Tapcooler Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

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seanjwalker1 said:
Well according to Tapcooler Perlick forward sealing work well with this bottler. I think I just ended up with the wrong size O rings on the adapter. I don't mind the pressure relief valve too much but the relief valve tubing to me is worthless and just gets in the way! I just ended up taking it off.
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Sad to hear you’ve had the hassle of trying to figure out the problem. I have a few of the 650SS‘ and been thinking about trying Tapcooler. Sure it’s easy to miss an o-ring size during inspection, but geeze….. you’d think they’d swap the unit for you early on to save you the hassle and time wasted! And send you a pile of correct o-rings once they ID’ the problem.

I think you might have saved some of us a lot of future hassle with these. Thanks for posting!

Cheers 🍻
 
KBW PilotHouse said:
Sad to hear you’ve had the hassle of trying to figure out the problem. I have a few of the 650SS‘ and been thinking about trying Tapcooler. Sure it’s easy to miss an o-ring size during inspection, but geeze….. you’d think they’d swap the unit for you early on to save you the hassle and time wasted! And send you a pile of correct o-rings once they ID’ the problem.

I think you might have saved some of us a lot of future hassle with these. Thanks for posting!

Cheers 🍻
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I'm not sure it's the O rings but I'm almost positive it is. I'm waiting for a response from Great Fermentations. I don't know why they just didn't say Hey, we've had a few wrong size O rings end up on the adapter, sorry here's some correct ones. Bureaucracy I guess. Hopefully hear from them today. I could order them I suppose for $1.49 but why should I ? And a $7.99 flat rate shipping too for a $2 item ! No thank you!
 
ITV said:
Agree with the tubing, I used mine once and put it away. I believe that it was intended to carry away any foam into a container instead of on the side of a bottle, which is useful if you don't have the pressure relief dialed in.
For the pressure relief valve, I temporary remove it prior to using to make sure that it isn't sticking.
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Yeah good idea. I screw mine till it's almost out then rinse it with hot water before and after. Some videos on YouTube mentioned that always rinse it well otherwise it gets stuck.
 
I bought mine from GF last year and shortly after I got a second envelope with other o-rings because they said there was a bad run. I never tried it in the tap to be honest so I am not sure if it even works in my old Perlicks. I will say GF has been great with some other issues I had so hopefully they make it right for you.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Well I like it but can not get a seal in my Perlick 650ss taps. I tried again yesterday for the 3rd time. I even changed out the little O-Rings with the spare ones, no dice.
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How snug is it when you insert the TapCooler? I have InterTap flow control and the o-rings are so tight that the unit won't insert unless I first spray it with sanitizer. Removing it takes a little force, too.

The tolerances are really tight, too. One of my faucet ends got "glued" and I had to use channel locks to break it free. Even though it doesn't look any different to the naked eye I can no longer use the TapCooler on that end because it must be slightly out of round now.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Yeah good idea. I screw mine till it's almost out then rinse it with hot water before and after. Some videos on YouTube mentioned that always rinse it well otherwise it gets stuck.
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I let mine soak in hot PBW after every use and that got rid of the "stickiness" in both the pressure button and relief valve.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Well I like it but can not get a seal in my Perlick 650ss taps. I tried again yesterday for the 3rd time. I even changed out the little O-Rings with the spare ones, no dice. I wrote to Great Fermentations to see if they could send me a new tap adapter. The valve/keg connector works great but I really bought this and want to use it with my taps. Maybe my Perlicks taps are slightly larger on the I.D from manufacturing but I can't imagine that being the case. I even cut back on the co2 pressure to see if it made a difference, no dice. Pretty good leak. Other than replacing the tap adapter I'm at a lose on what else to do. I guess it could be the o-Rings being mis manufactured but both sets ? Unlikely.
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That's a bummer. I have the 630ss taps and they fit like a glove. Maybe email TapCooler directly, their email is [email protected]. I ordered from More Beer and on their site it states "works with 600 series". Or I wonder if this would work, More Beer sells a growler filler that fits 650ss taps Stainless Steel Growler Filler - Fits Perlick 630SS & 650SS | MoreBeer then you can get the TapCooler extenstion tube and run it from the growler filler in tap to the TapCooler? Tapcooler Filler Extension Tube | MoreBeer Just a thought.
 
jdauria said:
That's a bummer. I have the 630ss taps and they fit like a glove. Maybe email TapCooler directly, their email is [email protected]. I ordered from More Beer and on their site it states "works with 600 series". Or I wonder if this would work, More Beer sells a growler filler that fits 650ss taps Stainless Steel Growler Filler - Fits Perlick 630SS & 650SS | MoreBeer then you can get the TapCooler extenstion tube and run it from the growler filler in tap to the TapCooler? Tapcooler Filler Extension Tube | MoreBeer Just a thought.
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Lol I already scoped out that growler filler yesterday. Last resort. Funny how brewing minds think alike. I already contacted Tapcooler and all they told me was the O rings should fit. Kind of pisses me off since they know they have had this problem. Hopefully GF will send me the correct rings. Kind of silly to have to jump through hoops over a $1.49 item that cost $7.99 to ship that was manufactured for 3 cents...life.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Lol I already scoped out that growler filler yesterday. Last resort. Funny how brewing minds think alike. I already contacted Tapcooler and all they told me was the O rings should fit. Kind of pisses me off since they know they have had this problem. Hopefully GF will send me the correct rings. Kind of silly to have to jump through hoops over a $1.49 item that cost $7.99 to ship that was manufactured for 3 cents...life.
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You know you're a brewer when you are always working to try to patch stuff together! Good luck, hope they new o-rings work!
 
