Intertap Faucet - Interior Imperfections

[StevenJev]

I'm fairly new at this so please forgive me if I ask something obvious. I recently purchased some stainless steel Intertap faucets. They've been giving me problems however with foamy pours, regardless of what parameters I change. I read in places that any interior imperfections such as nicks in the metal could cause foam. I've since taken apart my faucets and have noticed a very rough cut on the inside of the faucet.

1) Could this be a cause of foam?
2) Does anyone else with Intertap faucets have these rough interior marks. I have 2 faucets and one is worse than the other but they both have this. I've tried to include photos but it may be tough to see.

 

[S-Met]

Any beer contacting those spots will likely nucleate causing foamy pours. If its removable, you might be able to sand/polish those, but am not familiar with them. I've considered intertap for my next faucets, but your pics mae me a little wary.

 

[StevenJev]

Any beer contacting those spots will likely nucleate causing foamy pours. If its removable, you might be able to sand/polish those, but am not familiar with them. I've considered intertap for my next faucets, but your pics mae me a little wary.

Thank you for your response. Thats what I thought about the nucleation site, and I feel that it may be a reason why I've never been able to get a great pour with these faucets. However, I've read good things about the Intertap faucets hence why I went with them but to have these imperfections on both is frustrating. Hopefully someone else with these faucets is able to check and confirm if its manufacturing error on mine or a common thing.

 

[Jag75]

I have intertaps faucets but haven't had any issues at all . When I get a chance I'll check em out

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If you bought them new, contact the company, it sure looks like a defect.

 

[StevenJev]

Okay, a little update. It was suggested that these types of faucets are frequently counterfeit and now I'm wondering if I was sold one of those. For anyone with the full stainless steel model, referred to as the: Intertap SS Generation 2, is the entire body magnetic? Because mine is, however the spout is not. Also, the body is very shiny which makes me think that it may be actually just chrome plated.

 

[augiedoggy]

Okay, a little update. It was suggested that these types of faucets are frequently counterfeit and now I'm wondering if I was sold one of those. For anyone with the full stainless steel model, referred to as the: Intertap SS Generation 2, is the entire body magnetic? Because mine is, however the spout is not. Also, the body is very shiny which makes me think that it may be actually just chrome plated.

Normally they would be chrome plated brass if not stainless.. depending on the grade of stainless they may be magnetic.. the pics above with grinding marks inside would rust terrible or show brass if they werent stainless. also the colordifference between the inside vs the outside of the body indicate they are in fact stainless inside but chrome plated. its possible the inside is nickel plated but I would assume the whole thing would be chrome plated then.

Ive seen zero counterfeits of the intertaps, The interaps are made fairly cheaply already in china. the real deal taps are available for much less internationally through non legit non US vendors since they are much cheaper in other countries. This is because of a royalty patent thing discussed in another thread which effectively more or less causes a tarriff on the ones that were sold by vendors like williams in the states. This is also why they were no longer allowed to sell them on aliexpress to the states for a while but I believe the circumstances of all that changed and the prices have dropped considerably.
kegking doesnt make them. just about everything sold with the kegking brand name comes from alibaba and is available unbranded (or branded) on aliexpress. Ive bought many things there that come in kegking packaging.
I bought my flow control intertaps on aliexpress before buying many more of the perlick style taps with the removable spouts which were generic/knockoffs (use a ball/oring design in place of the shuttle) but are also stainless steel and seemed to be better than the real perlicks I own in a side by side comparision.

I am willing to bet the machining marks are not the source of your foaming issues but could be wrong. I have a huge lot of different types of taps and some look like that or have rough casting surface on the inside and pour fine.

I do find it odd that the original intertaps were a "keg king" product and now the new intertaps are advertised as a "kegland" distributed product..

they have even taken down the page that still comes up in a google search..
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiujIqgp-bhAhVBmVkKHX-pCsIQFjAAegQIAxAB&url=https://www.keg-king.com.au/intertap-ss-tap-only-stainless-steel.html&usg=AOvVaw1jmpczYZAZW03ms5XfgpJX

other products like the former "keg king" kegerator sold by more beer with the intertaps have also seemed to removed any reference to the keg king brand everywhere but from the reviews mentioning it.

 

[StevenJev]

Normally they would be chrome plated brass if not stainless.. depending on the grade of stainless they may be magnetic.. the pics above with grinding marks inside would rust terrible or show brass if they werent stainless. also the colordifference between the inside vs the outside of the body indicate they are in fact stainless inside but chrome plated. its possible the inside is nickel plated but I would assume the whole thing would be chrome plated then.......

