faucet locks for Ventmatic or Perlick style faucets

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Walker

I use secondaries. :p
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My new kegerator is drawing a lot of attention from my 2 year old and my 4 year old. I'm not worried about them drinking my beer, but I am worried about them opening a tap a letting gallons of it flow into the floor of the dining room when no one is looking.

I've been looking around and have not been able to locate a faucet lock that will work on Ventmatic style faucets. Does anyone know of a lock for these, or have a known working DIY lock that will work on a kegerator with a tower?
 
Meh.

The first time he/she pulls the faucet make him/her drink the beer off the floor. Once they resume conciousness they'll be terrified of the faucets. :D

My son once pulled the faucet handle. The beer shot directly in his face. Scared the crap out of him and was cold and sticky. He's never touched them since.
 
Found this pic in another thread Here

Would be a little harded to do on a keezer but you could pull it off

taplock.jpg
 
OMJ: I had seen this one, but I have a kegerator with a tower on the top, so this is not an option.

fridge_done.jpg



mariojr: I'll check out what they've got at rapiswholesale
 
bah. all of those faucet locks are useless for the ventmatic type faucets because they rely on the faucet downspout being located further back on the faucet than the tap-handle. Those locks all "grab" the faucet in one way or another by the spout, but my spouts are located further out than the taphandles.

In other words, I've seen a ton of different faucet locks that work for these:

chrome-beer-faucet.jpg


But not a single one that will work for these:

faucetandshank.jpg
 
Hmmmm... actually... there is a tiny little lip on my faucets near the nut, so I wonder if one like this will actually work.

560.jpg


That metal bar would have to hit the little lip "just right", but... maybe....
 
Probably be easier to unscrew the penises from the faucets. I mean tap handles.


Actually, these tap handles look pretty good now that they are done. They've been painted and laquered and have a paddle part at the top. Looks good and not so much like your wife's toys anymore.

:ban:
 
There are perlick specific locks but they are pricey. $40 or $50 each, IIRC.

FWIW, unscrew the handle and the temptation to pull is reduced.

The one you've pictured should work as there is a lip on the bottom of the faucet for the u-bolt to fit in.

Of course, you could also affix a eyelet screw on the wall behind (if applies) and use a chain or strap. Not sure what stresses if any this might place on the faucet movement and seals.
 
I think you could get a lot of mileage out of a thin cable and a single padlock with 2 eyebolts. You might have to loosen up the tap nuts so that the cable fits in the groove. The ends of the cable go through an eyebot on the top of the tower and the down to another on the back. The padlock seals the deal.
 
Thinking outside the box...

What if you made some kind of like a wooden box that would fit down over the whole tower enclosure and lock down to the kegerator? Same width as the kegerator. Eighteen inches high or so. Install an eyebolt both on the bottom of the box and the side of the kegerator so that you could lock it down if need be. Stain it up, make it look nice and purdy.
 
I think you could get a lot of mileage out of a thin cable and a single padlock with 2 eyebolts. You might have to loosen up the tap nuts so that the cable fits in the groove. The ends of the cable go through an eyebot on the top of the tower and the down to another on the back. The padlock seals the deal.

The top of the tower is just a little lid that sits on top of the thing. I'd have to put the anchor on something more sturdy.

GilaMinumBeer said:
There are perlick specific locks but they are pricey. $40 or $50 each, IIRC.

The ones I pictured are actually $40 anyway. I'm not too concerned about the price. SWMBO just wants them locked at (almost) any cost.

the_bird said:
What if you made some kind of like a wooden box that would fit down over the whole tower enclosure and lock down to the kegerator?

Yeah, I thought about that. I'd like to avoid drilling more holds in the fridge, but... if I have to do it, I have to do it.
 
The top of the tower is just a little lid that sits on top of the thing. I'd have to put the anchor on something more sturdy.

Ah wait, I see what you mean, OllllO. Not on the actual top, but on the tower near the top.

Might work, but you've got me thinking in a new direction at least.

Thanks!
 
Found the same locks on www.wasserstrom.com, too.

