Need a Guinness-tap-handle-ready Stout Faucet!

[RedHotS4]

Afternoon everyone. I'm converting my 8x12 storage shed to an Irish pub. More on that later. I've got a triple kegerator on the way and recently ordered a Guinness tap handle and a stainless stout faucet (Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X83B82B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

I got the faucet today and am realizing that I either need a stout faucet that accepts the Guinness tap handle directly or an adapter to connect the one I have. Do you have a stout faucet that accepts the Guinness tap handle directly? What do you recommend I do here? I'd rather exchange this faucet for one that accepts the tap handle vs. using an adapter.

 

[camonick]

It’s very hard to offer advice without knowing what your tap handle looks like. Can you provide any more pictures? I have a Guinness Stout faucet but there are many different versions of tap handles. I have an idea but need a little more info first.

 

[RedHotS4]

Sure. In the right of the photo is the base of the tap handle. The slot shown is 3/16” wide. On the left is my stout faucet with the lever still installed. In the center of the lever you can see the top of the faucet spindle that is raised and lowered when moving the tap handle. The top of that spindle is 3/8” wide. I’m learning that I need a stout faucet that uses a spindle with a 3/16” top to receive this tap handle.

 

[camonick]

That helps, but I’m afraid my idea is invalid. Is that a name brand faucet? Mine is a Micromatic and my spindle measures 3/16”. A picture of mine—

 

[RedHotS4]

That would work for my handle! What model
Micromatic faucet is that, do you know? The stout faucet I have is a less-expensive model I picked up on amazon so I’m not too concerned about abandoning it for a better one.

 

[camonick]

This is their stainless version
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-beer/stout-and-ale-faucet-polished-stainless-steel-body-jesf-4Beverage Factory has a Kegco model for less money that looks like it should work too. Stainless Contact Guinness® Dispensing Stout Beer Faucet | BeverageFactory.com

 

[jcav]

This one is the original stout faucet that most pubs use to serve Guiness. I have one and it works great. This might be the one you are looking for. It is very solid and built like a tank!

https://www.micromatic.com/draft-beer/stout-and-ale-faucet-polished-stainless-steel-body-jesf-4
Hope this helps,

John

 

[day_trippr]

I have that same MicroMatic stout faucet in SS, but I have no idea if it'd fit a specific handle, never mind the one shown, which doesn't look like it's even threaded?

Cheers!

 

[RedHotS4]

When you bought that faucet was the handle
Included or did you just buy a JESF-4 and put your own handle on it? Did you buy it new?

 

[RedHotS4]

I have that same MicroMatic stout faucet in SS, but I have no idea if it'd fit a specific handle, never mind the one shown, which doesn't look like it's even threaded?

Cheers!

The tap handle shown doesn’t thread on. To install it, you remove the set screw holding the lever in place on the faucet (the piece with the threads on it) and slide the tap handle over the top of the faucet spindle and replace the set screw.

if you have a JESF-4 close by, how wide is the level slot that accepts the lever? Is it 3/16” (which is what it needs to be to accept my Guinness handle) or is it 3/8” like the faucet spindle shown in my photo?

 

[camonick]

When you bought that faucet was the handle
Included or did you just buy a JESF-4 and put your own handle on it? Did you buy it new?

Not sure who this is directed to, but my faucet shown above is the JESF-3 and included the Guinness handle... Exactly the same as the JESF-4 except gold plated and $10 more. Hope that helps. Maybe @day_trippr or @jcav can measure the width of the spindle on their stainless faucets just to be sure.

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, I put my dial caliper to work.
The removable brass all-thread section with the ss knurled locking nut is 3/8"-16 thread.
and the actual OD of the all-thread is just a scoche wider than 23/64"...

hth

Cheers!

[edit] Wait - it just dawned on me what "spindle" referred to. Hang on a bit...

Ok, here are a couple of close-ups of my MicroMatic stout faucet. The width of the "spindle" is 3/8", and at rest its height above the plastic bit is also 3/8". The chunk fastened to top of the spindle is held by a drift pin...

