Appreciate the info. They look like great faucets. However there doesn't appear to be a good control option. For me...that's key #1 at this point. Also...I will cut Williams a bit of slack but as yet...still no response.
Intertap beer faucets
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Appreciate the info. They look like great faucets. However there doesn't appear to be a good control option. For me...that's key #1 at this point. Also...I will cut Williams a bit of slack but as yet...still no response.
Anyone know of a spring that would work to enable the self closing function of the Intertap faucet? I send KegKing note asking, but have not received a response.
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
Consider that they might be trying to get an actual answer for you. We have been slamming them with requests, and questions, and they could be seeing if they can get more quickly. Pure speculation.
I have always got a response from them, but it has always been a day or so after I email them, and at like 5-6am their time. They strike me as a hard working group just trying to keep up with bigger online stores.
Maybe send them a quick ping asking for an update, that way if they are sitting on your email to get you better info, they can at least tell you that is what they are doing.
I just sent them a ping follow up. Hoping to hear something back. I am giving them the benefit at this point. Thanks.
ClunkClunk
Well-Known Member
Not a big deal really, because they don't do local pickup
It's literally 0.5 miles out of my way on my commute to/from work. Oh well, they still have good prices and really fast shipping for us west coasters.
I also like Williams Brewing and have had pleasant buying experiences. However, to get this back on the topic of Intertap faucets, I reposting my question about the self closing spring as I would really like to get one of these.
Anyone know of a spring that would work to enable the self closing function of the Intertap faucet? I send KegKing note asking, but have not received a response.
Anyone know of a spring that would work to enable the self closing function of the Intertap faucet? I send KegKing note asking, but have not received a response.
The short anwser is Zoro...
http://www.zoro.com/search?sort=variants.price%3AHightoLow&categoryl2=Springs&categoryl3=Compression+and+Die+Springs&categoryl1=Door+and+Cabinet+Hinges+%26+Hardware&brand=VALUE+BRAND&q=stainless+steel+compression+springs&page=2http://
but it depends on the clearance behind the tap in your shank. What Intertap did was to drill out the head of their tap to accommodate a longer spring. With mine I used a 1-1/8" stainless spring that compressed down to about 5/8"(the clearance on my shanks)
Good luck and if you need more help feel free to PM me
Thanks Turb, this is very helpful!
akthor
Well-Known Member
Is there a spring for perlicks?
I contacted Keg King directly to see if there was any way around not having a US distributor and this is the response I recieved...
Hi Douglas,
We currently can't sell the Intertaps in the US due to a patent dispute. We currently sell the Intertap taps in Australia and they are also being sold from Keg King Shanghai Distribution center. Neither of these locations are governed by any active patents on forward sealing taps that Bradford G. Amidzich owns.
We did contact Brad last week regarding this and also have him specific information showing several forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia dating back as far as the 1940s. These other forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia clearly show that Brad's Ventmatic taps were not the first forward sealing designs and also we have reason to believe that his patents in America can be invalidated based on this information. If a thorough enough prior arts search been carried out it would have revealed these common forward sealing models in Australia and the patent would not have been granted in the first place. With that said he still does have an active patent granted by the USPTO so it will take at least several months if not more than a year to get these patents invalidated if we do go down this path.
We have also voice another option to not invalidate the patent and simply pay a royalty in America however we have not heard back from Brad regarding this so we can only assume that he is not going to entertain this as an option.
If we do not hear from Brad in a reasonable amount of time we will commence legal action to have his patents invalidated.
Cheers,
Aran Burns
Customer Service Manager
Keg King Keg Dispense Specialists
Looks like we are out of luck for now
Hi Douglas,
We currently can't sell the Intertaps in the US due to a patent dispute. We currently sell the Intertap taps in Australia and they are also being sold from Keg King Shanghai Distribution center. Neither of these locations are governed by any active patents on forward sealing taps that Bradford G. Amidzich owns.
We did contact Brad last week regarding this and also have him specific information showing several forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia dating back as far as the 1940s. These other forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia clearly show that Brad's Ventmatic taps were not the first forward sealing designs and also we have reason to believe that his patents in America can be invalidated based on this information. If a thorough enough prior arts search been carried out it would have revealed these common forward sealing models in Australia and the patent would not have been granted in the first place. With that said he still does have an active patent granted by the USPTO so it will take at least several months if not more than a year to get these patents invalidated if we do go down this path.
We have also voice another option to not invalidate the patent and simply pay a royalty in America however we have not heard back from Brad regarding this so we can only assume that he is not going to entertain this as an option.