They are manufactured by Perlick, so they better work. The price is a tiny bit higher than www.rapidswholesale.com, but the shipping is cheaper. Plus, rapids was going to charge me about $8 sales tax since they were a North Carolina business shipping to a North Carolina address.
 
those locks like cabinets and desks always use only a few keys if even more than one. but its kinda pricey to buy one just to have the key to schwipe beer from dad.

Like I said, the kids are under 5 years old. I am not worried about them drinking it, I am worried about them draining it all over the floor.

why not just remove the handle and use a plate to secure it shut?

Use a plate? I don't follow....
 
You could put a inline valve in the beer line. Put them inside the kegerator and turn off when you are not pulling beer. Then no pressure no interest by the kids.

No kegging experience, so I don't know if the valve will cause foaming or not.

Get technically fun, you could install electric solenoids and use hidden toggle switches to open the valves. More $$ but more fun that way. Infact you could use them and a remote switch to pour your beer or cut someone off :D
 
Another outside the box thought here: MasterLock sells a retractable cable lock that is combination based for around $8. They will cinch down between the faucet handle and the nut on the faucet and you can route it around the tower. Easy solution for $16 in my opinion. Oh, and you can get your favorite color!!

41BRJ0Z3N5L._SS500_.jpg
 
Get technically fun, you could install electric solenoids and use hidden toggle switches to open the valves. More $$ but more fun that way. Infact you could use them and a remote switch to pour your beer or cut someone off :D


Holy ****. Remote controlled beer tap. I could program my universal remote control to serve the beer.

Of course, then I would have to lock the remote away from the kids, too....
 
Holy ****. Remote controlled beer tap. I could program my universal remote control to serve the beer.

Of course, then I would have to lock the remote away from the kids, too....

You know what would be even more fun!?!?

Using infrared detectors that would detect your hand+glass to turn on the faucet. Then you could just disable the detectors via a switch lock.

Tad expensive, but fun.
 
I'm not sure, but I think this thread has gone right off a cliff into Crazyland. :D

I have a season pass to Crazyland. I don't use it that often, but it is good for life.

Keep us informed how this works out. You probably have some silent followers with this problem.
 
I ended up buying the U-bolt key locks like this:
560.jpg


The U-bolt does catch the little nub on the bottom side of the ventmatic style faucets and the taps can be VERY securely locked. I tried pulling one open and was using enough strength to start to scare myself about breaking something... nothing came out. Not a drop.

My only problem is that my homemade tap-handles are very wide at the base, and they interfere with the locks. Doh!

I need to fix that, but it's not a big deal. I want to get some REAL tap handles anyway.
 
Beats me what it is called. It's quite far back on the faucet.... my glasses never come anywhere near it, but call it what you want. :D
 
Glass stop hehe that's a clink in the glass I'd hate to hear....

I've been looking around at this myself... I have a teenager and a few more over the back wall and I have suspicions.

Anyhow... I'm experimenting with adjustable locks whereas the shank is removable. The cheapy from wallymart measured .81 on the ID width. The Perlick 425 (I think) measures .9 inches at about the glass stop/lock nub. I'm toying with grinding the shank out a bit to allow it to fit over the Perlick faucet. I might take my calipers to wallymart and measure the Master/Brinks brands.

I like the idea above on the solored adjustables above but I don't want a combo lock....

Anyone else have an idea?
 
Actually, these tap handles look pretty good now that they are done. They've been painted and laquered and have a paddle part at the top. Looks good and not so much like your wife's toys anymore.

:ban:
ZING!!!!:fro:
 
Found this pic in another thread Here

Would be a little harded to do on a keezer but you could pull it off

taplock.jpg

OMG.... I am so doing that when I build my Keezer with a Collar.

I was trying to imagine how I was going to keep little ones from pulling on the handles and puring beer all over the floor.

I'll use Stainless rod instead of wood because im doing brushed stainless instead of staining wood or painting wood

-=Jason=-
 
I ended up buying the U-bolt key locks like this:
560.jpg


The U-bolt does catch the little nub on the bottom side of the ventmatic style faucets and the taps can be VERY securely locked. I tried pulling one open and was using enough strength to start to scare myself about breaking something... nothing came out. Not a drop.
...

Sorry to necro this thread but the photo link is no longer working - did you get the Perlick brand locks or go with another option? I'm pulling parts for a kegerator together and need a plan to keep my 20 month old out of trouble ...
 
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