Perlick faucets?

I am planning on ordering a double tap tower soon, or building it myself. my question is if i get the standard faucets am i going to regret it right away? are the perlicks that much better?

Coming from recent experience--spend the money on perlicks or shirrons (something that forward seals).

If I don't pour a beer for a day or two, the standard faucets ALWAYS stick. I've broken a tap handle before trying to get one unstuck.

My new Perlick--I didn't use it for 9 days and it poured great, no sticking. :rockin:

Yep, Perlick's. I got the ventmatics but they're out of biz now aren't they. Same thing basically.

If there were a HBT Best Practices, this would be in there.

The price difference is ~$20, but well worth it
When my standard one stuck I almost pulled it out of the refrigerator wall.

I have 5 standard ones that I might sell, but I won't sell these to anyone I know or like.

I've had the same Q as the rev. and I think I'd be disappointed if I didn't get the good ones first. Sometimes I go a while without having a beer. I know, send some to you, right?

So, if you want the Perlicks from the start, do you need to get all the parts separately or is there a way to order a tower with the Perlicks included?

In addition to the faucets and tower, what else do you need?

The places I've looked at don't sell just the tower. Where would you get that?

I'd recommend www.beveragefactory.com for the tower. Pretty good prices.

Also, go to www.superprod.com (and find the number to call them) for the best price around on Perlick faucets. I think they are going for 28 dollars now. They aren't listed on the web site so you have to call.

Yeah, I've looked at beveragefactory. Do they sell towers without the cheap faucets installed? All I can find (for 2 faucets) is this: http://www.beveragefactory.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=tower&categories_id=292

Give em a call, they had great customer service when I got my kegging equipment from them.

Lil' Sparky said:

I've had the same Q as the rev. and I think I'd be disappointed if I didn't get the good ones first. Sometimes I go a while without having a beer. I know, send some to you, right?

So, if you want the Perlicks from the start, do you need to get all the parts separately or is there a way to order a tower with the Perlicks included?

In addition to the faucets and tower, what else do you need?

The places I've looked at don't sell just the tower. Where would you get that?

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Check out my response to a thread about where to get a decent tower. I got mine unassembled and built it myself. It may cost a little more than a pre-fabbed tower, but I think that most will agree that the quality is far superior, and you get to choose the components yourself.

Tower Post

I hate my faucets. I also hate rebuying stuff I already have. I think I hate my faucets more.

Spend the extra money - you're going to end up doing it eventually. You may as well avoid the initial costs of the cheap ones.

johnsma22 said:

Check out my response to a thread about where to get a decent tower. I got mine unassembled and built it myself. It may cost a little more than a pre-fabbed tower, but I think that most will agree that the quality is far superior, and you get to choose the components yourself.

Tower Post

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Thanks. That's what I was looking for. This place rocks! :rockin:

I have read that the shirron faucets are machined more in the inside, where as the perlicks have some cast parts. This equals out to a smoother pour with the shirrons... and they cost the same. If you end up spending the money on faucets, get shirrons.

sirsloop said:

I have read that the shirron faucets are machined more in the inside, where as the perlicks have some cast parts. This equals out to a smoother pour with the shirrons... and they cost the same. If you end up spending the money on faucets, get shirrons.

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That's what I got also for the same reasons...

i have both, and i have to say they pretty much work the same for me.

honestly, i like the look of the shirron better, but performance-wise, they all work well. i would say to get whichever forward sealing faucet for the cheapest price.

one thing i do like about the shirron more than perlick, is the choice in spouts you have. i am not that hardcore about my pouring, but i can appreciate the forethought about it.

sirsloop said:

I have read that the shirron faucets are machined more in the inside, where as the perlicks have some cast parts. This equals out to a smoother pour with the shirrons... and they cost the same...

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I remember this being said with VentMatics over Perlicks. The "Green Board" had a side by side comparrison, showing the fine mirror finish inside the VentMatic, and a Perlick that was not machined so well. I bought a pair of Perlicks back when VentMatic was in business after hearing the side by side was bogus. So, I disassembled them upon receiving them to clean and sanitize them, and inspected them carefully. I found that my two Pericks looked exactly like the VentMatic shown in the comparrison. Smooth bore inside, and well machined. Nothing like the posted comparrison.

