My balls are a bit stiff

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Right let's see if we can get these balls loosened up a bit.
I've had one sitting about for the same reason and just assumed it was a duff but I must say this thread got the better of me.
Teardown.
On top of the disconnect rotate the slot anti clockwise keeping slight pressure to prevent the spring popping out with the inner valve.
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Once removed inspect for damaged and build up from your luscious beer that will be very sticky.
I had build up in and around the spring as well.
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As can be seen above the plunger has two o-rings which need to be removed and cleaned with the entire unit.A quick soak in hot water then dry and lube with your preferred choice of lube.
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Check for build up in the spring as the can also be hop debris and again clean and lube.
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Check the collar first by pulling/pushing back and forth then rotating as this will tell whether there is tight spots which I had and had caused the collar to stick in place.Run hot water from the tap over moving the collar back and forth and rotating until it moves more freely.
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Using a very light machine oil or olive oil etc,raise the collar and place a few drops between the collar and stem and again rotate and move back and forth so as to get a good distribution .
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After all have been cleaned and lubed rebuild and test.
I have also removed the ball bearings as can be seen below but of no value as the base is either glued or press fitted and does not come off unless forced.

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I hope this may be of help to someone as it worked a treat on mine.
Thank you - really useful for me - I am now resisting the temptation to make another smutty remark about my balls _ I will leave that to someone else

Many thanks Gerry
 
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