Perlick Gaskets

[Oleson M.D.]

We have 5 vintage Perlick faucets. The early ones where the spout unscrews from the body.

Where can I find replacement gaskets? Did a quick search, but did not find what we need.

Thanks!

 

[Broken Crow]

Before my time, but looks like 425's...if it is;
https://www.chicompany.net/faucets-repair-parts-c-376_17_16/repair-parts-perlick-faucets-p-1386.html
I'm pretty sure the model number is etched on the underside of the faucet, so if you don't have a spare, you'll have to remove the faucet to take a look.

 

[day_trippr]

Correct, it's the 425, Perlick's Vent-Matic "knock-off" that lost in patent court and had to be pulled out of sales channels in the USA.
If you Google 'Perlick 425 faucet parts' there are many sellers of repair parts listed...

Cheers!

 

[Agent]

Agreed that those are 425's. Mine all have the plastic nozzles and plastic shuttle though. And no markings anywhere other than the Perlick logo.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Great! Thanks for the info!
I will order some new gaskets.
I love these faucets! Even better that the later 500 and 600 series.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Before my time, but looks like 425's...if it is;
https://www.chicompany.net/faucets-repair-parts-c-376_17_16/repair-parts-perlick-faucets-p-1386.html
I'm pretty sure the model number is etched on the underside of the faucet, so if you don't have a spare, you'll have to remove the faucet to take a look.

Just placed an order for 5 plunger washers.
Thanks for the link!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I found stuff on Ebay. Put it away after I got Nukataps, though.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

You like Nukataps better than Perlick?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Well, here goes a flame war.

I got the SS Perlicks with flow control. Then I learned it takes skill to seat everything so they work right. I don't want to worry about skill. I want the manufacturer to take the skill out of it.

I didn't get great results from the flow controls, but that may have been due to my own inexperience and unwillingness to calculate line lengths when I was already paying for faucets that were supposed to make it unnecessary.

I had some problems with trub locking Perlicks up. The beer has to take a complicated path to get out, so if something gets sucked into your line, it can put an end to your fun until you disassemble the faucet. Kegland claims the complicated path makes the beer more turbulent and releases CO2. I had to apply lube to stuff when reassembling.

I stuck the Nukataps on there (not flow control) and had zero problems from the word "go," at least with the faucets themselves. I got plastic Kegland flow control disconnects, and it all works fine. Kegland says the length of the tubing doesn't matter, but I think that is optimistic. I seem to do a lot better with 6 feet than 3 feet. Also, Kegland says the forward-sealing Nukataps are cleaner. A seal kit for a Nukatap costs $5, and seals for a Perlick cost $16.

My Nukataps have never clogged up or slowed down. I had to clean the Perlicks more than once over the few months they were in the keezer.

It seems a lot of guys are emotionally attached to the old Perlicks, and they make excuses for them, blaming users for all the problems. They will always defend Perlicks and claim mastering the arcane science of line balancing is smarter than plug and play. All I can respond with is my actual experience. The Nukataps went in, the Perlicks went to a box in the garage, and the beer has been flowing ever since. If I don't have to become a pro line balancer, doesn't that mean the product is superior?

I could go back to a car with a distributor and adjust it and change the points from time to time, but pushing that dash button and having a modern ignition fire the engine up and operate it perfectly every single time for 300,000 miles seems a lot better.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

I hear what you are saying! I have about 40 faucets. All SS. 400, 500, and 600 series Perlicks. I like the 425’s best. But they all require constant cleaning to prevent dripping issues.
My Tap Rite’s never drip! Never! But if you don’t draw a pint every day, they lock up tight. It takes super hot water to melt the sugar and free them up.
The Perlick’s never freeze up, but they drip from time to time.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

That sounds awful.

I have had the Nukataps for about a year. I have never had to take one apart. They have never leaked. They don't lock up. I put springs in them to make them close automatically.

I also have a no-name stout faucet from Amazon that works perfectly no matter what. Line length doesn't matter. I just have to choose the right pressure and clean the nozzle when appropriate.

I wasted something like a hundred bucks on the Perlicks, but I have no regrets about replacing them after less than two months.

