Intertap beer faucets

[UndeadFred]

So, I almost impulse bought an AliExpress SS intertap, but what stopped me is repeated bad certificate warnings from Firefox. So I didn't, considering I really don't need another hacked credit card. Anyone else see these? (The warnings were the certificates didn't match the domain, which is sometime benign especially if they are trying to cheap out on the certs).

Probably okay as I don't actually NEED a new faucet but I wanted one of these to play with....

EDIT: Aliexpress.com site WAS OKAY.. see below...

 

[indolent]

So, I almost impulse bought an AliExpress SS intertap, but what stopped me is repeated bad certificate warnings from Firefox. So I didn't, considering I really don't need another hacked credit card. Anyone else see these? (The warnings were the certificates didn't match the domain, which is sometime benign especially if they are trying to cheap out on the certs).

Probably okay as I don't actually NEED a new faucet but I wanted one of these to play with....

I have not seen the certificate warnings. But, just because of the nature of the site, I always generate a new 1 time use number through my cc account when ordering from aliexpress.

 

[UndeadFred]

I have not seen the certificate warnings. But, just because of the nature of the site, I always generate a new 1 time use number through my cc account when ordering from aliexpress.

Actually.. I figured out what was going on. The site is okay. The filter for the Electronic Freedom Foundation's HTTPS Everywhere which I try to use where I can and only has had issues on a couple of sites in the past was broken for Aliexpress. Completely broken.

So, yeah, I ordered one. I bought two used 525SS's in addition to the 630PC's I already had (which are more or less OKAY).. One is a "new" 525SS the other is the "old" style, although it doesn't leak-- since I always immediately order a bag of silicone O-rings for every O-ring style I need)--- has the round shaft and the plastic bearing cup. My tap handle wanders enough on it that I decided to try to update it. It friggin' drives me nuts. Two attempts from Kegconnection via Amazon (yes, I probably should have called them direct) with a missing metal bearing cup in the rebuild kit (but the correct handle shaft), one tack on to a Rite-Brew order where I got the correct O-rings and bearing cup, but the wrong old style handle shaft, and then a order from e-bay that appears have never shipped for the newer handle shaft later... well.. I think I'm about to throw in the towel on that faucet. I'll keep it for spare parts for the other one that is fine.. Overall it still was less than one new 630SS. Maybe it will replace one of the 630PC's.. who knows...

I often serve wine/meads and eventually will attempt a sour, so I do need a couple of SS faucets. This was a splurge.. I definitely didn't need it. At some point I probably might be able to show a 630PC/525SS and an Intertap side by side in a picture though. Can't guarantee when..

The quick guess is that the VentMatics and Intertaps work like a standard handle plunger on a rear seal but the seal piece faces forward (and is smaller) and is always surrounded by beer unlike the rear seals. The seal piece appears to float in a similar fashion to the rear seal traditional faucet. I am not sure how the seal is held closed on them, but I wonder that about the Perlicks also. Beer pressure maybe but in a properly balanced system there shouldn't be much of that.

The Perlicks seem to float the O-ring seal instead and use the ball on the handle shaft to hold them closed, to effectively get around the patent. I can see why that design is inferior to the others. I don't get what the real innovation claimed in the VentMatic patent is because you can actually look up prior art, IMHO. We will see, though, when I actually get my grubby paws on the Intertap.

 

[weaselchew]

Has anyone compared the Intertap products from aliexpress to ones ordered from US/AU/CA suppliers? I've purchased some things direct from Asia that have been legit and other things that are clearly inferior copies. Since the tap itself is actually made there, I'd imagine the ones on aliexpress are the real deal (US/EU-made items on there are usually a red flag that it's likely a counterfeit.)

I've bought a number of things off aliexpress and similar sites and have not had any issues but if anyone is concerned with credit card theft, you could check out https://privacy.com/ as they let you create one-time "burner" cards for purchases. Some banks offer this service too.

