to blow off a mill roller, it is back to not holding pressure and blowing out the release valve.

Fortunately I bought another regulator to have a dual set-up, but now it looks like I'm going back to a single for a while. I've about given up on it!
 
I haven't had a chance to rebuild the thing as yet. It's still on the to-do list. I hope that the reassembly works long enough for me to hand it back and run!
 
I had the same problem with one of my kegco bodies, seepage causing the low to creep up. I took it apart and cleaned the diaphragm and then used keglube to coat the rubber. Haven't had a problem since.
 
Total thanks to all that posted (especially arg1129 and JRems). I took mine apart, cleaned and put keg lube on the rubber diaphragm and the lower rubber washer. Totally fixed it!

When I took the main cover off, exposing the main diaphragm, I tested the unit on my tank to determine what was leaking. As suspected, it wasn't the main low pressure diaphragm. There is a brass hex part with a pin in the center underneath the diaphragm that you can unscrew with a socket wrench. I could hear the leaking CO2 coming from this part when under pressure.

Once it's unscrewed, there are 2 parts that require a good airtight seal. One is the rubber washer around the first piece that comes out and the other is on the top of the piece with the pin attached to it. Right where the pin attaches to the brass is a little ring of clear, reddish rubber. I cleaned and blew off all pieces and put keg lube on the parts I thought might need it, and reassembled. I'll admit that I put keg lube on some things that didn't need it as well. Hey, I was desperate at this point and my desperation paid off.

I did notice a bunch of metal filings from the spring for the adjustment knob. I'm not sure if some of these filings somehow made there way past the main diaphragm but I put keg lube on that part to minimize the filings from occurring. Plus the keg lube is sticky which should hold any filings in place if they do occur.

I hope this helps others with similar Kegco regulators. I though mine was a goner. Thanks again to all the other people who posted on this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I have the same problem with my KegCo 542 as well. I am going to disassemble tonight and try to lube everything up. Thanks for the posting and sorry to bring this thread back to life.

Zombie thread.....
 
Good luck, Jongrafto. I ended up paying more for a couple higher quality regs and haven't regretted it one bit. If yours isn't working still, it's worth making the investment if you can! But I hope you don't have to make that decision!
 
I just took it apart, didn't see anything in there like metal shavings but lubed up what I could. Checked it after 10 mins. Looks like it is holding at 10 psi. Will check in an hour and then again in the morning. Hopefully it holds and I don't lose a full 20 lb tank. I just got that filled last week.
 
Wanted to post a thank you to all in this thread.

I had the same issue about 1 1/2 years ago on a beverage factory reg (exactly like the one in the pics posted by the originator of this thread).

Basically would have creep on the reg going to the cornys. Called Bev Factory and no questions asked, they sent me a new regulator.

The new one was slightly better than my original and it has worked great since then.

I had taken the bad one apart and thought I had it working again. Tried to use it on a Nitro/Beer blend tank and it went wonky again.

After reading this thread, I took it apart, lubed everything up, put it back together and it seems to work great again. Been holding steady pressure since yesterday.

Based on the fact that the tank regulator reads great even when it goes wonky, I think the problem actually was with the washer that keeps air from going into the gauge when the regulator is completely backed off. The needle pushes this down as you screw the regulator control knob in allowing more co2 to mix into the corny's. That washer was not sealing properly is what I think. The keg lube seems to do the trick nicely.

I will post a followup in a week or so if it continues to work.

In the end I got a free regulator as Bev Factory didn't want the other one back.

Now I have Nitro and Regular taps to start the New Year.
 
Mattums said:
Total thanks to all that posted (especially arg1129 and JRems). I took mine apart, cleaned and put keg lube on the rubber diaphragm and the lower rubber washer. Totally fixed it!

When I took the main cover off, exposing the main diaphragm, I tested the unit on my tank to determine what was leaking. As suspected, it wasn't the main low pressure diaphragm. There is a brass hex part with a pin in the center underneath the diaphragm that you can unscrew with a socket wrench. I could hear the leaking CO2 coming from this part when under pressure.

Once it's unscrewed, there are 2 parts that require a good airtight seal. One is the rubber washer around the first piece that comes out and the other is on the top of the piece with the pin attached to it. Right where the pin attaches to the brass is a little ring of clear, reddish rubber. I cleaned and blew off all pieces and put keg lube on the parts I thought might need it, and reassembled. I'll admit that I put keg lube on some things that didn't need it as well. Hey, I was desperate at this point and my desperation paid off.

I did notice a bunch of metal filings from the spring for the adjustment knob. I'm not sure if some of these filings somehow made there way past the main diaphragm but I put keg lube on that part to minimize the filings from occurring. Plus the keg lube is sticky which should hold any filings in place if they do occur.

I hope this helps others with similar Kegco regulators. I though mine was a goner. Thanks again to all the other people who posted on this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Click to expand...

Is that part a regular right hand thread? I have a generic regulator that I'm trying to fix but as far as I can tell it's the same setup as a Kegco 54. I'm trying to get that main hex piece out and a 17 mm socket fits it but I can't budge it. This is a dual body and I've already gouged one of them up pretty good. I think my fix is what you're describing but I'm this close to calling this thing a goner. I have another working regulator but I want to see if I can fix this one up for a portable setup. Thanks for any tips and tricks you can provide.
 

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