S/S vs. Chrome plated towers

Anyone have an opinon? Is it worth the extra $20-$30 for a stainless steel draft tower, or are the chrome plated ones just as good?

Nothing can beat the beauty and durability of stainless steel for this application. But I'm a little biased.

value is dependent on personal perspective. you need to figure out if it is worth it to you.

this is similar to the brass vs. stainless steel valves and fittings discussion. to some it is worth it for the stainless, to others the brass works just the same. for some it is just about the cosmetics.

i would see if friends have both that you can personally go around and look at, and be critical of to decide which you like. barring that, look at pictures online, similar to the one posted above.

honestly - i don't have a tower that i use, i just have 6 shanks coming out of a full size top/bottom fridge. my setup doesn't look that great, but it is very functional. will a plated tower work? yes. will a stainless tower work? yes. which one will last longer? i don't know, but i think both of them will last a very long time. which one do you like the look of better? is one worth that extra cost, or could that money go elsewhere? i would say if you were stuck with either chrome tower and forward seal faucets or a stainless tower with rear seal, i would go with the forward seal option.

sorry if this doesn't help you any, but i hope it gives you some frame of reference on how to go about finding the right decision for you.

Stainless is awesome, but chrome plated brass isn't really subject to much corrosion. I didn't find it worth the extra cost for stainless, personally.

Hell, you could probably get great results with some 3" exhaust pipe and a can of spray paint!

EDIT:
Here's a link to some stainless exhaust tubing. For $70 and a little ingenuity, you could make a kick ass 3 tower setup!

I was actually going to go with one of those very large diameter cardboard wrapping paper tubes soaked in polyurethane to make it rigid and then painted with that chrome paint that you can get at Autozone. But I thought I would go with the stainless instead.

I have this beautiful old 4" bass tower. The downside is it's a royal pain to keep looking nice.

The cap says "BANNER" and "CHICAGO".

ANyone have any tips for cleaning these things and keeping them shiny?

As for the "other" color. Asthetically, I prefer the SS towers to the chrome. But that's just me.

I'd actually like to make a carbon fibre tower. That would look pretty cool. But where do you find carbon fiber faucets?? ::

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

I'd actually like to make a carbon fibre tower. That would look pretty cool. But where do you find carbon fiber faucets?? ::

Click to expand...

For only $250, you can get some carbon fiber tubing for a tower. A little more ingenuity might get you a means of making your tap look pretty sweet with some smaller diameter tubing. The tap handle could be a work of art as well...

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

I have this beautiful old 4" bass tower. The downside is it's a royal pain to keep looking nice.

The cap says "BANNER" and "CHICAGO".

ANyone have any tips for cleaning these things and keeping them shiny?

As for the "other" color. Asthetically, I prefer the SS towers to the chrome. But that's just me.

I'd actually like to make a carbon fibre tower. That would look pretty cool. But where do you find carbon fiber faucets?? ::

Click to expand...

When I was in the USAF we used Neverdull (sp?) to clean and polish all the brass in the barracks. It works unbelievably well. It's a cotton wadding soaked with solvents and other 'stuff'. It's easy to use and wears away as you use it.

Brasso.

SS is for those with shallow pockets; unobtainium is the chit!

Really, spend what you feel comfortable with. Chrome is actually brighter and shinier. But don't cheap out and get standard faucets; spend up for forward sealing Perlicks or Shirrons-or when they start sticking, you'll wish you had.

I have access to a 10 yr old used Dodge Diesel exhaust pipe. I think the rust and road grime make a MUCH better finish than anything you could muster out of SS OR Chrome

J/K

Well.. that coud give it that rustic look. If you used the right parts to dress up the faucets and had you keggorater looking like a half buried rusty pickup truck...

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

I have this beautiful old 4" bass tower. The downside is it's a royal pain to keep looking nice.

The cap says "BANNER" and "CHICAGO".

ANyone have any tips for cleaning these things and keeping them shiny?

Click to expand...

Polish it up and clear coat it.

My mom, years ago when she worked for a lab, brought home these mysterious and very handsome copper cylinders for me, thinking I should store my paint brushes in them. We buffed them and gave them a coat of clear varnish, they've sparkeled ever since. We later discovered the tubes (with a fitted lid, much like a good cardboard mailing tube but smaller) were used to sterilize pipettes for lab work... back in the day of course.

Of course you'd want to disconnect everything first, but it mght be worth the effort.

On the other hand, I looked closely at the faucets of our local brewpub, The Brewer's Art, and all of their taps were once, years ago, chromed brass. After years of pulls and cleanings, they are all tarnished brass, and still doing fine. They look rather nice actually.

Just a thought.

kvh