If we do not hear from Brad in a reasonable amount of time we will commence legal action to have his patents invalidated.
Cheers,
Aran Burns
Customer Service Manager
Keg King Keg Dispense Specialists
Looks like we are out of luck for now
I contacted Keg King directly to see if there was any way around not having a US distributor and this is the response I recieved...
Hi Douglas,
We currently can't sell the Intertaps in the US due to a patent dispute. We currently sell the Intertap taps in Australia and they are also being sold from Keg King Shanghai Distribution center. Neither of these locations are governed by any active patents on forward sealing taps that Bradford G. Amidzich owns.
We did contact Brad last week regarding this and also have him specific information showing several forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia dating back as far as the 1940s. These other forward sealing models that have been sold in Australia clearly show that Brad's Ventmatic taps were not the first forward sealing designs and also we have reason to believe that his patents in America can be invalidated based on this information. If a thorough enough prior arts search been carried out it would have revealed these common forward sealing models in Australia and the patent would not have been granted in the first place. With that said he still does have an active patent granted by the USPTO so it will take at least several months if not more than a year to get these patents invalidated if we do go down this path.
We have also voice another option to not invalidate the patent and simply pay a royalty in America however we have not heard back from Brad regarding this so we can only assume that he is not going to entertain this as an option.
If we do not hear from Brad in a reasonable amount of time we will commence legal action to have his patents invalidated.
Cheers,
Aran Burns
Customer Service Manager
Keg King Keg Dispense Specialists
Looks like we are out of luck for now
Well, that certainly explains the email I got back from Williams Brewing today. Yes, they responded. *Not in as fast of fashion as I would have expected, but they did respond. I will still consider them should I need an item. Looks like I am going with Perlick 650SS FC's instead.
That said, Here is the response they sent:
We are currently out of stock on all Intertap items and do not have an in stock date. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Janis Mullins
William's Brewing
2088 Burroughs Avenue
San Leandro CA 94577
U.S.A.
510-895-2739 extension 100
[email protected]
I think you could adapt any tap/shank combination you just need to measure the clearance you have between the shank and the back of the valve and find an appropriate spring to fit it. Good luck
Would you mind posting a quick how-to on this? I'm interested, but failing to see how it all goes together and works from your description.
OP
OP
With all the uncertainties about Intertap faucets, I think I'd like to wait on the sidelines and see what happens when it's all hashed out.
I doubt the patent laws care where something is fabricated, only where it's sold.
Which is why they are selling fine in Australia but not in the US. It is very hard to enforce patents internationally, even between countries who have recognition agreements, so international patent or not the Chinese will crank it out for you if you can provide a couple of model items and a down payment for materials
Sounds like good old 100% US capitalism to me, and I'm 100% for it. Innovate or become extinct. That's another good American ideal.
I gotta say, I wanted Ventmatics when I built my first keezer. At the time they had recently become unavailable. I went with Perlick 425ss and have been very happy with them. I'm really glad I was able to get them before the lawsuit pulled them from the market. I hear the original Ventmatics are a little nicer regarding fit and finish, but these have given me no problems and are built solid enough to last several lifetimes.
Voilà
Voilà
You can see it in the Intertap video starting at the 9:30 mark...
The spring is sandwiched between the tap and shank like this...
The only difference will be with a standard shank you won't have as much clearance as their special shanks and so you need a shorter spring, the length is what you need to measure for.
Take a measurement of the space inside the shank to the front...
Now measure the space between the back of the valve shuttle and the back of the tap...
Add the two measurements together and you've found the length of spring you need. You don't have to worry about the overlap, you want a little compression on the spring even with the valve closed.
Hope that helps
Last edited by a moderator:
[...]
Add the two measurements together and you've found the length of spring you need. You don't have to worry about the overlap, you want a little compression on the spring even with the valve closed.
Looking at the shank end of the shuttle it sure doesn't look like there'd be enough space to fit a spring between it and a conventional shank.
Looks similar to the interference the 425 Perl had with many standard shanks: the shuttle didn't have enough room to fully open the faucet...
Cheers!
[edit] Just realized the faucet in that pic is one of the Ventmatics, not the Intertap...
Yeah, I have the Ventmatics, not the Intertaps, and I was thinking it doesn't really look like there'd be room to stuff a spring between the shuttle and a conventional shank.
@Turb - have you tried this mod with the Ventmatics? If so, what spring did you use?
Since there is a lot of referring to the Vent-Matic story and few know it, can someone link to it or post it? I would like to know what happened.
