Series-X & Plastic Carb-Caps....longevity?

[Broken Crow]

I'll start with this: I'm old and it takes a long time to trust 'new' products...especially plastics. I bought a series-x kegerator to replace my too-loud but reliable Continental KC-24. I'm slowly assembling it and part of me really wants to use the plastic carb-caps in that convenient hole in the back for my gas, but part of me just doesn't trust it to not leak over the long term. I've seen countless examples online of people installing them, but the most I've ever used them for is short tasks like cleaning and purging lines and whatnot. I had the same fear of the foam and chemistry when I first started using star san, but it took reading the 1000's of other threads of reassurance on here for me to get over it and learn to love it. I can't seem to find that same reassurance where carb-caps are plugged in as a peramnant accessory.
Does anyone here use them long-term like that? Anyone had any leaks from it?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

They make stainless steel carb caps as well.

 

[Broken Crow]

They make stainless steel carb caps as well.

Thanks! I keep forgetting that because I have several of the plastic ones. I'd feel a little more secure with a SS one, but I'm still looking for the reassurance of others who have actually set theirs up like that and been using it over time, or gave up on it for leaks. There's a ton of images and youtube videos and such showing people installing them on their new Series-X, but I can't find any reports on the reliability of it.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I don't have a Series-X but have a Beverage Air and I drilled through the compressor hump and routed the CO2 line out, knowing that there would be no Freon/coolant lines there.

 

[McMullan]

I have a Kegland Series X kegerator. It's expensive cheap Chinese crap, imho. Never again. Temperature setting is about 2°C out and the fan threatens to drown out my music, unless I crank up the volume. I'll change the fan at some point. There's nothing special about the plastic carb caps either, apart from they're 100% compatible with kegland's plastic disconnects. As I understand it they're universal (liquid and gas) therefore interchangeable. A different story with stainless caps and keg posts. I've had so many issues with stuck disconnects I don't bother mixing plastic and stainless fittings anymore. If it's gas only, go with stainless caps and CMB discos. The plastic fittings are easy to disassemble for cleaning so fine for liquids.

 

[Broken Crow]

I have a Kegland Series X kegerator. It's expensive cheap Chinese crap, imho. Never again. Temperature setting is about 2°C out and the fan threatens to drown out my music, unless I crank up the volume. I'll change the fan at some point. There's nothing special about the plastic carb caps either, apart from they're 100% compatible with kegland's plastic disconnects. As I understand it they're universal (liquid and gas) therefore interchangeable. A different story with stainless caps and keg posts. I've had so many issues with stuck disconnects I don't bother mixing plastic and stainless fittings anymore. If it's gas only, go with stainless caps and CMB discos. The plastic fittings are easy to disassemble for cleaning so fine for liquids.

Thanks for the input. I did my best to research before buying and some of the threads, here and all over the web, were about the temperature thing which for a number of people was resolved by using C° instead of F° (apparently the F° scale is off in the hardware). As to the noise; I bought it to replace a commercial Continental KC24 which was a marvelous and reliable kegerator, but even with acoustic treatment in its setting, it was very loud and caused vibration throughout the house... the vibration wasn't very strong but I have extensive nerve damage and am hypersensitized to it. I had reduced the fan noise in the KC24 significantly simply installing small rubber 'donuts' at the mount points... dunno if there's space for that in the X, but maybe someday I'll find out.

 

[McMullan]

I forgot to mention that in situations where connections need to be disassembled occasionally, I'd opt for swivel/flare nuts with barbs. Although I like the EvaBarrier tubing, the DuoTight fittings just don't offer much assurance, in my mind. Comparing them with John Guest fittings exposes DuoTight fittings as inferior accidents waiting to happen.