I dubbed the side by side posting as being bias against Perlick, and found I had many others supporting my personal findings. I think what happens is, many people get so attached to a product, and swear by it, and actually downs every other product in the same category. Now Im not saying Perlicks are better or superior, just that thay they werent nearly as bad as they were protrayed to be.

I was just thumbing through the latest williams brewing catalog and they have tap towers you can buy minus the taps. I know someone had asked that earlier. I looked on the website and did not see that though. But, if a guy could get the two perlicks for 28 like dude said and one of these towers minus the cheap taps is 100, i would say that is a pretty good deal.

Reverend JC said:

I am planning on ordering a double tap tower soon, or building it myself. my question is if i get the standard faucets am i going to regret it right away? are the perlicks that much better?

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I had a major beer catastrophe a few weeks ago and can tell you from recent heartbreak, get the Perlicks.

I had a similar problem as Dude with my standard faucets sticking. Unfortunately I got it open, but the thing wouldn't close. It resulted in beer all over the top of my new kegerator, and a broken tap handle. I almost ended up ripping the tower out of the top of my kegerator trying to get the faucet closed.

Five days later I had new Perlick faucets and they have worked like a dream. Super smooth pour everytime!

I wish I had Perlicks. My faucets are the flow control type, though, which are really nice. I wish someone made forward sealing flow control faucets!

BTW Rev, I'm drinking beer tonight from the keg I got from you. Thanks again.

Bad news: My kegerator is not finished and I have no tower.

Good news: My picnic taps never stick.

You guys are making me jealous.

I forgot to mention - if you want a ceramic tower do a search on ebay for a seller called beer_eh. I got my 2 tap tower from him for something like $150 shipped. Those things are usually more like $500. I think he gets them cheap from Russia.

I just got done installing my tower on the Sanyo. Very easy task.

I still don't have gas lines so nothing's happening in that department.

Got my 5# tank filled for $7.20 plus .65 tax.

I attached my regulator, but am not sure how it works.

When I opened it up (turned it on) the gage read 20 psi. I turned the screw and it dropped down to zero then I turned it back up. Reuse of a short length of hose enabled me to try to dispense, but the clamp was too loose and beer shot all over the place so I assumed air got in there. I heard no passage and can't tell if and how much air was transferred. I guess I tried the rocking thing and couldn't hear any activity as some have said you can hear the air being absorbed or whatever.

Anyone care to enlighten me on the workings of a gage?

homebrewer_99 said:

I just got done installing my tower on the Sanyo. Very easy task.

I still don't have gas lines so nothing's happening in that department.

Got my 5# tank filled for $7.20 plus .65 tax.

I attached my regulator, but am not sure how it works.

When I opened it up (turned it on) the gage read 20 psi. I turned the screw and it dropped down to zero then I turned it back up. Reuse of a short length of hose enabled me to try to dispense, but the clamp was too loose and beer shot all over the place so I assumed air got in there. I heard no passage and can't tell if and how much air was transferred. I guess I tried the rocking thing and couldn't hear any activity as some have said you can hear the air being absorbed or whatever.

Anyone care to enlighten me on the workings of a gage?

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I'm not sure if I entirely understand you, so forgive me if this post is too rudimentary and not helpful! Your gauge is a simple pressure gauge, not a volume gauge. If it is set to 20psi, it will dispense gas until there is a pressure equilibrium, ie your keg is pressurized to 20psi. The beer then slowly absorbs gas and if the regulator is still connected, it will dispense more as soon as the keg drops below 20psi, or whatever you have it set to.

In order to calculate how many volumes of CO2 is absorbed by the beer, it is necessary to determine how much pressure you must apply at what tempurature, and then either leave it connected for a length of time, or give it a burst from the regulator, disconnect, shake, repeat until you don't hear gas being transfered any longer. I find that I can usually hear gas being transfered from my tank to the keg if there's a big pressure difference, but I've certainly never been able to hear the beer absorbing gas. That's a fairly slow process unless you're agitating it, particularly when the liquid is at higher temperatures. I hope that helps!