Thank you for that detailed response. I got in contact with what I believe is the actual or new? manufacturer of the faucets (KegLand) and showed them the pictures. They responded saying

"I just checked the stocked ones as attached pictures, the inside here is all smooth. Also checked with our production inspection controller, he said he found several bad burnishing in the last year and maybe still 1 or 2 missing lucky ball during shipment. Sorry for that, in the end of last year, we have imported many Germany machines to increase our capability to reduce our shipment lead time and these new machines can make each parts better and all auto. We are preparing to make a vedio to introduce our improved workmanship later."

So basically they admit that they had manufacturing errors but seem to say that they have fixed these issues. I should mention that I purchased my faucets almost a year ago but after fighting to get them working for a while I gave up and moved on. It was only now that I noticed the nick so its possible that my earlier batch had these issues.

 

[augiedoggy]

Thank you for that detailed response. I got in contact with what I believe is the actual or new? manufacturer of the faucets (KegLand) and showed them the pictures. They responded saying

"I just checked the stocked ones as attached pictures, the inside here is all smooth. Also checked with our production inspection controller, he said he found several bad burnishing in the last year and maybe still 1 or 2 missing lucky ball during shipment. Sorry for that, in the end of last year, we have imported many Germany machines to increase our capability to reduce our shipment lead time and these new machines can make each parts better and all auto. We are preparing to make a vedio to introduce our improved workmanship later."

So basically they admit that they had manufacturing errors but seem to say that they have fixed these issues. I should mention that I purchased my faucets almost a year ago but after fighting to get them working for a while I gave up and moved on. It was only now that I noticed the nick so its possible that my earlier batch had these issues.

Your not alone, if you do a search here you will find at least one other thread with pics like yours where someome took a deburring tool to the inside of the tap and did a poor job just like your tap.. in fact I would be willing to bet they use the same process on them all if they had casting impefections and most people just never look or notice.

In any case those defects inside where made by a handtool and the person in the factory that made them was well aware of it.. seems like they played it off like is was a machinery error.. yes machinery can improve the castings but what you have is just shoddy human workmanship plain and simple.

 

[BBBF]

I do find it odd that the original intertaps were a "keg king" product and now the new intertaps are advertised as a "kegland" distributed product..

they have even taken down the page that still comes up in a google search..
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiujIqgp-bhAhVBmVkKHX-pCsIQFjAAegQIAxAB&url=https://www.keg-king.com.au/intertap-ss-tap-only-stainless-steel.html&usg=AOvVaw1jmpczYZAZW03ms5XfgpJX

other products like the former "keg king" kegerator sold by more beer with the intertaps have also seemed to removed any reference to the keg king brand everywhere but from the reviews mentioning it.

If you wander over the the Aussie homebrew forum, there's was a huge thread about Keg King vs. Kegland and Intertap vs. Ultratap. I don't remember all the details, but it was something like some people left KK and formed KL and stole the KK mailing list and now there's a new Ultratap faucet, but it's pretty much a rebranded intertap.

 

[augiedoggy]

If you wander over the the Aussie homebrew forum, there's was a huge thread about Keg King vs. Kegland and Intertap vs. Ultratap. I don't remember all the details, but it was something like some people left KK and formed KL and stole the KK mailing list and now there's a new Ultratap faucet, but it's pretty much a rebranded intertap.

well it looks like kegland took the intertap name...
http://www.intertap.beer/Downloads/Intertap 8022-G2.pdf

 

[CEO Keg King]

If you wander over the the Aussie homebrew forum, there's was a huge thread about Keg King vs. Kegland and Intertap vs. Ultratap. I don't remember all the details, but it was something like some people left KK and formed KL and stole the KK mailing list and now there's a new Ultratap faucet, but it's pretty much a rebranded intertap.

Just came across this post. The Keg King name was used by a business in China associated with the two people who were terminated by Keg King late 2017. The real and original Keg King in Australia did not sell the Intertap products in the USA. This was done by the Chinese business known as AMCO in Hong Kong. The Ultra Tap is a completely different design for which the manufacturing rights were purchased by Keg King from Ventmatic. It has been sold in the US by Northern Brewer. So its not a rebranded tap at all. The ownership of the Intertap name is subject to legal action in Australia as its registration was paid for by Keg King which should be the rightful owner.

 

[bkboiler]

I have the flow control with some deep nicks inside the spout; clearly a result of a machining operation.

always had fairly foamy pours even with 6 ft of tube. Waiting to re-line the kegerator to go longer to see if that fixes the problem. Hadn't considered this!

 

[RasMouSein]

Mine is the same... Disappointing for sure...
The cheap chrome plated had way less foam on the first pour.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Well this would definitely cause me to lean away from Intertaps and toward Perlicks. My keezer for now has one of each for comparison purposes; I'll be inspecting them both internally to determine which brand to go with when I add three more taps this spring.

