Perlick 650SS Issue - bottom out on shank

[VictorBrew]

Has anyone had any issue with the 650SS flow control mechanism (the ball sticking out the back) bottoming out on the con-caved mating surface of the shank? As you rotate the flow control valve the ball moves in/out and hits the shank, which is limiting the amount of movement on the flow control valve by about 50%. I do not have a beer running through it yet as I was just 'dry fitting' things together in prep for my build.

 

[slarkin712]

I have one of these and have not had any problems with mine. I've actually had it on two different types of shanks and it worked fine on both. I'd contact Perlick and see what they say. Are you sure there is nothing on the faucet obstructing it from packaging or maybe a bur of metal? And do you get full range of adjustment when the faucet is not attached to the shank?

Edit: I'm trying to remember how mine works and thought about something. I think when it is attached to the shank it can only be adjusted to where the flow control lever is around 75 degrees (i.e. less than vertical). Whereas if the faucet is not on a shank the flow control lever can be rotated something close to 360 degrees. Is that what you are seeing?

 

[VictorBrew]

I think when it is attached to the shank it can only be adjusted to where the flow control lever is around 75 degrees (i.e. less than vertical). Whereas if the faucet is not on a shank the flow control lever can be rotated something close to 360 degrees. Is that what you are seeing?

Pretty close to what I am seeing. With the faucet not connected to the shank the flow control lever has about 270 degrees of motion. However, 270 degrees is not need to make it operate, only half that is needed. Looking at the flow control side of the faucet with the flow control arm at 12 o'clock position, that is full open. Pulling the flow control valve toward the nozzle 135 degrees to the 6-7 o'clock positon is full closed. With it attached to the shank I can only move it up (from the full closed position)to about the 10 o'clock position rather than all the way back to the 12 o'clock spot. Video would be a lot easier ... sorry if that is confusing.

Net net I am only getting about 90 degrees of flow control movement from full closed going toward open. The only thing stopping it is the ball coming into contact with the shank when they are mounted together. The tighter I make the faucet to the shank the less overall flow control lever movement I get. Not sure that is normal ...

Rob

 

[slarkin712]

I just looked at mine. It has an adjustment range of about 90 degrees. When it is turned up as far as it can go I get full flow, as if there is no restriction(at least it seems as much flow as it being unrestricted). And when it is turned all the way down flow is completely constricted so there is no flow. So, it seems as if your faucet is working just fine.

 

[VictorBrew]

Thanks for checking for me. It just seemed odd, but glad it looks to be the same as yours. I should get it setup here in the next week and I will report back for any others that might find this thread in the future.

Rob

 

[VictorBrew]

Just closing out the thread in the event anyone else runs into the same question/concern. Faucet works great, no issues. I did reduce the line length a bit which opened up the spectrum of flow control a little more.

Rob

 

[bcrawfo2]

Just closing out the thread in the event anyone else runs into the same question/concern. Faucet works great, no issues. I did reduce the line length a bit which opened up the spectrum of flow control a little more.



Rob

How short did you go? I get these in hopes of cleaning up my keeper a bit (lots of 12 foot lines) and also being able to easily fill growlers

 

[mavrick1903]

Will be cutting line for my tap tower in a couple days. Interested in the line length with 650ss.

 

[slarkin712]

Will be cutting line for my tap tower in a couple days. Interested in the line length with 650ss.

I'm not sure what the best line length when using these faucets would be. But consider this: I use mine on a deep woods brewing stainless steel keg growler with the faucet attachment. This is just a faucet and shank with a dip tube attached to the top of a growler. I would estimate the dip tube to be about the same diameter as a ball lock dip tube and to be approximately 8-10" long. Basically that is the only line resistance in the system. I fill my growler at 12.5 PSI and about 42F. If I serve from this without any restriction from the 650ss it is very foamy. If I turn it down to 1/4 or 1/2 open I get really nice pours. So theoretically you could serve with this faucet with lines as short as you can make them. Well, up to a point. You probably couldn't do that if your beer was at 25 PSI and 55F. If I was starting over building my kegging system I would definitely get these and make my lines 4-5 feet to keep the clutter under control.

 

[poptarts]

My 650's do the same thing, appear to pour fine for me when open all they way.

 

[nwcitrus]

Sorry to bump the thread but this is only reference I have seen to the flow control slug hitting the shank.

I ran into some issues recently and traced the source to this. Since they do not open all the way the maximum gap between the flow control slug and the body is small enough for bits of gunk to catch and plug up or cause foaming.

I first had the problem the first time I keg hopped with pellets in a fine mesh bag. While the bag kept most of the hops in, very small dust clumped together in the bottom. I had to move the keg out of the kegerator to remove the hop bag. This caused them to move and get sucked up the dip tube and stuck in the small gap between the flow control slug and the 650 body. It would pour slow and foamy even when I had the flow control all the way open.

I had a similar problem with finnings (Polychlar and Issinglass) plugging up on the first pours. I first thought it was plugging up the poppet of the liquid post but traced the problem to the flow control.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

I can not see a technical reason for the back of the slug to stick out as far as it does. Has anyone heard of replacements or have they modified theirs (ground them down)?

I will try contacting Perlick about this.

Thanks

 

[nwcitrus]

I finally found some references to the problem at The Mad Fermentationists and Aussie Home Brewer and Reddit.