 

[Wayne1]

You might want to look into the UltraTap. This is a authorized update to the Vent Matic faucet but using all stainless steel. The Nukatap is using a plastic shuttle. UltraTap

 

[Broken Crow]

No flame-war...just a difference in comfort-level in technicalities, tastes, practices and physical ability...
Though I have s trong sense of aesthetics, I will always put function before form. Where I have options that are equally functional, the deciding factor will then be form and while Nukataps and Perlicks both function just fine, I find the Nuaktaps to be hideously ugly and Perlicks to be elegant and pleasing to the eye.
@Clint Yeastwood , I've seen pics of your keezer and it's a truly beautiful and enviable piece of work which I enjoy vicarioulsly through your posts. I'm very pleased that all the choices you made work well for you and that you chose to share them on here for the benefit of others who are learning and building their own...especially for those whose perspectives and preferences are entirely contrary to my own. I'm physically incapable of lifting kegs into a keezer. I don't trust any disconnect except for genuine CM beckers. Despite about 95% Duotight users having no problem, I'm in the 5% that has had issues (which I have shared my solutions for on here). I don't trust the Duotight secondary regulators. I have a FC faucet, but having correctly balanced my lines, I've never needed it....I have wondered that since you have 6' of (if I recall correctly) 4mm ID EVABarrier, why you need flow-control at all? I don't ferment and serve in the same keg, so I've never had issues with trub entering the tap. Both my Nuka and Perlick have briefly dripped, but only if I went a long time without thoroughly cleaning them. Both perform pretty much flawlessly so for me the preference to Perlick is purely aesthetic. Those 425's do look quite nice and if ever I encountered a good deal on a couple used ones, I'd jump on it. It's all just 'what works for me, may not work for you, but neither is 'right' or 'wrong'. Half of what I love about this site is reading starkly contrasting choices and techniques... It's great to know there are always options.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

@Clint Yeastwood , I've seen pics of your keezer and it's a truly beautiful and enviable piece of work which I enjoy vicarioulsly through your posts. I'm very pleased that all the choices you made work well for you and that you chose to share them on here for the benefit of others who are learning and building their own...especially for those whose perspectives and preferences are entirely contrary to my own

Thanks, and thanks for not looking at it too closely!

. I'm physically incapable of lifting kegs into a keezer. I don't trust any disconnect except for genuine CM beckers. Despite about 95% Duotight users having no problem, I'm in the 5% that has had issues (which I have shared my solutions for on here). I don't trust the Duotight secondary regulators.

It will be a while before I draw any conclusions about the regulators. They're in my garage keezer. I have C.M. Becker in the kitchen.

I have a FC faucet, but having correctly balanced my lines, I've never needed it....I have wondered that since you have 6' of (if I recall correctly) 4mm ID EVABarrier, why you need flow-control at all?

I'm pretty obviously not a student of balancing. I found the FC disconnects a little tricky with 3 feet of line, so I changed a couple to 6 feet, and things seem better.

I don't ferment and serve in the same keg, so I've never had issues with trub entering the tap.

I had some crud enter my serving kegs from my fermenters. It was enough to be a real annoyance. Maybe adding filters to my pickups would have fixed it.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

I have a dual filter system that has been used with success to remove anything as small as 2 microns.

 

[Broken Crow]

Just to add a chuckle to this thread and eat my words: this just came up yesterday;
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/perlick-425ss-faucets-qty-2.731405/
...Elegant, beautiful, NIB...and I'm broke and in Canada!

 

[day_trippr]

"like new in box". Which is curiouser.

Still, they would be conversation pieces for those who are familiar with their story...

Cheers!

 

[Oleson M.D.]

$60 each is too much for an old faucet. I have five of the 425's. Don't waste your money!

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Before my time, but looks like 425's...if it is;
https://www.chicompany.net/faucets-repair-parts-c-376_17_16/repair-parts-perlick-faucets-p-1386.html
I'm pretty sure the model number is etched on the underside of the faucet, so if you don't have a spare, you'll have to remove the faucet to take a look.

Ordered the gaskets. Appears not to be in stock, yet they show these on their website. A mailing label has been created, but no shipping date.
Probably no longer available. And no updates from the retailer. They state their parts are sourced from multiple locations around the country.