Imbibecules

Recipes 

tl;dr - 2 fixes for new leaky Perlick 525S faucets detailed below.

I just upgraded my faucets to shiny Perlick 525S's. I knew that some people have had problems with leaking where the faucet connects to the shank. It can usually be fixed by tightening the collar or by using a thicker or additional rubber washer. I cranked those down to begin with and I never saw a problem there.

However, despite my precautions two of the faucets had steady drips upon first use. I took apart the first faucet and found that the upper O-Ring that sits on top of the bearing cup was crimped. I moved the O-ring over so that the crimped portion fit in the bearing cup's cut-out and screwed the bonnet down. The leak slowed but persisted. Upon closer inspection it appeared that the floating ball was not positioned far enough down to seal the inner O-ring when the faucet was in the closed position. The fix was to push down rather hard on the top of the handle lever while simultaneously tightening the bonnet which moved the floating ball farther down and sealed the faucet.

I had one leaky faucet to go but I was sure I had discovered the fix. I repeated my procedure with no luck. I began to think that I had received a bum faucet, but I carefully disassembled the entire thing anyway. Low and behold, behind the inner O-ring that the floating ball normally presses against I found a semi-circular piece of metal flashing left over from the machining process. This bit of metal was keeping the O-ring from sealing against the faucet body. Upon removal it worked like a champ.

Hopefully this helps somebody. Cheers!