Brand new vent-matic v3 faucet review

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insanim8er

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Keep in mind these are BRAND NEW. They came wrapped up in bubble wrapping baggies. Each one individually wrapped all bundled in a zip lock bag in a box with peanuts.

I received 6 faucets. All of them in equal condition. The photos are from 3 of the 6 faucets. I won't even get into the pour or leaking. The photos will speak for themselves.

The over all finish

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That big blotch is not a reflection.

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And the best part.... Here's the threads

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I made it very clear to Matt from chi the condition of these faucets. He made it appear that he's taking action. It took them 3 months to fix the seals. I'm sure they'll eventually get this right, but if seals took 3 months, I'm guessing it's going to be several months before a reasonable product is produced.

I know a lot of you have been waiting, as I have, but there you have it... I'll be returning these for the perlick 630ss.
 
Absolutely ... He doesn't seem happy, but he claimed he never even inspected them when got them. He got them from the manufacturer and shipped them to us in the same bubble wrapped package.

If you don't know the background of these new released Ventmatic faucets, it may not make sense.

They released them as v1, had issues and quickly released v2. Had MORE issues (all leaking problems) so they did a recall... 3 mo later they come out with v3. I was suppose to be part of a survey for the v3 to assure they're ready for resale. The entire time their efforts were in making sure they didn't leak.

I chose to wait (from December until now) for these new faucets. When I finally received my 6 replacements, I was asked to partake in a survey. The survey was to be "hush hush." I didn't agree to anything, so when I saw these things, I wrote a review off the bat. I was quickly asked to remove it. After talking with Matt (owner of chi) I decided to oblige. He said after a week, post away...

They may have fixed the leak, but no one gave a F@$& about the finish. These are absolute CRAP. I am more than upset over the whole ordeal.
 
Those dont look any better than the ones I returned months ago. I'm not sure who's manufacturing those but obviously quality isnt a concern. Its a shame really, I liked the pour from the Ventmatics but got tired or the continual issues.
 
Those dont look any better than the ones I returned months ago.

Ya I still have my v2 faucets. I haven't returned them yet, and I guess it's a good thing since the box will include these v3 as well.

The v2 have a slightly better finish, but not by much. I chose to wait for the v3 thinking they were going to get everything in check and have an amazing product. Nope... They took 3 months just to fix seals that's it. The whole ordeal has left me mad as hell.

What faucet did you end up with since you returned these?
 
Well damn. I have been following this saga since Christmas when we upgraded our old keezer to add a stout faucet and space for one more regular faucet. I wanted to match the new one to the other ventmatics we already have, plus the growler filler that fits them. Looks like it's going to have to be a mismatched 630 as I'm tired of waiting.

Thanks for posting.
 
Ya I still have my v2 faucets. I haven't returned them yet, and I guess it's a good thing since the box will include these v3 as well.

The v2 have a slightly better finish, but not by much. I chose to wait for the v3 thinking they were going to get everything in check and have an amazing product. Nope... They took 3 months just to fix seals that's it. The whole ordeal has left me mad as hell.

What faucet did you end up with since you returned these?

I went with the Perlick 525's that I had previously. They never gave me a problem but I heard so much about the great Ventmatics that I had to give them a try. I returned them as soon as they started leaking. Im waiting for the upgraded Perlick 630's with the metal collars to come out before I purchase any other faucets.
 
Ahhhh, this just blows. I've been sitting on my V2's hoping to have this resolved by now. Thanks for the detailed update as this helps with the decision to keep them or not.
 
I spoke with the owner of chi literally today. He's really an awesome easy going guy. And his customer service is outstanding. I can't say enough good things about him to be perfectly honest.

Bottom line is he told them they need to redo the entire thing...he said they're just not comparable to the perlicks and other offerings (duh). They need to basically start over. It'll probably be a while, but I think in the time to come, we will see a Shirron replica (hopefully) he even had a customer bring in one of the original Shirron faucets and he was blown away how different it was. He took photos sent those to the manufacture too.

I don't want to wait anymore, so I am returning all of my faucets (less two) for an even exchange for the perlick 630ss (a friend of mine had the Ventmatic and just got the perlick today, he said the perlick is all the way around better.

Matt (owner of chi) is allowing me to keep two of these rough looking ventmatics to throw on to my portable kegerator (who cares if they're ugly, they'll get bashed up anyway)

So it's been a long (VERY LONG) journey, but ultimately I am happy... I get to keep two and I'll get another 6 of the perlick 630ss for my keezer.
 
Just did the same thing and have a pre-paid shipping label on its way to exchange mine for the 630SS. I must agree that despite the problems, CHI is doing everything they can to make it right with the customers. Looking forward to putting this ordeal behind me!


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I forgot to update this thread... I shipped back all my faucets for an even exchange for the Perlick 630SS - WOW there is no comparison. They're excellent and I'm very happy with them.

Matt from Chi did a great job taking care of me. He even let me keep 2 of the jacked up Ventmatics, so I can throw them onto my Portable Kegerator (who cares, they'll get scratched up anyway) Over all It took a lot of time to get situated, but I finally have a fully operational kegerator with excellent faucets.

I also asked to be put on the list if/when the new ventmatics are re-designed. I'd love to see how they evolve. I really do like the removable tips, but at least I have working faucets now.
 
There has been a lot of buzz about the Vent-Matic Facets all over the Web. If you’re talking about the old vent-matic faucets, the real original faucet, the buzz is and was great. But if you’re talking about the so called ventmatic faucet CHI and others sold (a total of about 300) in the last two years there junk. If you take them apart, as you may have seen on some of the posts others have made, they are flat-out made wrong. The faucets sold by CHI have an O-ring as a shout-off seal on the slide body. The real faucet has a full contoured shout-off seal. The faucet sold by CHI cannot be locked with a standard beer faucet handle lock because the top nut is not a vent-matic part, it’s off a standard brass faucet. And all of the tower seals and supports in the CHI faucet are not vent-matic parts, as a matter of fact they are not even to the correct deign of the real vent-matic faucet, when you lay them out part for part you can see why the CHI faucets leak. The Faucets CHI and others sold as vent-matic were knockoffs. I have 6 old vent-matics’ and two brand new original Vent-Matic™ Ultra-Flo faucet that I got two weels ago, that even pour better than the old. I got them from real VENT-MATIC COMPANY on their web site www.VENT-MATIC.com

So why are your CHI ventmatic's junk. They’re Not real Vent-Matic ™ faucets. My New Real VENT-MATIC Faucet has its Tradename VENT-MATIC™ proudly on its side
 
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