Kegerator Faucet Parts

[brinson44]

Hi folks,

I got my first kegerator recently and I’m trying to make sure I’m good to use it. I got it for free from a friend, but it’s not perfect.

My main concern right now is the faucet. The kegerator sat for at least FIVE YEARS with a keg of Bud Light in the lines. I’ve attached a few pictures of the parts that I’m worried about.

I’ve cleaned them and would sanitize before using it, but are these parts even ok to use in the first place? It almost looks like they’ve rusted in there. Can anyone think of anything else I might want to inspect?

 

[day_trippr]

To quote Bones: "It's dead, Jim"

Even if cleaned up it looks like there may be some corrosion which would make it a pita in service at best.

Let it go...and get yourself a nice clean forward sealing SS faucet. An Intertap of far better quality costs only around $30 and will work.
http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/843158.htm

And pick up a replacement beer shank while you're there...
http://www.ritebrew.com/SearchResults.asp?Extensive_Search=Y&Search=shank&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

Cheers!

 

[brinson44]

To quote Bones: "It's dead, Jim"

Even if cleaned up it looks like there may be some corrosion which would make a pita pita in service at best.

Let it go...and get yourself a nice clean forward sealing SS faucet. An Intertap of far better quality costs only around $30 and will work.
http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/843158.htm

And pick up a replacement beer shank while you're there...
http://www.ritebrew.com/SearchResults.asp?Extensive_Search=Y&Search=shank&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

Cheers!

Two quick questions, then:

1. From what you can tell, is the faucet even usable? If it will just be a pain to use, I can get by for now. However, if I’m risking making myself sick or making my beer taste awful, then I’m willing to replace it all now.

2. How do shanks and the rest of the faucet parts work with regard to making sure I buy parts that fit my particular draft tower? Does that question even make sense?

 

[day_trippr]

1. It's not going to make anyone sick. Sick and tired of dribbles, perhaps, but not "Gotta see a doctor!" sick.

2. The threaded end of a beer faucet is standardized. I don't even know what the thread size is it's so unimportant (though I probably should know that So unless there's some gimmick feature within a faucet (like, perhaps a flow compensator) it's going to fit any standard geometry beer shank. The important metric is length - if you replace yours, make sure the threaded portion is a match.

I'll add one should think twice about opting for chrome plated brass faucets/shanks/fittings. Those pictures are of such a beast and you can see the chrome plating is pretty much gone - into someone's gut...

Cheers!