 

[skatz]

Has anyone compared the Intertap products from aliexpress to ones ordered from US/AU/CA suppliers? I've purchased some things direct from Asia that have been legit and other things that are clearly inferior copies. Since the tap itself is actually made there, I'd imagine the ones on aliexpress are the real deal (US/EU-made items on there are usually a red flag that it's likely a counterfeit.)

I've bought a number of things off aliexpress and similar sites and have not had any issues but if anyone is concerned with credit card theft, you could check out https://privacy.com/ as they let you create one-time "burner" cards for purchases. Some banks offer this service too.

This concern is why I contacted Keg King. below is the reply from the rep there. I personally would rather get fully authorized faucets and know that Keg King is receiving their share of the transaction.

We don't have any dealings with Aliexpress so the faucets are not associated with Keg King.

 

[Indian_villager]

Has anyone compared the Intertap products from aliexpress to ones ordered from US/AU/CA suppliers? I've purchased some things direct from Asia that have been legit and other things that are clearly inferior copies. Since the tap itself is actually made there, I'd imagine the ones on aliexpress are the real deal (US/EU-made items on there are usually a red flag that it's likely a counterfeit.)

I've bought a number of things off aliexpress and similar sites and have not had any issues but if anyone is concerned with credit card theft, you could check out https://privacy.com/ as they let you create one-time "burner" cards for purchases. Some banks offer this service too.

Anybody from a non aliexpress purchase care to put up an image of the box? The ones from aliexpress state "manufactured for kegkking" i know the box would be the easiest thing to replicate but I'm curious of the continuity.

 

[skatz]

Anybody from a non aliexpress purchase care to put up an image of the box? The ones from aliexpress state "manufactured for kegkking" i know the box would be the easiest thing to replicate but I'm curious of the continuity.

My faucets are scheduled to arrive Monday. I'll post photos of packaging and the hardware.

I imagine the aliexpress faucets are made by the same factory, but I am tconcerned they might be cutting the Keg King guys out.

 

[indolent]

I imagine the aliexpress faucets are made by the same factory, but I am tconcerned they might be cutting the Keg King guys out.

That was my thought as well, but I didn't know of anywhere else to order them from that would ship to the US. Where did you get yours from?

 

[skatz]

Brewpump.com - the US facing site of Ontario Beer Kegs which is an authorized seller of Kig King products. I payed ~$54 each including free Ground shipping (6 business days to SoCal). Aliexpress would have been around $45 each. The extra $9 gives me piece of mind that if there is an issue, I can contact the guys at Keg King for assistance.

Aliexpress was tempting, but I didn't feel right ordering from them after contacting Keg King.

 

[indolent]

Ah, I see that was mentioned in this thread about a month back. I must have missed it.

They don't seem to have the longer intertap recessed shanks though.

 

[BBBF]

Has anyone tried the stout adapter on a flow control faucet? I assume it would work fine, as long as the flow control is opend up.

 

[JoshuaW]

Has anyone tried the stout adapter on a flow control faucet? I assume it would work fine, as long as the flow control is opend up.

I have that setup. Just fine, I prefer to start the flow with it opened up, but it doesnt make a huge difference if you start it slow and crank it open after the tap is already open.

 

[UndeadFred]

I did the Aliexpress because, honestly, no matter what I suppose I'm cutting someone out, aren't I? I feel Ventmatic "Brad" sort of deserves it after going through 3 manufacturing iterations and 4 manufacturers, and only the first ones ten years ago being consistently good. Personally, I don't think he works well with others or thought he'd get rich off of this patent and hasn't. Just think if he would have done something along the lines of a 10-15% royalty with the Perlicks 425's back ten years ago?

But I wanted to buy ONE and the brewpump place really isn't practical for one.

The KegKing stuff, all of it.. is really cool. (Have a look at their Grainfather knockoff and the price.) America would be a great market to expand to even if the faucets were excluded. Lets hope some kind of deal is struck and there are more than one (not just Williams Brewing) source of the products. They won't become successful here becoming a WB house brand.