Got the new can version delivered yesterday. I'm a few weeks from needing to use it which will give me the time needed to manufacture the mounting system as well as a new draining base for the new clamp I'll be using. I bought a new sliding/bar clamp that's heavier duty than the one that came with my original setup. Another 1"x5" hunk of aluminum for the base (bought a 12" piece, plan to use half of it for the base). I'll machine it a little different for the bar clamp mount.

From what I'm seeing, the hardest part is going to be machining the connecting piece from the Tapcooler item to the bar. With the holes they have, and the material there, I'll need to make sure to machine an indent for the connection to be strong enough. I plan to use aluminum for the additional mounting item (to the clamp). Since I have plenty on hand for that right now. I could use plastic, but threads in would be stronger in metal. Of course, I'll need to go and get new screws with a known thread size/pitch for this. Mostly so that I can use taps I have on hand (I have more Standard size taps than farking metric).

At least I CAN do this with my milling machine.
 
I've used the Beergun and the Williams-Warn, but the TapCooler is stupid quick and easy to set up, use and clean. By far my favorite. I have old Perlick taps and ordered the Series 500 adapter. Oops, although my taps looked like 500's there were apparently earlier versions. TapCooler recommended larger o-rings which I ordered from McMaster-Carr, but these fell right out of the tap spout too. Ended up replacing one of the Perlicks with an Intertap faucet and things have gone smoothly since. Bottled beers have held up very well.
 
I heard from Great Fermentations today. Said they are waiting on a response from Tapcooler in Europe and that they are short of staff due to illness. Just round and round 😕. How hard can it be to send me replacement O rings for the tap adapter ? Yes I could order them myself but I didn't put the wrong size O rings on my adapter Tapcooler did. So frustrated as I went ahead and ordered a carbonation cap during all this, received it already and bottled several beers this weekend albeit in pet bottles but it works...for pet bottles. In the mean time my flip top bottles sit empty, wondering why they are not filled with frothy bubbling beer...all over a O ring that cost 3 cent to manufacture and my brand new shiny Tapcooler sits idle on top of my Bottling/Kegging tool box mocking me and my glass bottles....if you listen carefully, you can hear the Brew God's laughing...😳😳😳...O ring....3 cents....
Charlie_Brown_-_AAUGH%21.jpg
 
IIRC, there was an issue with o-rings last year. I hadn't noticed an issue, but was sent replacements with a note explaining the situation. Maybe you got some old stock, somehow?
 
Craiginthecorn said:
IIRC, there was an issue with o-rings last year. I hadn't noticed an issue, but was sent replacements with a note explaining the situation. Maybe you got some old stock, somehow?
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I have been saying that very thing to Great Fermentations. For whatever reason they are coming across, in my opinion, that this is the first time they have heard of something like this happening...😶😶😶....ive asked them 4 times for almost 2 weeks to please just send me the replacement O rings they have in stock as I'm ALMOST positive this is the issue. They insist they are waiting for a response from Tapcooler in Europe for a solution. Yes I could just order the O rings but I don't think I should have to pay $1.49 for an item that cost probably 3-5 cents to manufacture that I will be charged $7.99 flat shipping rate for. That sticks in my craw. It's the principle. I'm sure Great Fermentations will take care of it eventually as I've heard they are a great site. Beyond me why it's taking so long to send cheap O rings...not like I'm asking for a Blichman replacement part or something high end...???
 
seilenos said:
How snug is it when you insert the TapCooler? I have InterTap flow control and the o-rings are so tight that the unit won't insert unless I first spray it with sanitizer. Removing it takes a little force, too.

The tolerances are really tight, too. One of my faucet ends got "glued" and I had to use channel locks to break it free. Even though it doesn't look any different to the naked eye I can no longer use the TapCooler on that end because it must be slightly out of round now.
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Mine are not snug at all. O rings are too small and it leaks terribly. Waiting for GF to send me the correct size.... Someday over the 🌈
 
