Shirron or Perlick?

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lostforatime

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Shirron or Perlick? Is there a difference? Is it just two different brand names? same product. Thanks
 
It's the same design, but shirron seems to use a slightly better metal and machining process.
 
norther brewer there is like a $3 difference. Why did you do with the perlicks, ollllllo?
 
They used to be called Ventamatic. That company dissolved and the design was sold to Perlick and Shirron. No one was selling the forward seal design for quite sometime. (Details may not be completly correct but the effect was the same)

Perlick made thier faucets available several weeks ahead of Shirron.
 
I'm gonna get shirrons in a couple weeks I think. The difference in price is only a couple bucks and I'll take the chance that the shirrons are "somewhat" better. If they are the exact same thing...ehh... maybe i'll decide to not go out to lunch/dinner once in the next few weeks...
 
Excellent review; thanks for linking it, Paul. I was pondering this same question, as I plan to do a freezer chest conversion this summer. Makes my decision easy - Shirron/Ventmatic for me, too!:)

Now, I gotta go see who has the best price on 'em!
 
honestly, i think that comparison is overly dramatic.

i have both faucets, two perlicks, and three ventmatics. all five are very nice, and work equally well from my standpoint.

ventmatics look better to me cosmetically, but function the same to me.

i would say get what you can afford.

something nice about the ventmatics though, is that there are replacement gasket kits available (although, i think they are around 10 dollars each... ouch!), and they have different spout attachments for those of you who are hardcore about your pouring.

me? i just need something that gets my beer into my glass in an efficient manner. i carb all my beers to the same volume of co2, even though i know it goes against the style. i'm just not that particular about it. if you are, then these are things you may want to take in to consideration.

if i were to do it over again, i'd probably get all perlicks due to the cost. at least at the time, perlicks were around 30 shipped, and the ventmatics were around 40-45. that difference is pretty significant for negligent performance differences to me. again, i have different priorities than others though, so do the research, and find what fits best to suit your needs.
 
I need to buy 4, if it was only 1 I would just get the shirron's. I will figure it out later. Thanks everyone,
 
gnef said:
honestly, i think that comparison is overly dramatic.

i have both faucets, two perlicks, and three ventmatics. all five are very nice, and work equally well from my standpoint.

ventmatics look better to me cosmetically, but function the same to me.

i would say get what you can afford.

something nice about the ventmatics though, is that there are replacement gasket kits available (although, i think they are around 10 dollars each... ouch!), and they have different spout attachments for those of you who are hardcore about your pouring.

me? i just need something that gets my beer into my glass in an efficient manner. i carb all my beers to the same volume of co2, even though i know it goes against the style. i'm just not that particular about it. if you are, then these are things you may want to take in to consideration.

if i were to do it over again, i'd probably get all perlicks due to the cost. at least at the time, perlicks were around 30 shipped, and the ventmatics were around 40-45. that difference is pretty significant for negligent performance differences to me. again, i have different priorities than others though, so do the research, and find what fits best to suit your needs.

Well said. A guy in my homebrew club has the vent-matic ones and honestly my perlicks perform just as well.

I recently got another perlick, to bring my collection to 2. I need one more on teh coffinbox to be rid of the last cheap faucet. The 4th faucet is a cheap stout faucet I got off of ebay.

I love my perlicks, and for the price, you can't go wrong.
 
I just called my LHBS and they are selling the perlicks for 46 + tax, superior products sells them for 28 + tax. My LHBS must buy them from SP.
 
As an owner of both, they REALLY do work equally now. I say NOW because most Perlicks that you buy now, are either machined or an EXTREMELY smooth cast interior. Apparently enough people were complaining, and they listened. I have 2 of each, and if I were to blindly pour a beer from a random faucet, I would not be able to tell you the difference. What it will all boil down to though, Don't feel bad about buying EITHER one. If you want to save a few bucks, Go Perlick. If you want a Shirron because of something you read, Go Shirron. You will be pleased either route you take.
 
actually, funny enough, i've read recently that shirron bought the rights to sell the faucets under the ventmatic name, so they are now called ventmatic again.

if you've followed the drama so far, it just gets more and more confusing for people...
 
Being a machinist, I suspect that BOTH are originally cast(as are SS anchor line cleats for boats, as an example), but having seen the pics of each I chose the Shirron because the attention to detail in the additional machining done inside is worth the slight additional expense, if any. It is hard to picture the shape of the outside being completely machined. I think both are cast, machined, polished and then assembled. The difference in performance is probably not noticeable, if it even exists, but the quality level is just a little better on the Shirron, by simple visual inspection. And I just bought the 'Ventmatic' from Austin, and they were called Shirron just weeks ago....
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lostforatime said:
norther brewer there is like a $3 difference. Why did you do with the perlicks, ollllllo?

This is only a valid arguement if you limit yourself to Northern Brewer... but why even use that as the comparison? You go with the lowest price from any vendor.

The skinny is, Shirrons are just under $39 a piece (NB or AHB) and Perlicks are just under $29 a piece (superprod.com). I bought four faucets so it would have been a $40 difference (about 25% more expensive) so I went with the Perlicks because I don't really believe the Shirrons are 25% better. There's a pic on someone's website, forgot which, that shows the machining of both. I really think they picked the best shirron and worst perlick for the comparison. My perlicks do not look anywhere near that rough.
 
Just re-emphasizing the point that for several weeks you couldn't get either and for several weeks more you could ONLY get Perlick.

Made the decision easier. Also Thanks Bobby. I forgot to pass on the Superior Products $28 price. lostforatime: They have a retail store in Tempe in the Southern & Priest Area.
 
Aside from kegging, Using ANY forward sealing faucet is one of the best improvements you can make to your collection of brew gear. You arn't going to go wrong with either one, DWJRHAHB
 
The Perlicks are in the mag but not online. I am going to go with the Perlicks. $28.99 X 4 = $115.96 + Tax
 
So yeah, I'm tired of my standard faucets sticking after 2 days non-use. I just picked up a pair of shirron's off ebay for $38.10 ea shipped. I'm happy :)
 
sirsloop said:
So yeah, I'm tired of my standard faucets sticking after 2 days non-use. I just picked up a pair of shirron's off ebay for $38.10 ea shipped. I'm happy :)

So which seller did you order from? Was this an Ebay store? Or a private seller????
 
lostforatime said:
The Perlicks are in the mag but not online. I am going to go with the Perlicks. $28.99 X 4 = $115.96 + Tax

Does anyone have the Perlick part number at Superior Products. I just called to place an order and they didn't have any idea what I was talking about when I asked for Perlick Faucets.
 
jayhoz said:
Does anyone have the Perlick part number at Superior Products. I just called to place an order and they didn't have any idea what I was talking about when I asked for Perlick Faucets.

133462-$28.99
 
Hey- I just ordered the Perlicks from superprod.com (haven't gotten them yet) but the part number I used was #851300. Hope that was right- the price was.
 
anojones said:
Hey- I just ordered the Perlicks from superprod.com (haven't gotten them yet) but the part number I used was #851300. Hope that was right- the price was.

I dunno, the part # i posted was what was in my latest catalog. (Which I got on Monday)
 
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