Cheers!

 

[camonick]

Ok, I put my dial caliper to work.
The removable brass all-thread section with the ss knurled locking nut is 3/8"-16 thread.
and the actual OD of the all-thread is just a scoche wider than 23/64"...

hth

Cheers!

[edit] Wait - it just dawned on me what "spindle" referred to. Hang on a bit...

The area of concern is here—

It must be 3/16” wide to accept Guinness branded handles such as my gold one and the OP’s new one with silver end.

 

[day_trippr]

Right then, this version isn't going to work.
Maybe the other version stout faucet that is sold under the MicroMatic brand might work?

Cheers!

 

[RedHotS4]

The area of concern is here—
View attachment 693241
It must be 3/16” wide to accept Guinness branded handles such as my gold one and the OP’s new one with silver end.

Did you buy your gold MM faucet new and independently of the tap handle? Or was it a package deal that came with the faucet and tap handle together? Btw I’ve tried to get ahold of MicroMatic to ask them these questions but can’t get anyone to get back to me.

 

[camonick]

Did you buy your gold MM faucet new and independently of the tap handle? Or was it a package deal that came with the faucet and tap handle together? Btw I’ve tried to get ahold of MicroMatic to ask them these questions but can’t get anyone to get back to me.

I bought mine many years ago off eBay. It was sold as a used “Guinness faucet” and was the complete package. I did, however, rebuild it because it developed a leak and I bought parts directly from Micromatic. One of the parts was the spindle in question (which is what you see in my pictures, so I can be 99.9% sure it’s correct)

http://www.micromatic.com/part-pid-100-248.htmlThe black part is now red, but that’s irrelevant.

 

[day_trippr]

Yeah, fwiw, Micromatic advises not to pull their stout faucet handles to their natural, 90° resting place when pouring, as it will stretch the internal diaphragm, and over time eventually that diaphragm will develop a breach, which immediately becomes an exciting event (and not in a good way)...

Cheers!

 

[camonick]

Ok, here are a couple of close-ups of my MicroMatic stout faucet. The width of the "spindle" is 3/8", and at rest its height above the plastic bit is also 3/8". The chunk fastened to top of the spindle is held by a drift pin...

So, after looking at @day_trippr pictures above, I think I have to eat a little crow. I looked up another thread I posted a while back about repairing these faucets and it seems I replaced everything except the spindle. Now I’m really confused and I’m second guessing myself about the fact that my faucet is actually a Micromatic (the repair parts I bought from them did fit my faucet.)

 

[day_trippr]

If you fit that diaphragm in your faucet I have zero doubt it is a Micro Matic.
When I had the original diaphragm fail (hinted earlier) these were the replacements I purchased. I have to believe these are unique to Micro Matic, because it seems unlikely two companies would come up with something that involved

Cheers!

 

[camonick]

If you fit that diaphragm in your faucet I have zero doubt it is a Micro Matic.
When I had the original diaphragm fail (hinted earlier) these were the replacements I purchased. I have to believe these are unique to Micro Matic, because it seems unlikely two companies would come up with something that involved

View attachment 693259

Cheers!

I looked at my previous post (Help with stout faucet repair.) and I had a picture of my spindle and remember commenting that it was different than the one in the Micromatic pictures even though all the other pieces fit perfectly. My faucet could easily be 20-30 years old or older. I wonder if there was a design change along the way or if Guinness has proprietary spindles designed for their handles.

 

[day_trippr]

"Evolution Happens" That's definitely a Micro Matic set of parts, but apparently they changed some dimensions.
My first generation 525ss Perlick faucets are different from the final version, but they're still Perls.

I supposed it's possible the Guinness handles picked up on a particular vintage faucet...

Cheers!

 

[jcav]

If you fit that diaphragm in your faucet I have zero doubt it is a Micro Matic.
When I had the original diaphragm fail (hinted earlier) these were the replacements I purchased. I have to believe these are unique to Micro Matic, because it seems unlikely two companies would come up with something that involved

View attachment 693259

Cheers!

