Perlick Doesn't Fit on my Shanks!!!

[dandw12786]

Why does it seem like every time I buy something for this hobby, I spend another $50 getting said item to work???

I just bought two new Perlick 525s, and tried to put them on my tower. I can't get them to fit on my shanks. I have a stainless steel tower from Birdman Brewing, which specifically says on their website that Perlicks will fit. The problem is I got it last August, so I'm guessing they won't really stand behind it.

I've found threads with people saying they leak once they get everything screwed on, but I can't even get the nut to catch on the faucet, so I'm guessing I need new shanks. Anyone have this problem? If you fixed it, how? If the shanks need to be replaced, where can I get some that will definitely fit?

Thanks!

 

[Demon]

A picture would help if you can post one. When you say it doesn't fit, be more specific. Is the nut ring too small? Does the nut ring not reach the threads on the faucet? Does the faucet not fit into the splines?

 

[dandw12786]

The nut ring doesn't reach the threads on the faucet.

 

[Demon]

Is the faucet fully seated in the splines?

 

[dandw12786]

Yes, but doesn't seem to push back as far as the previous faucet... But I can tell that it's seated well, as the faucet won't move if I try to twist it.

I tried my other shank (it's a two faucet tower) and I got that nut ring to catch, but couldn't get it to turn enough to be confident about actually using it under pressure without it popping off.

 

[OntarioBeerKegs]

Test it with some water you may not even have a problem. Perlicks are on the upper end compared to other brands for the amount of threads they have.

 

[BirdmanBrewingCo]

Why does it seem like every time I buy something for this hobby, I spend another $50 getting said item to work???

I just bought two new Perlick 525s, and tried to put them on my tower. I can't get them to fit on my shanks. I have a stainless steel tower from Birdman Brewing, which specifically says on their website that Perlicks will fit. The problem is I got it last August, so I'm guessing they won't really stand behind it.

I've found threads with people saying they leak once they get everything screwed on, but I can't even get the nut to catch on the faucet, so I'm guessing I need new shanks. Anyone have this problem? If you fixed it, how? If the shanks need to be replaced, where can I get some that will definitely fit?

Thanks!

Hey dandw,

We switched our line of towers back in December. Our new line of towers (what you reference as stating will fit Perlicks) does is fact fit all standard US faucets, including Perlicks.

There was inconsistency with shank fit when Perlick launched its 525SS faucets. Our product description prior to this switch (back when you purchased) did not state that the shanks would fit Perlicks, and actually stated a caution for people looking to upgrade to Perlicks at a later date. When people ordered Perlicks with our tower back then, we manually switched out the shanks on each tower to ensure a good fit. Needless to say, this was extremely labor/cost intensive, which is why we moved away from this and began stocking a new line of towers.

Sorry that you are looking at an upgrade/incremental cost. We don't stock elbow/tower shanks, but several other HBT sponsors do. I did a quick search of a handful, and Cowboy has them for $16.99. I’d also be happy to special order them for you and match that price in this case.

Thanks,
Birdman

 

[turkeyjerky214]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/faucets-dont-seem-fit-shanks-252014/

I had the same problem last summer when I built my draft system. Perlick was cutting their faucets differently and so they weren't lining up properly with the shanks. I had to hammer the hell out of them to get them to go on. Eventually the place I bought them replaced them with good ones as soon as Perlick started shipping good units again.

If your problem looks anything like the one in my pictures, I'd almost guarantee that's the problem.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Perlicks are just...odd.

I love the way they seal, and they work very smoothly.

But, they fit weird. The tap handle kind of flops around, and I have not been able to get it tight. It works fine, but just seems kind of loose.

Maybe I need to play with it some more.

 

[dandw12786]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/faucets-dont-seem-fit-shanks-252014/

I had the same problem last summer when I built my draft system. Perlick was cutting their faucets differently and so they weren't lining up properly with the shanks. I had to hammer the hell out of them to get them to go on. Eventually the place I bought them replaced them with good ones as soon as Perlick started shipping good units again.

If your problem looks anything like the one in my pictures, I'd almost guarantee that's the problem.

They seem to line up fine, they slide and lock ont the shank fine, they just don't go down far enough, looks like I need new shanks!

 

[BrentJ]

I swapped faucets recently to perlicks because I was having all kind of sticking faucet problems on a 6 tap and 4 tap tower. I had read about all the mating up issues others were having so I order new shanks as well for all of them. Thankfully this extra money avoided all the hassle of faucets not fitting. Also, my sticking faucet problems completely went away after installing the perlicks. I couldn't be happier even if it cost an arm and a leg...