Perlick/Shank Connection Problem

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uncleben113

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I have looked and looked for a solution to this problem and have found that others have experienced it but I just can't find a solution that works for me.

So I have a Vissani kegerator with a tower that I got this past summer and I recently bought a Perlick 575SS. The faucet that came with the kegerator worked fine but I was ready for something a little nicer.

When I got my Perlick in, I noticed that the teeth on the inside of the faucet didn't match the teeth on the shank. So I'm not able to connect the two at all without beer spewing everywhere.

Here's a picture of the teeth on the Perlick where it is supposed to connect to the shank

http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii15/uncleben113/?action=view&current=IMG_20110126_010102.jpg

And here are the teeth on the shank

http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii15/uncleben113/?action=view&current=IMG_20110126_010051.jpg

I know that the pictures aren't great but you should be able to see my dilemma here.

I have read that the reason they won't fit is because my Perlick is SS and the shank is chrome plated. So I have researched SS shanks and the ones that I have found online that I can see the teeth don't seem to be any different from the shank I have.

I have heard another solution to the problem is to buy a SS Perlick shank but I can't find one anywhere.

I called Austin Homebrew and the customer service rep couldn't help me.

Can anyone help me, please?

I feel like I know what's wrong but I have to be missing something, right? I mean the pieces just aren't fitting together for me.

My kegerator is officially out of commission until I can get this fixed :(

Thanks for any help you can give
 
I had the same problem on my 525's and chrome 3" shanks. I used a dremel with a burlew wheel and ground the grooves between the shanks teeth until it accepted the faucet, then got different o-rings to replace the stock ones that made a nice seal.

I searched and searched as well, and couldn't find a better way of doing it.
 
My friend had that issue, in the end he had to swap out the Perlick faucet, we went to the LHBS and tried several of them on a shank, he also brought an old faucet that fit his shanks at home, most of the Perlicks fit the shank, a couple didn't, he had one that didn't fit, so they replaced it.

We never found out if those Perlicks were meant to fit a different style shank or if there was a manufacturing issue, the LHBS sent back the ones that didn't fit the shank though and got replacements that all fit.
 
Grinding down the grooves sounds like an incredible pain. There's got to be an easier way.

I would take it to a HBS but the closest decent one is Austin and that's 5 hours away. So not all Perlicks are like this? I would hate to buy another Perlick because I'm not sure if Austin Homebrew would give me a refund on something that I bought so long ago.
 
Grinding down the grooves sounds like an incredible pain. There's got to be an easier way.

I would take it to a HBS but the closest decent one is Austin and that's 5 hours away. So not all Perlicks are like this? I would hate to buy another Perlick because I'm not sure if Austin Homebrew would give me a refund on something that I bought so long ago.

It wasn't too bad, it took me less than 20 minutes to do 4 shanks. I used a specialized metal polishing disc used in dentistry though, not sure what would be comparable.

I had 5 taps and 5 shanks. One tap was fine and fit all 5 shanks, the other 4 taps were faulty. From reading other threads the problem seems to be with the Perlicks, not the shanks. I mail ordered mine, so grinding down the shanks was a lot easier than mailing back the 4 faulty faucets and hoping I got 4 ones that worked in return.

If you choose to adjust your shank PM me and I can mail you some burlew discs if you would like.
 
Oh that doesn't sound bad at all. Maybe I'll do that. What would I need to have to do this properly?

And which new O-rings worked to create a good seal for you?
 
THAT WORKED! for those of you who have the same problem, I used a dremil to lightly grind down the teeth on the shank and the faucet and now it makes a great seal.

Thank you so much JoMarky.

Time to brew some beer!!! :ban:
 
Mmm this must be my deal. I had 2 perlicks working fine, added a third and that's the one that was shooting seltzer water out the little holes. I just tightened the living crap out of it until it stopped leaking. I have like 40 psi on it and it's held for a month so far, but sounds like I really should replace the faucet and not the shank. Drats...

