How hard must I tighten the posts on the keg?

Question

I purchased two used kegs from NB.

I went to Home Depot with one of the kegs and bought the deep sockets to take the posts off. In the store I was unable to pull either the in or out posts out. I called over an employee, who tried and failed as well. He called over another employee, and they retrieved an extension to the socket wrench to give us more leverage. All three of us were simultaneously trying to get the posts off, but it wouldn't give.

After coming home I spent another 15 minutes on the beer/out posts, and it managed to come lose. I have no idea how I did it or how I could replicate it. Too bad however-- I must have picked up the wrong socket for the gas/in poppet, so I'll need to head back to Home Depot and try this again.

The other keg came lose very quickly.

How hard must I tighten the posts on the keg? I don't want to be in a position where three grown men are unable to open a posts.

Can I just barely tighten it, or should I tighten it as hard as I possibly can?

-- Edit - I meant to say "post", not "poppet".

-- Edit - I repurchased the correct piece to remove the gas/in poppet and was able to open both kegs easily. I'm not sure what I did this time.

Answer 1

By poppet do you mean the little springy thing inside of the keg post or do you mean the outer keg post itself? I'll try to answer both.

I have ruined a few poppets by forcing them out with a screw driver and had to replace. The replacement poppets do not stick in as hard and normally fall right out. For cleaning I go with a long soak in PBW then StarSan but if you are really worried about it you can boil the whole keg post.

For tightening the keg posts it should be tight but not too tight that the o-rings are damaged. Turn the wrench with one finger until it can not go further.

Answer 2

I just worked on several kegs over the weekend. I normally only tighten them with a mild amount of strength. Wish I had a torque wrench to tell you exactly. I tighten by hand then maybe another 1/8 to 1/4 turn with the wrench. I am certainly not putting any of my weight on it.

(As an aside tip, when I get one that's really tight, I'll lay the keg on its side and sit on it like a horse. Squeeze it as tight as I can with my legs then use both hands to push down on the wrench.)