I suspect these are the typical foreign company orders 1000, the factory makes 1500 and 400 of them end up sold on the black market and/or domestically (100 are trashed). That or if they are legally sold in Asia someone was smart enough to resell them via Ali to get around not being able to do it on eBay. Who knows?

The price of them isn't so low it's an obvious counterfeit and the reviews so far of the Ali sourced ones have been as good as what I've read on the Aussie sites for the domestically sourced ones.. we will see in a couple of weeks.

What I'm curious about is their flow control faucet. I want one but the Perlick 650 gets mixed reviews with the whole "sulfur" issue... I'm waiting to see how the Intertap Flow Control shakes out. Ventmatic never made one of these IIRC.

 

[user 204491]

FWIW - I just installed 4 of the Intertap faucets on my kegerators at work, and I did not need the special shanks for the auto-close springs to work.

These are definitely really nice taps. I do prefer them to the old perlicks they just replaced; however, I prefer the Ventmatics I have at home to these.

I would have ordered the Ventmatics for work; however, that is not an option so I went with the Intertaps from Brewpump.

 

[skatz]

I did the Aliexpress because, honestly, no matter what I suppose I'm cutting someone out, aren't I? I feel Ventmatic "Brad" sort of deserves it after going through 3 manufacturing iterations and 4 manufacturers, and only the first ones ten years ago being consistently good. Personally, I don't think he works well with others or thought he'd get rich off of this patent and hasn't. Just think if he would have done something along the lines of a 10-15% royalty with the Perlicks 425's back ten years ago?

But I wanted to buy ONE and the brewpump place really isn't practical for one.

The KegKing stuff, all of it.. is really cool. (Have a look at their Grainfather knockoff and the price.) America would be a great market to expand to even if the faucets were excluded. Lets hope some kind of deal is struck and there are more than one (not just Williams Brewing) source of the products. They won't become successful here becoming a WB house brand.

I suspect these are the typical foreign company orders 1000, the factory makes 1500 and 400 of them end up sold on the black market and/or domestically (100 are trashed). That or if they are legally sold in Asia someone was smart enough to resell them via Ali to get around not being able to do it on eBay. Who knows?

The price of them isn't so low it's an obvious counterfeit and the reviews so far of the Ali sourced ones have been as good as what I've read on the Aussie sites for the domestically sourced ones.. we will see in a couple of weeks.

What I'm curious about is their flow control faucet. I want one but the Perlick 650 gets mixed reviews with the whole "sulfur" issue... I'm waiting to see how the Intertap Flow Control shakes out. Ventmatic never made one of these IIRC.

I am pretty much exactly where you are at and I could care less about ventmatic. Bro had his chance on multiple occasions and now I would never send him a dime. Even if I were guaranteed delivery, I would still worry about getting replacement parts down the line.

I think ventmatic made "flowgates" at one point, but I don't know for sure. They could have been branded by one of the licensees that were used over the years.

I agree that your scenario regarding the contract manufacture is the case

I would be ok with Williams being exclusive, but I don't know that they will. King King lists another shop in MN, but they appear to be tailored towards the service industry; All Safe Inc. They do show a retailer in The Phillipines, but nothing in Shenzhen.

The spulpher and drips are wait kept me from pulling the trigger on the 650ss. I have a cider on tap now that I will be pushing through one of the FC faucets once I have them installed. I'll let you know. From what I've seen, nobody is complaining. This leaves me hopeful.

 

[skatz]

Ah, I see that was mentioned in this thread about a month back. I must have missed it.

They don't seem to have the longer intertap recessed shanks though.

I went with all FC faucets, so the spring option is a no-go for me. It is pretty cool and I'm sure I'd like it after my butthead cat dumps a keg on the floor.

I also opted for shanks from Rite Brew as I wanted 3" stainless to minimize the space required inside my keezer.