Spoke..or rather wrote..too soon. Just got a notice from Amazon messaging. Great Fermentations has FINALLY agreed to send me O ring replacement set !! I guess the stock supervisor was out sick and just got back today to ok the transaction...pretty tight fisted if you ask me, all that just for a O ring. But I'm not complaining!! Hopefully this corrects the leaking and I'll be off and bottling by next weekend! Please don't get lost in the mail 😳😯
 
exit8 said:
I bought mine from GF last year and shortly after I got a second envelope with other o-rings because they said there was a bad run. I never tried it in the tap to be honest so I am not sure if it even works in my old Perlicks. I will say GF has been great with some other issues I had so hopefully they make it right for you.
Click to expand...
Ok I got a new set of 4 O rings, 2 larger ones I assume go on the tap adapter, 2 smaller ones one is thin one is fat. is it the 2 larger o rings that go on the tap adapter ? And how did you get the o rings off the adapter? I've used 4 different tools and can't get the buggers off !!!!
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The two larger o-rings appear to go on the tap adapter, the small o-ring appears to go between the tap adapter and body of the tapcooler. The small fat o-ring may go on the pressure relief between the spring and tapcooler body.

Pick Hooks is what I use to get the o-rings off. In your case you can cut them off with a knife.
 
ITV said:
The two larger o-rings appear to go on the tap adapter, the small o-ring appears to go between the tap adapter and body of the tapcooler. The small fat o-ring may go on the pressure relief between the spring and tapcooler body.

Pick Hooks is what I use to get the o-rings off. In your case you can cut them off with a knife.
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I'm reluctant to cut them but I may have to. I've got a pick hook around here somewhere. Thank you !!
 
ITV said:
Everytime I use a pick hook I end up sticking my finger, just a heads up.
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All the sharp tools I have and tried, small knives, tiny screw drivers, micro hex tools...a lowly thumb tack with a hardened plastic end did the job in 30 seconds 😂😂😂
 
camonick said:
Santa got my list. Now I need to go test it out.
View attachment 753452
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I love mine! So much easier than the beer gun. The only problem I have with it is setting the PRV. I don't know if the spring is too stiff, but I end up having to tilt the bottle to let pressure escape. Other than that, it's awesome.
 
3 Dawg Night said:
I love mine! So much easier than the beer gun. The only problem I have with it is setting the PRV. I don't know if the spring is too stiff, but I end up having to tilt the bottle to let pressure escape. Other than that, it's awesome.
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I just filled 4 bottles with it. I also thought the pressure relief spring may be way too stiff. I have to unscrew it nearly all the way to get it to vent.
I do love how simple it is though and it’s much easier to clean than the the 16 feet of beer tubing and picnic tap I’m using now. I like the way you can purge the bottles with CO2 before the beer goes in. I’m sure after I use it some more, it’ll be awesome.
 
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camonick said:
I also thought the pressure relief spring may be way too stiff. I have to unscrew it nearly all the way to get it to vent.
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Min doesn't vent at any point. It has to be either a stiff spring or a stuck valve. I think I'm going to disassemble my valve, apply some keg lube, and see if that helps.
 
Yeah like I said a few months ago it's a great little device but just needs some improvement. I'm sure version 3 or 4 is going to improve. Also I really think the keg line adapter works really good with it.
 
3 Dawg Night said:
Min doesn't vent at any point. It has to be either a stiff spring or a stuck valve. I think I'm going to disassemble my valve, apply some keg lube, and see if that helps.
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Mine usually is a stuck valve. I make it a habbit of pulling the valve off and spraying it with starsan prior to using.
 
I used to get the vent poppet stuck all the time. Now my process after rinsing everything good post bottling, is to unscrew it totally and take the poppet out. Then I put the poppet back in sideways so the o-ring isn't sitting against anything, put the spring in and then just lightly screw the vent on since it's not assembled properly inside. Come next bottling day, I open it up and assemble it properly.

Before I started doing this, I'd find it almost always stuck to the o ring and the poppet wouldn't open. Getting it unstuck was a major pain.
 
An update on this device.
I used it again today to fill 15 (5 bottles of 3 different beers) bottles. I found that I could not insert it into one of my Intertap spouts. I tried and tried with no success. I had to swap spouts with another one of my taps to finish filling that style of beer. There must be a very slight difference in the machining on that tap. I also still think the relief spring is much too stiff and I’m going to cut off about one coil to see if that helps.
 
I haven't cut the spring, but lube didn't seem to help my sticking poppet. I got the Nano Canner adapter a few weeks ago and that was pretty disapointing, especially for how much it cost. That poppet stuck every single time no matter what I did.
 
ITV said:
Agree with the tubing, I used mine once and put it away. I believe that it was intended to carry away any foam into a container instead of on the side of a bottle, which is useful if you don't have the pressure relief dialed in.
For the pressure relief valve, I temporary remove it prior to using to make sure that it isn't sticking.
Click to expand...
I just received the tapcooler from northern brewer and paid additional for the PRV drain tube. The right angle fitting OD is bigger than the relief valve ID and won’t even go into the relief valve! I’ve reached out to NB on this and getting no response. Glad to hear the drain tube isn’t really needed. An option I should have saved my money on.
 
Does anyone use this on a kegerator with a tower? I'm not sure I'll have clearance to fit the bottles on. I could order the extension tube but only if it's necessary. I also hear the ball lock adapter is a must.
 

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