Regulators: Cheap generic, or Taprite?

[misterbk]

Hi all,

I'm looking at these regulators for $24 each. I plan to get 8 of them:

$24 generic regulator from sodadispenserdepot.com

I notice Taprite regulators are at always at least double the price. Is there a reason for this?

Going with the generic regulators would save me about $150. Has anyone had bad experiences with them, or used both?

Note: I don't need knobs. Screwdriver is preferable.

 

[The_Mad_Scientist]

I use these..the Chudnow and no issues so far..plus the Customer service is worth any little extra cost.

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Categories.bok?category=*Components:Regulators

And depending on who makes the generic regulators they may not have been orginally designed for beer or such and may fail faster due to how heavy we use them at higher pressures.

 

[misterbk]

Thanks! With the pressure release and the valve and barb included, those are actually competitive with the generics.

 

[The_Mad_Scientist]

Thanks! With the pressure release and the valve and barb included, those are actually competitive with the generics.

And after talking with the guys there...they are made for beer, for them and well they are solid (and heavy)

 

[misterbk]

Just realized something about the generic soda regulators that I was missing. The lower pressures are sort of crunched down on that gauge, so targeting any pressure under 20psi is going to be much more difficult. The Chudnow go from 0 to 10 in the same space that the generics go from 0 to 30, so the generic regulators would make it difficult to choose 12psi vs 14psi.

Replacing the gauges would nix any chance of savings, so I think I'll go with the Chudnow. Thanks!

 

[butterpants]

Don't buy cheap guns, gear or tools.

If it flys, ****s or floats rent it.

These two nuggets of wisdom will save you many a headache and possibly your life.

 

[misterbk]

Don't buy cheap guns, gear or tools.

If it flys, ****s or floats rent it.

These two nuggets of wisdom will save you many a headache and possibly your life.

Question being, what does "cheap" mean? You won't find me investing $60 in a screwdriver, and regulators being nearly as simple, I questioned if there was a "beer markup" at work. Consider that a $30 grill tank comes with a regulator, tank AND propane. (Its regulator just doesn't have an adjustment screw or gauge, and its body has fewer holes drilled in it.)

Still, turns out the beer regulators are best because the gauges are tuned nicely for carb and serving pressures.

 

[beaksnbeer]

As long as you can buy rebuilds there good. I like Tap-Rite, Norgren, Cornelius. The rebuilds are cheap and easy to find. I prefer the screw turn adjustments I have had the plastic knobs break and strip so I have replaced those.

 

[misterbk]

As long as you can buy rebuilds there good. I like Tap-Rite, Norgren, Cornelius. The rebuilds are cheap and easy to find. I prefer the screw turn adjustments I have had the plastic knobs break and strip so I have replaced those.

Same here. If they're as closely spaced as I plan them to be, there wouldn't be much finger room between the adjacent knobs. I have a large pile of hard drive magnets, so I'm just going to mount one next to the gas system and dedicate a $5 screwdriver to it.

 

[bucfanmike]

the biggest problem with soda regulators is the 100 psi gauge instead of a 60 psi. Just makes it a little more difficult to fine tune pressure. With that said, I have a few with 100 psi gauges, just because i found second hand deals i couldnt pass up.

 

[misterbk]

the biggest problem with soda regulators is the 100 psi gauge instead of a 60 psi. Just makes it a little more difficult to fine tune pressure. With that said, I have a few with 100 psi gauges, just because i found second hand deals i couldnt pass up.

Do they otherwise work just fine? Is it hard to tune the pressure to the right PSI for carbing or serving beer?

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I'm a big fan of Chudnow regs. I've been running a single body on my cold/carb fridge and a dual body on my keezer for three years and they've both been flawless in operation. Yeah, a knob would be nicer than a slotted screw head, but wtf, I literally haven't changed the pressures on any of the regs in like a year

Cheers!

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Here's my experience with a cheapo regulator, that I was inquiring about on another forum:

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=118642

 

[JGlav]

I've gone the cheaper route and had a difficult time keeping one keg at one pressure and the second at a different setting. Changed regulators and no problems. Even switched gauges seeing if that was it. Gauge worked fine. Just my two cents

 

[bucfanmike]

Do they otherwise work just fine? Is it hard to tune the pressure to the right PSI for carbing or serving beer?

They arent ideal, but they work. The other side is that replacement gauges are fairly cheap and you can replace with a 0-60 guage.

As far as knobs, if you really need one I have seen a great trick. JB weld a penny in the screwdriver slot. Voila a knob that cost .01

 

[misterbk]

Nice trick! I do not need knobs, as I already have magnets to mount a screwdriver right next to the gas system, but the penny trick might be too good to pass up. Otherwise, replacement gauges would cost the difference between the cheapos and the Chudnow regs, so I'm decided on Chudnow.