 

[weaselchew]

Anybody from a non aliexpress purchase care to put up an image of the box? The ones from aliexpress state "manufactured for kegkking" i know the box would be the easiest thing to replicate but I'm curious of the continuity.

This is the box from the one I bought at William's Brewing before they stopped selling them. I'm still kicking myself for not ordering two. Like you said, the box is likely the easiest part of a cloned version.

 

[UndeadFred]

Well, that answers what the the threads on the spout are 3/8-19 British Standard Thread. Sigh. Guess I will have to order that growler filler after all. The box looks the same as I have seen posted from Ali.

 

[indolent]

I would be ok with Williams being exclusive, but I don't know that they will. King King lists another shop in MN, but they appear to be tailored towards the service industry; All Safe Inc.

All Safe the fire extinguisher company? I used to get my co2 from them until they moved way outside of the twin cities. They did have a small assortment of home brewing stuff at their original location, so they did somewhat cater to home brewers. They may be worth checking out if I'm ever up their way.

 

[jmark]

This is the box from the one I bought at William's Brewing before they stopped selling them. I'm still kicking myself for not ordering two. Like you said, the box is likely the easiest part of a cloned version.

Not sure you could tell anything from the box. The three I got from Australia came in plain white boxes and presumably are still the genuine deal.

 

[skatz]

Just got my faucets. In the middle of a brewday and I need to disassemble to clean.

Batch is 1603.

Somebody mentioned the spout o-ring falling out and this is very true. If anybody has a caliper, please measure so people can source backups.

 

[skatz]

All cleaned up an installed. The overall build quality is high, but there are some variances in the handle stopping point and he FC knob.

Unfortunately I don't have anything good to pour right now but for an overcarbed cider. FC is not capable of fixing an overcarbed beverage I guess. No sulphur smell which is a big plus.

Can't give a solid review with my current keg, so I'll hold off for now.

 

[indolent]

Just got my faucets. In the middle of a brewday and I need to disassemble to clean.

Batch is 1603.

Somebody mentioned the spout o-ring falling out and this is very true. If anybody has a caliper, please measure so people can source backups.

Square profile, 15 mm OD, 2 mm thick.

For a buna-n seal, this should work: http://www.mcmaster.com/#1171N156

 

[UndeadFred]

Edit: Got OD and ID reversed... see below...

I was going to measure it when I got mine, but I was beat to it! Those dimensions translate to AS568-016 sized O-ring. (ref: http://www.marcorubber.com/sizingchart.htm)

I would normally tell you to get silicone ones, but for the spout? eh...

(I hate Amazon, but...) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYOSC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for 100 $3.68

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYOSC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for 100 $17.68

I would have to say, in this application even I'd go with Nitrile/Buna-N. Normally Silicone O-rings are not that pricey in such a small size. Maybe E-bay...

Yup e-bay... About $7 for 50 domestically. or $4.91 for 50 from Hong Kong in Silicone... if you are not in a hurry....

 

[indolent]

I was going to measure it when I got mine, but I was beat to it! Those dimensions translate to AS568-016 sized O-ring. (ref: http://www.marcorubber.com/sizingchart.htm)

I would normally tell you to get silicone ones, but for the spout? eh...

(I hate Amazon, but...) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYOSC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for 100 $3.68

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYOSC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 for 100 $17.68

I would have to say, in this application even I'd go with Nitrile/Buna-N. Normally Silicone O-rings are not that pricey in such a small size. Maybe E-bay...

Yup e-bay... About $7 for 50 domestically. or $4.91 for 50 from Hong Kong in Silicone... if you are not in a hurry....

You're linking round o-rings, vs the square profile that come with the faucets. Probably not a huge difference either way.

But, you're also linking 3/4 inch OD rings which are definitely too big. If you're using inch size, you want 9/16 or 5/8 in. OD. I'd probably lean toward the smaller side of 15mm and go with 9/16 in. since they're sitting inside the faucet cavity.

