Apollofrost

Recipes 

I was on kegconnection planning out a future build and I saw that they wanted 200 for the standard kit with the dual regs and 260 for the same kit with the two taps.

Is it worth it to buy the kit with the taps or would I be better off just buying the basic kit and sourcing the taps elsewhere?

Brew-boy

Recipes 

If I had to do it all over again I would want the better taps (Perlick) instead of the cheap ones.

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Next:Smoked Pilsner.
Primary:Belgian Red, American Stout w/Roeselare
On Tap:Pale Ale, English Bitter
Aging: Imperial Oatmeal Stout on Vanilla beans.

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Zen_Brew

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Actually I believe the upgrade he is referring to is going from Picnic taps, to standard chrome taps. They do not appear to be perlick taps.

If you want to go with the nice chrome taps Perlicks are really the way to go. You can scour the forum and you will find post after post that supports this. Occaisionally you will find someone happy with the standard chrome tap but not often. The issue is the Perlicks have a forward seal design on the shut off. This means operation remains smooth, and there is far less beer gunk build up where the ball seals. Less build up means less infection risk, and more importantly less sticking. The non forward seal standard taps are notorious for sticking badly if not used for a couple days. I mean sticking to the point where you are rocking the kegerator trying to open the tap.

So my advice would be to go with the Perlicks if you can. If they do not have them in a kit, you can call or e-mail kegconnection and ask them the price with a Perlick upgrade. They are a very helpful and professional vendor. If the price is outside your range I would just go with picnic taps until you can put Perlick faucets on there.

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Primary: German Hef, Belgian IPA, Scottish 80, Belgian Dubbel
On Tap: Oatmeal Stout, Vanilla Oatmeal Stout, Belgian Dark Strong, Munich Dunkel, Dunkel Weizen, Oktoberfest, Bock, IPA, Black IPA, English IPA, Pale Ale

Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Using your senses to look for reality is awareness.

"One time I was so desperate for a beer I snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers." Homer Simpson

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hoppiness

nepats52

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I ordered the two tap system with the perlick faucet upgrade. I think it was an extra $15.00 per tap for the upgrade. I did not get the CO2 tank. That took $60.00 off the price and about half the shipping cost. I bought a 20lb aluminum tank on Craigslist for $15.00, and exchanged/filled it yesterday for $23.00. Also ask for the HBT discount. He gave me $10.00 off my order. Hope this helps.

Zen_Brew

Recipes 

Good info Nepats. Now as to an aluminum co2 tank for $15, well that is simply a steal. While those finds do happen, I'd say finding a tank used for $50-75 is a more realistic price range.

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Primary: German Hef, Belgian IPA, Scottish 80, Belgian Dubbel
On Tap: Oatmeal Stout, Vanilla Oatmeal Stout, Belgian Dark Strong, Munich Dunkel, Dunkel Weizen, Oktoberfest, Bock, IPA, Black IPA, English IPA, Pale Ale

Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Using your senses to look for reality is awareness.

"One time I was so desperate for a beer I snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers." Homer Simpson

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hoppiness

nepats52

Recipes 

The tank needed a hydro test, but I just just exchanged it. No questions asked.

eriktlupus

Recipes 

i still nwish i could find more ventmatics i have 2 and 1 perlick which throws my balance off. they dont make them anymore, something to do with being a ripoff of the perlick design.

when you get your stuff filled check with the filling company for tanks. mine usually has 2-3 sitting for sale at really good prices ie i paid 35 for a full 10# last summer then walked into a free 20#'er from a restaraunt owner.

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primary1 :UTOPIA BABY(still searching for it)
secondary:middling bastard ipa
kegged:simcoe blonde, crystal pale ale, yellow jacket golden ale, lemon shandy blonde
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MikeG

Recipes 

Perlick, Perlick, Perlick.

HalfPint

Recipes 

I don't have Perlicks, but I want them.

If you're on a budget, don't worry about getting them. Just get your kegerator set up and decide from there. I get good pours from both of my basic chrome faucets and not much trouble with them sticking. I've even let them sit for a week and when I came back I had to give them a little tug, but nothing like some of the complainers on this site talk about.

IMHO, wait and decide after you buy it, but 30 bucks for the upgrade sounds like a sweet deal (if you can afford it). If not, EFF it.

Effington

Recipes 

$10 off? That's awesome... I just got a bunch of kegs and a 20# CO2 tank off craiglist, but need the rest of a setup for a kegerator. It didn't take much reading on this site before I was convinced to go with Perlicks.

Are they good for pouring cider, Apfelwein and mead too?

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