My faucet uses these same parts as Day Trippr. In fact I think Day Trippr is the one who directed me to this stout faucet when I was looking for a good one for my nitro setup. I see the Guinness tap handles at pubs on these same faucets. Matter of fact at Epcot in the "Rose And Crown" Pub in the England pavilion, they use this same faucet and a Guinness tap handle.

John

 

[RedHotS4]

Update from my end -- talked to MicroMatic today. They told me that tap handles with 3/16" lever slots on them are provided solely by Guinness with attached faucets through their distributers to bars and restaurants only. In fact, she said, a bar or restaurant can't even buy one, they have to go through their beer guy. This leads me to think that the faucet / handle combo like the one @camonick showed was originally provided to a bar or restaurant and then sold on the secondary marked used (as @camonick said he got his used). MM also told me that I cannot even buy parts for the Guinness proprietary faucet, nor do they sell spindles with 3/16" OD ends on them. That said, I'm curious about the image of the spindle you posted @camonick - the MM photo, not your older spindle. Does that spindle have a 3/16" OD end on it or is it 3/8"? The MM rep told me they don't sell a 3/16" one, but maybe she's wrong?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachments/cf4e08f1-c5c8-47ae-93cd-b6988c721717-png.693266/

 

[camonick]

Update from my end -- talked to MicroMatic today. They told me that tap handles with 3/16" lever slots on them are provided solely by Guinness with attached faucets through their distributers to bars and restaurants only. In fact, she said, a bar or restaurant can't even buy one, they have to go through their beer guy. This leads me to think that the faucet / handle combo like the one @camonick showed was originally provided to a bar or restaurant and then sold on the secondary marked used (as @camonick said he got his used). MM also told me that I cannot even buy parts for the Guinness proprietary faucet, nor do they sell spindles with 3/16" OD ends on them. That said, I'm curious about the image of the spindle you posted @camonick - the MM photo, not your older spindle. Does that spindle have a 3/16" OD end on it or is it 3/8"? The MM rep told me they don't sell a 3/16" one, but maybe she's wrong?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachments/cf4e08f1-c5c8-47ae-93cd-b6988c721717-png.693266/

That is all very interesting information (I’m glad to hear I’m not going crazy). I wouldn’t be a bit surprised that my faucet probably came from a restaurant or bar many moons ago and found itself on the eBay market. This is the spindle from my faucet, and I was mistaken that I replaced it... I replaced everything but it.
This picture is the stock photo from Micromatic’s website and I can’t say what the dimensions are.
One option I thought of last night would be the possibility of disassembling the faucet and having the spindle machined to fit your handle if you’re dead set on using a Micromatic faucet with that handle (this might be what Guinness is doing).
I don’t know what quality they are, but the second faucet I linked in my post #6 looks to have the correct spindle.
Good luck.

 

[camonick]

Just found this and you can use the faucet you already purchased
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Guinness-D...aucet-ADAPTER-COMPLETE-SLV-READ-/264618566016Apparently you’re not the first guy to have the same problem.

 

[day_trippr]

So that's a threaded adapter to the standard 3/8-16 stem, then the handle attaches to that.
But on the same page, there's this item and if that thing comes as shown there's a skinny spindle included...

Cheers!

 

[PatSmith]

I know this is a very old thread, so it probably won't help the author anymore, but maybe someone else may find it useful in the future. It would seem, that the 3/16" pin is not exactly proprietery. The Czech company Lindr produces a stout tap (item No. KOH02841) that basically seems to come with the very same pin that fits Guinness handles. Note that I haven't tested it yet (though I am looking into purchasing a Guinness handle), but the width of the pin corresponds with the slot in Guinness handles. Now I don't know if you can get individual parts for the Lidr tap and whether those would be compatible with other taps such as the one by MicroMatic, but say you already have a tap handle and are looking for a compatible tap, this definitely looks like a viable option.