Econo-leak

I've got 4 of these economy faucets in my draft system:

http://bit.ly/TcqNpB

One of them recently started a nasty habit of leaking. I lost 1/2 keg worth of English pale ale (and it was good!) to one of these overnight..I hadn't been down to the basement in a couple of days and it had all dripped out apparently.

I presumed that I hadn't cleaned this thing well enough earlier and so after this tragic loss, I took the entire thing apart and triple (yes, triple) washed it, made sure it wasn't sticking and put the entire thing back together.

Today I hook it up to a new 5 gallon keg of English mild, and after the first pour, drip drip drip drip. Well, ok it wasn't that fast, but none of my other faucets leak at all.

Do I just need to replace this thing? I don't know what else to check on it. I'm thinking of trying a Perl faucet instead...are they better?

Cheers

By the way, I have temporarily disconnected from the keg to prevent any more beer loss!

I would get one of the Perlick 525 faucets if I was you. I actually have two of those (one in use) and three of the 575 'creamer' faucets (two in use). Really like using them since the seal really well and don't stick (no matter how long between pours).

It sounds likely that the rear seal is no longer doing its job. Depending on the manufacturer/model of your leaky faucet, you may be able to replace the seal for a lot less $$ than springing for new faucets.

This diagram is for a Taprite rear seal faucet, but even if your faucet isn't a Taprite it will give you an idea of a typical rear seal unit. The seal is item 9 in this diagram, shown in place on the shaft assembly. It costs 98 cents from Keg Connection...


Cheers!

Great, thanks I will try this first I think.