 

[Jag75]

I bought my keg king kegerator a couple years ago I believe. Came with the tower and faucets . Says intertaps and they appeared to be ss , solid , nice and not chrome plated.

 

[CEO Keg King]

Well this would definitely cause me to lean away from Intertaps and toward Perlicks. My keezer for now has one of each for comparison purposes; I'll be inspecting them both internally to determine which brand to go with when I add three more taps this spring.

You can always try the Ultra Taps. Keg King has them available in California.

 

[camonick]

A little late to the party, but were these faucets added to a previously balanced system, or is the whole setup new? (In April)
I have 3 Intertap faucets. Two have been in service for a few years and I just got another new one for Christmas. All three are the stainless steel versions and I just looked and they all have similar die grinder marks inside the spout end. I’ve never had issues with foamy pours as long as I do my part and the remainder of the system is balanced. One thing I noticed when I switched to the Intertaps was that they seemed to have less resistance than the standard rear sealing “bar” faucets they replaced. I tend to err on the side of caution and my 3/16” beer lines are longer than most others recommend (including the line length calculators). I’m using 16-18’ lines serving @ 14 psi @ 4500 foot elevation.
I didn’t see any of this mentioned above so just throwing out ideas.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Just checked out the interior of my Perlick, perfectly smooth machining as I expected. The inside of my intertap looks like OP's. Functional issues aside, I know quality when I see it. I also see several more perlicks in my future.

 

[bkboiler]

Good point, my flow control has a really nice intertap shank that is low resistance. I never reran the balancing equation to account for that. Will do when I re-line and add a few more taps.
Overall I've been pleased with the intertap. Can tell it's high quality in how easy it is to dissassemble/reassemble and it never sticks and keeps the beer tasting good! No complaints there!

 

[augiedoggy]

I tried a whole bunch of different taps including the flow control intertaps and in the end decided on 12 stainless generic aliexpress perlick style clones with the interchangeable spouts that interchange with the intertap spouts..
We use these daily at a brewpub for a year now and a few are just now starting to show they need new seals. Otherwise they have worked very well and the insides are not rough as pictured above.

 

[CEO Keg King]

I bought my keg king kegerator a couple years ago I believe. Came with the tower and faucets . Says intertaps and they appeared to be ss , solid , nice and not chrome plated.

Two years ago Keg King had not actually sold any of its kegerators in the US and they were never sold with Intertaps.

 

[Jag75]

Two years ago Keg King had not actually sold any of its kegerators in the US and they were never sold with Intertaps.

Thats odd . I purchased through moorebeer .

 

[CEO Keg King]

Thats odd . I purchased through moorebeer .

Keg King has never sold these fridges to morebeer. They purchased from a Chinese entity using our name without our agreement.

 

[Jag75]

Keg King has never sold these fridges to morebeer. They purchased from a Chinese entity using our name without our agreement.

Hmmm , well this thing is solid . Had keg king sticker on it . Guess I got a fake but its still kicking really good .

 

[Jag75]

They went all out .

 

[CEO Keg King]

Hmmm , well this thing is solid . Had keg king sticker on it . Guess I got a fake but its still kicking really good .

You were not to know and we know a lot of others got the same. Sadly some of them are coming now to us when things go wrong and we really cannot help them as it is not something we sold.

 

[Jag75]

You were not to know and we know a lot of others got the same. Sadly some of them are coming now to us when things go wrong and we really cannot help them as it is not something we sold.

Wow. Maybe hold morebeer accountable. Kind of tics me off . I wonder if the keg king mini keg/growler with tap is a real keg king product . I looked at a bunch of reviews on keg king products and was happy with what I saw . Thats why I chose Keg King .

Did you see the keg king scan sticker on the back i posted?

 

[CEO Keg King]

Wow. Maybe hold morebeer accountable. Kind of tics me off . I wonder if the keg king mini keg/growler with tap is a real keg king product . I looked at a bunch of reviews on keg king products and was happy with what I saw . Thats why I chose Keg King .

Did you see the keg king scan sticker on the back i posted?

We did try to sell to morebeer but they have not purchased from us. Therefore we asked them a long time ago to cease using our name but it took a long time for that to happen. We did sell a small qty of our kegerators to Northern Brewer but they were provided with our laminar flow Ultra Taps. I saw the sticker but assure you we did not sell this.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, there's been a running gun battle between the legit Keg King and an outfit in China that pretty much stole Keg King's name and has been wreaking havoc with their business ventures. Would not want to be in their situation...

Cheers!

 

[thedon986]

I have been having nothing but trouble with foam since switching over to these taps and found this thread today. I just had an entire keg of pilsner foam and could not figure out for the life of me and sure enough I open up the faucet to inspect and I have gouges in the same spot. Really frustrating and these are probably counterfeit from what I can tell. I'm going back to Perlicks.