Here are some inch size Amazon options that should work:

Buna-n: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYONC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Silicone: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FN0XE0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[UndeadFred]

You're linking round o-rings, vs the square profile that come with the faucets. Probably not a huge difference either way.

But, you're also linking 3/4 inch OD rings which are definitely too big.

Buna-n: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMYONC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Silicone: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FN0XE0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Yeah, it's hard for me to do this without having the faucet yet. It will be another week.

I did it based on 15mm x 2mm dimensions and not realizing that they are really flat washers and not o-rings. (Flat O-rings are washers!) The "Hong Kong" e-bay reference were actually sold as 15x2mm ones, but likely are round.

And... for the first time ever (because I measure them differently, I always do ID and thickness as the tables are that way...) I swapped ID and OD.. so you are correct that -016's are not the right size. 15mm OD-2mm Thick= 13mm ID thickness 2mm... If that is the case then the -014's (and I argue not -013's) are the correct size according to the tables I use, that Marco Rubber one being the easiest. That was the discrepancy.

So.. well.. the method has been 100% solid on O-rings from American manufacturers, anyway. Like a #204 silicone makes a dandy forward seal for both a Perlick 630 and a 525. Use them on both. Big improvement especially on the 525.

I wonder if the Intertap being all metric and, ugh, British Straight Thread, will make it harder for us to source O-rings as I can see some tolerance differences already... hmm.... Hong Kong eBay...

---

Edited to say: I hope I can use a round silicone O-ring.. the square ones are pretty much nitrile only and are expensive little buggers.... Will try with a set I have at home when I get the faucet and will update.

Also, the linked Metric Buna-N rings in the original post are 13mm Od 11mm ID 2mm width. Did you actually mean http://www.mcmaster.com/#1171N158? Those are 15mm OD 13mm ID x 2mm width. At $6.88/25 those likely are the best "square profile" or "washer O-ring" out there, even with shipping tacked on. I am actually somewhat amazed in how few places carry them compared to the normal round ones. This was a far longer internet search than I expected!

 

[UndeadFred]

One last comment until I get my toy: It appears that the bonnet (lever) o-ring on my 525's are actually a -014 O-ring and I picked up a couple on the last Rite-Brew order. When I get my faucet I'll try it and if it seems to work I'll link to the Perlick repair part number as well. I agree it's possible that an -013 will be better. It seems the metric gasket is between US sizes. It also seems that really the McMaster idea might end up being the best one, even when factoring in shipping. Thanks for the discussion. It's almost never this difficult to reverse engineer!

 

[indolent]

One last comment until I get my toy: It appears that the bonnet (lever) o-ring on my 525's are actually a -014 O-ring and I picked up a couple on the last Rite-Brew order. When I get my faucet I'll try it and if it seems to work I'll link to the Perlick repair part number as well. I agree it's possible that an -013 will be better. It seems the metric gasket is between US sizes. It also seems that really the McMaster idea might end up being the best one, even when factoring in shipping. Thanks for the discussion. It's almost never this difficult to reverse engineer!

Yeah, it is possible either the -013 or -014 would work just fine. I'll probably give the silicone -013's a try since they're cheap enough.

If going the mcmaster route, don't forget to factor in the width twice. The one you linked to is 13mm + 2x2mm width = 17mm OD.

 

[skatz]

Thanks for the links. My bad on the nominclature. I emailed Keg King and they linked me to their pack of seals. That includes all the rings including those inside the FC and the ring on the shuttle. I imagine if properly lubed, these should all last a very long time, the spout and shank seals are the only ones that might get lost (spout) or worn (shank) easily.

 

[UndeadFred]

Cool. I take it Canada and Australia sites only? The shank washer should be the same one that Perlick or the rear sealers use. I still want to get silicone if I can, it is a silver bullet at cold temperatures (and hot) compared to BUNA-N. We will see.