If this is true I wish he could face criminal charges and enjoy the rest of his years in a jail cell. I can't stand people who fleece others.
OP
OP
Incorrect blueprints? He did that on purpose! That guy sounds like a real scum bag!
ClunkClunk
Well-Known Member
Sounds a lot like the M.O. of patent trolls in the tech industry.
Coming soon to a Canadian vendor...
www.OntarioBeerKegs.com
January 27 at 7:28pm · Mitchell ·
.
Landed a very interesting product earlier this week. Will be available around early April. This product is extremely popular in Australia. It would be in the states but some legal issues. They will likely eventually get there though for good. As talked about on HBT, the features and add ons for this product are really cool. Your likely going to want one for your kegerator. Details to come soon.
www.OntarioBeerKegs.com
January 27 at 7:28pm · Mitchell ·
.
Landed a very interesting product earlier this week. Will be available around early April. This product is extremely popular in Australia. It would be in the states but some legal issues. They will likely eventually get there though for good. As talked about on HBT, the features and add ons for this product are really cool. Your likely going to want one for your kegerator. Details to come soon.
I love this thread...
Cheers!
Cheers!
OP
OP
Ben, it seems that legal issues are becoming more prevalent in home brew products. I guess that must be because it is such a growing market.
It looks like these guys will ship to the USA.
http://www.ibrew.com.au/products/intertap-stainless-steel-model-8022
shipping for one is $14, two or three is $28 and the stainless faucet is $44.95.
But it looks like those will all be Australian dollars, with the current exchange rate at 1AUD = .7USD . So three faucets shipped would be $115. Has anyone ordered from them??
cboatdts
http://www.ibrew.com.au/products/intertap-stainless-steel-model-8022
shipping for one is $14, two or three is $28 and the stainless faucet is $44.95.
But it looks like those will all be Australian dollars, with the current exchange rate at 1AUD = .7USD . So three faucets shipped would be $115. Has anyone ordered from them??
cboatdts
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
Hell of a first post! If you are ever in Northern Indiana, I owe you a beer!
I just ordered eight flow control, plus two stout nozzles and two growler fillers. The full order worked out to be about $480/USD with shipping. (thanks strong dollar!) Totally worth it, these have superior features, and I got the two stout nozzles and two growler fillers for basically the same price as Perlick 650SS.
I will update everyone as my order ships and of course when I receive them.
Edit: It has posted to my Amex card, $472 for the grand total with shipping. Shipping was $69AUD (about $50) for Airmail with Tracking.
I found an Australian eBay seller last week to get Stout Nozzles. I ordered 6. Shipping was $25 AUD. With shipping because of the strong USD, it was actually cheaper than Williams Brewing when they had them, but I won't have them for a couple more weeks.
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
I didnt even think of something like that. I really only needed one, but I figured I would order a second in the event I changed my mind later on. Im hoping that things will be straightened out in a few months though, so we can just order them from US merchants.
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
iBrew only has three Flow Control models in stock, and wont be getting anymore for six weeks or so. I told them to cancel my order, since I need eight
I cant find another seller that ships to the US and has the FC model in stock. I went ahead and emailed a few that had it in stock to see if they would ship to me, so hopefully someone comes through.
I cant find another seller that ships to the US and has the FC model in stock. I went ahead and emailed a few that had it in stock to see if they would ship to me, so hopefully someone comes through.
iBrew only has three Flow Control models in stock, and wont be getting anymore for six weeks or so. I told them to cancel my order, since I need eight
I cant find another seller that ships to the US and has the FC model in stock. I went ahead and emailed a few that had it in stock to see if they would ship to me, so hopefully someone comes through.
You should have gotten the three while you could. What if someone else doesn't have the 8 you need, but only has 4-5 and their next shipment is also 6 weeks out?
I've got 5 Perlick 425s, but sometimes I wished I had bought one or two more if I wanted to add more taps and/or save for parts should support for those faucets are discontinued for whatever reason.
JoshuaW
Well-Known Member
I considered that. I have a strong lead that can get eight for me, and will ship them out, so I'm hoping that plays out. If it pans out, I will ask if they are interested in helping some other fellow brewers out. In the meantime, I told iBrew to let me know when they get more in, if I haven't gotten them I can still order them, and if I have, I can possibly order more.
dothedrew730
New Member
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I did have an issue where the shank didn't quite seal up with one of the faucets. Took me awhile to figure out where the extra couple of drips a day in the drip tray were coming from. Assuming this is just user error since the other Intertap I have hooked up does not seem to have this problem. I did notice these faucets do not seem to tighten as snug against the shank as my 525ss did.
