Keg Faucets Sticking

I have my first couple of keg batches and my kegerator set up, but am having a problem with my faucets. They actually are sticking so bad I can't open them. I'm using basic chrome faucets w/brass levers. One was so bad I busted the tap handle trying to open it. If I remove the faucet and dunk in warm water it then works.

Am I missing some kind of lubricant or something? I assume its just beer getting in there and sticking up the faucet.

I can't see how merely dunking in water would clear an obstruction bad enough to jam a faucet. Seems to me it'd take some elbow grease to get junk that bad to come out.


A mistake I've seen made more than once: on the lever that the handle attaches to there are 2 places you can tighten. The bottom one secures the lever assembly to the faucet body. Just above that there is a 'nut' that determines how hard you need to pull to move the lever. Move that nut up and the lever assembly gets floppy to the point that if you 'flip' the tap closed (especially with a taller decorative handle) it can 'bounce' back open. Move it down and it can be nearly impossible to move the lever at all. It's this tension nut you need to concern yourself with.

Neither of these generally require a wrench to adjust--- in fact many are just a textured surface to prevent over-torturing. Hand tight is as tight as they need to be.

There should be no need to lubricate anything. Any lube that would be added would end up washed off into the first couple beers anyway.

Is it possible that your faucets were made by different companies at different times and you swapped parts around? We had faucets of different manufacturers at a bar I worked at where the faucets would not seal properly unless the right parts were in the right faucets (3 could be swapped between each other and 4 could swap between each other but you could not mix between groups).

Hmmm.. I'll have to look into the tightening situation. Seems odd about the hot water, but maybe just the activity of removing the thing was what actually fixed it...

I'd bet the sticking happened after a day or two of nothing flowing through the faucets. I think you are having some beer dry out inside your basic chrome faucets. That's why some people buy the more expensive Flowmasters or whatever they're called.

You could just be sure to pour something through them every day or so or clean them with hot water, like you said, after a few days of inactivity.

cowain said:

I'd bet the sticking happened after a day or two of nothing flowing through the faucets. I think you are having some beer dry out inside your basic chrome faucets. That's why some people buy the more expensive Flowmasters or whatever they're called.

You could just be sure to pour something through them every day or so or clean them with hot water, like you said, after a few days of inactivity.

Click to expand...

It was definitely after I had been gone for a week for work when I noticed it the first time.

I guess I'll just have to drink some every day... dang!

You'd be best served to bite the bullet and purchase Ventmatic or Perlick forward seal taps. $30-$40 range but they don't leak and don't get stuck. I have Ventmatic and seem to be the preferred choice here but there is a problem right now getting them; everyone is out. BrewPastor however went to their site http://www.ventmatic.com/ and emailed them and I believe got some direct.

EDIT: They can get sticky after non-use for a week or so but with just a bit of pressure open up fine.

Here's another thread on the topic of taps & some of the woes on trying to actually buy Ventmatics right now.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7131

Sidenote - when we going to get to try our companies new beer line cleaning product developed over in Germany? In case you forgot my handle

Yeah-- there's 2 problems with the perlick/ventmatics: availabiltiy and cost.

They cost 3 to 4 times as much as a 'standard' faucet and they are rare as hens' teeth right now. I'd probably buy a pair myself if I could find them in stock for a decent price (and I don't mean 'the website says they are in stock' I mean 'actually will ship them today if you buy them' in stock)

Are the perlicks hard to get as well?

I've been unable to find anyone who actually has them in stock. I've ordered a few times and gotten the 'backrodered' game for a while.

The sticking problem is what finally drove me over the edge on the standard faucets. Restaurants can get away with it because they are constantly pouring and clean them every night. It's nice to say you will pour something through it every night, but it doesn't always work that way. Also, the standard faucets grow some serious funk between cleanings. The forward sealing faucets stay clean for weeks.

Given the availability issue, get the Perlicks. Try here, this is the best price I've seen:

http://www.superprod.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=627991&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=184703

Prosit!

gopherhockey said:

I have my first couple of keg batches and my kegerator set up, but am having a problem with my faucets. They actually are sticking so bad I can't open them. I'm using basic chrome faucets w/brass levers. One was so bad I busted the tap handle trying to open it. If I remove the faucet and dunk in warm water it then works.

Am I missing some kind of lubricant or something? I assume its just beer getting in there and sticking up the faucet.

Click to expand...

I had that same problem. Take the faucet apart, clean it, then put a thin film of Vaseline on the inner part. Vaseline is food-grade and it works like a charm.

I have made a habit of keeping a spray bottle of Sani and after pouring my last glass of the night, I give it a quick spray up the spout.

Since my kegs are outside on my patio this would seem to solve several problems as well as resolving the issue I had with sticky handles.

Cheers,

knewshound