What type of Faucet should I buy?

[45_70sharps]

All good stuff.
I need five faucets for my build. I can see I need to save my pennies.

 

[Golddiggie]

All good stuff.
I need five faucets for my build. I can see I need to save my pennies.

Pennies for Perlick's... I like it...

 

[ckcanady]

I think my take on faucets is being taken wrong... I think both front and rear sealing are fine faucets. Trust me stems do get stuck on Front sealing faucets as well ( I would know because I have fixed many in the sacramento area ( not nearly as many as rear sealing). Both seal the same way- washer partially in beer and partially out of beer. One way sticks a little more and the other way compromises your beer a little (very little). Most front sealing faucets have plastic slides inside. If you use the rear sealing fairly often and maintain it properly it will hardly ever stick. Mine very self only sticks and when if it does I don't just pull harder I wet it so it i sticks. If you really want the best of both worlds you can get a Rotary valve lever faucet which is the best of both worlds an looks pretty cool too!

 

[allenH]

I had no problems with the rear sealing faucets that came with my keg kit from kegconnection, although I had read up on it and sprayed Starsan in the faucet at the end of every beer drinking night. Within 2 months, I bought two 525SS faucets. If the keg kit wasn't a gift from SWMBO, I surely would have upgraded the faucets to begin with. Disassemble a standard faucet and a Perlick and you will be amazed at the difference in build quality.

 

[VegasJ]

looks like OP already picked... but I just bought 2 of these given Perlick's rep around here.

forward seal 525ss - $33

http://www.ritebrew.com/SearchResults.asp?Extensive_Search=Y&Search=843164&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Most front sealing faucets have plastic slides inside.[...]

Citation definitely needed.

Perls have no plastic inside, just three O-rings that can contact beer (and one of those is the shank O-ring). The 525 is a marvel of simplicity - there's so little going on in these faucets it's amazing they actually work at all.

Now that Vent-Matic is history, who besides Perlick makes forward sealing faucets?

Cheers!

 

[ckcanady]

Citation definitely needed.

Perls have no plastic inside, just three O-rings that can contact beer (and one of those is the shank O-ring). The 525 is a marvel of simplicity - there's so little going on in these faucets it's amazing they actually work at all.

Now that Vent-Matic is history, who besides Perlick makes forward sealing faucets?

Cheers!

I give you credit. We don't have any of these in our market that I know of. We do have one similar but with a plastic slide the 425s. And Perlick did install a faucet very similar that had 3 very flemsy o rings that would shift and leak at random. You had to have them in there just right to stay sealed- needless to say the esquire grill at sacramento airport called us out to replace these with I believe 18 standard faucets the old standard micromatic ones but I like the Perlick ones as well... IF these were the same faucets...

 

[rjschroed]

each has their pros and cons. It's really up to you to decide what is important. Personally, I have 525SS Perlicks. They will last forever, NEVER stick, and are low maintenance. They are more expensive but again I will NEVER replace them. I'm sure you can get a comparable life out of a rear sealing faucet if you take really good care of them (ie more maintenance).

 

[day_trippr]

I give you credit. We don't have any of these in our market that I know of. We do have one similar but with a plastic slide. And Perlick did install a faucet very similar that had 3 very flemsy o rings that would shift and leak at random. You had to have them in there just right to stay sealed- needless to say the esquire grill at sacramento airport called us out to replace these with I believe 18 standard faucets the old standard micromatic ones but I like the Perlick ones as well... IF these were the same faucets...

In return, I did find that Perlick did sell a version of the forward sealing 425 (which was designed by the Vent-Matic inventor) that used a plastic sliding shaft (the plastic "block" thing you mentioned). The 425SS model used a stainless steel shaft, as did a couple of other variants of the 425, but there were at least two variants that had the plastic block.

That said, with all the plastics we use between grain and glass, it'd be imprudent to assume that Perlick didn't at least use a food grade plastic for that block.

In any case, Perlick pulled the 425 from the market, apparently by agreement with the Vent-Matic designer. The 525 was designed around whatever patents applied to the 425 (which was pretty much a dead ringer for the Vent-Matic faucet). One result is the 525 doesn't even have a shaft, never mind a plastic one.