Thanks
 
Yeah I'm not really sure why those faucets are so much different and it is just painful to think about having to replace my perlick but this seemed to work just fine.

Oh and I also added some teflon tape to where they connect to one another. I'm not 100% sure that this made the difference but it wouldn't hurt to try
 
THAT WORKED! for those of you who have the same problem, I used a dremil to lightly grind down the teeth on the shank and the faucet and now it makes a great seal.

Thank you so much JoMarky.

Time to brew some beer!!! :ban:

Did you grind down the shank teeth all the way, or just a little off the top?

Sounds like you also ground down the inside of the Perlick faucet too, correct?

Do the teeth still mate?
 
Did you grind down the shank teeth all the way, or just a little off the top?

Sounds like you also ground down the inside of the Perlick faucet too, correct?

Do the teeth still mate?

Yes I grinded down the teeth on the shank and faucet and they only fit now. Before I did this the two didn't fit together because of a different number and size of teeth. They don't fit prefect together now but it makes a good seal with a little teflon tape.

Are you having the same problem?
 
Yes I grinded down the teeth on the shank and faucet and they only fit now. Before I did this the two didn't fit together because of a different number and size of teeth. They don't fit prefect together now but it makes a good seal with a little teflon tape.

Are you having the same problem?

Thanks, I guess I'll give that a try.

I got a new 525SS this week, and put it on my shank (4yr old from a bev factory kit). It felt a little funny, but i tightened the fitting and applied pressure, then spent the next 20 minutes cleaning beer off the walls....

Checking closely the Perlick doesn't fit over the shank, it sort of goes on but wobbles a bit. Even tightening the collar as much as possible still results in a stream dripping out the bottom of the collar.
 
That's the same kind I have and sounds like the same problem I had too.

Try grinding down the teeth with a dremil a little bit on both just to wear they will fit together snugly, then wrap that teeth on the shank with a couple layers of teflon tape. Put the two together and tighten the hell out of the thing and you should be fine
 
My new perlicks (AHBS) and shanks from beverage factory had the same problem on 2 out of 5. I wish I had seen this thread when I noticed that two of them had more threads exposed on the faucet then the rest, rather than popping on my liquid QD and having beer shoot out from the holes.

I tried filing them down but my file was too big, and the dremel didn't work real well either (primarily because the shank was still installed on the keezer collar). I finally just got it on partially and then banged the crap out of it with a rubber mallet until it was on nearly all the rest of the way. Tightened her down and poured me a beer.
 
I finally just got it on partially and then banged the crap out of it with a rubber mallet until it was on nearly all the rest of the way. Tightened her down and poured me a beer.

Whatever works. I'm just glad I finally got mine fixed with some homebrew on tap.
 
Same Problem Here from Beverage Factory.
I used the Dremel to Elimiate the Teeth on the Shank and now work well.
Learned this after shooting beer all over my entire fridge and kitchen :-(
 
It happens to the best of us. While that never happened to me exactly, I was unfortunate enough to get showered with 3 year old stale beer when I depressurized a keg without tilting it. Reeeaaaal Nice.
 
I replaced the O ring with a thick sanke washer and tightened the crap out of it until it quit leaking, been hanging tough for 5 months now.
 
Just wanted to add my experience. I just got two Perlick 525SS for Christmas to replace some "sticky" faucets that were on my home built kegerator (not sure of brand). They were the standard non SS ones that worked, but were always binding.
I tried in the 525SS to the shank and also experienced a four-way burst of IPA all over the walls of my bar. I really didn't want to take a dremel to my brand new faucets and the shanks of my old set-up thinking that I'll just screw it all up and be sitting on a couple of kegs with no way to serve them!
I used some little stones (green about the size of a pencil eraser) that came with my dremel; one pass around the shank teeth and two passes around the teeth on the perlicks and nice snug fit.
Thanks to everyone for their input, it gave me the confidence to dremel my brand new shiny perlicks!
 
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