Like I said, it's kind of amazing these things work at all

Cheers!

 

[Golddiggie]

Got any drawings of the 575 model??? I have a mix of those and the 525 model here. No issues with using them, at all.

 

[ckcanady]

Wow after seeing the picture- this is the one that I had ONE experience with at the airport where I replaced something like 18 faucets because that top washer was flemsy and leaked. We fixed it. They poured 8 beers. It leaked. For about 2 months after the new terminal at the airport opened we went out about 2-3 times a week because they didn't want to pay to replace them and Perlick would never come out and replace them (even after I called the Perlick guy- I know him personally). Finally they got fed up and paid for some 18 rear sealing faucets. Maybe they have improved the seals since? I don't think we have any in the trade from Napa to Folsom.

 

[JuanMoore]

Got any drawings of the 575 model??? I have a mix of those and the 525 model here. No issues with using them, at all.

The 425's have been discontinued for a while now. Here's the exploded parts diagram for the 525/575-

 

[beaksnbeer]

In return, I did find that Perlick did sell a version of the forward sealing 425 (which was designed by the Vent-Matic inventor) that used a plastic sliding shaft (the plastic "block" thing you mentioned). The 425SS model used a stainless steel shaft, as did a couple of other variants of the 425, but there were at least two variants that had the plastic block.

That said, with all the plastics we use between grain and glass, it'd be imprudent to assume that Perlick didn't at least use a food grade plastic for that block.

In any case, Perlick pulled the 425 from the market, apparently by agreement with the Vent-Matic designer. The 525 was designed around whatever patents applied to the 425 (which was pretty much a dead ringer for the Vent-Matic faucet). One result is the 525 doesn't even have a shaft, never mind a plastic one.



Like I said, it's kind of amazing these things work at all

Cheers!

Easy way to tell is if the 425 has/had a plastic nozzle it has the plastic slide also the Perlick name is on the side of the body whereas the SS. model has the name on the top of the body.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, the known variants of the 425 and materials used

425SS.......Stainless steel body, handle lever, shaft and spout
425SSTF...Same as 425SS with Tarnish-Free polished brass finish
425SSA ....Stainless steel body and handle lever; plastic shaft and spout
425SSATF..Same as 425SSA with Tarnish-Free polished brass finish
425S........Stainless steel body, brass handle lever; plastic shaft and spout
425STF....Same as 425S with Tarnish-Free polished brass finish

And the parts diagram...

Cheers!

 

[Golddiggie]

Seems like the place ckcanady 'serviced' was using either the 425SSA or 425S faucets, not the 500 series.

 

[ckcanady]

Seems like the place ckcanady 'serviced' was using either the 425SSA or 425S faucets, not the 500 series.

Nope- no plastic slide inside it was all ss
And btw I'm sure Perlick did research and used food grade plastic but stainless is always better...

 

[day_trippr]

Nope- no plastic slide inside it was all ss

Obviously, that doesn't eliminate the all-stainless 425SS. And if your experience was prior to February of 2009, they could not have been 525 faucets.

And btw I'm sure Perlick did research and used food grade plastic but stainless is always better...

My perceptions about Perlick (right or wrong, I guess) is they're a quality-oriented company, and I would expect that plastic slug in the 425 was most likely the right material for the job...

Cheers!

 

[ckcanady]

Obviously, that doesn't eliminate the all-stainless 425SS. And if your experience was prior to February of 2009, they could not have been 525 faucets.

Cheers!

True- but the blueprint of the 525 looked dead on. This experience was approx. aug of this year just a couple months after the newest terminal of sacramento airport opened. And my take is similar to yours on Perlick as a company. They do make quality products minus good customer support. And with new product development their will always be trial and error. Nothing against them I just think overall micromatic has better "mainstream" products while Perlick makes better custom and "more in-depth" products.

 

[smokinghole]

So what about flow control faucets? Pain in the butt or a godsend with high carbed beers? Like......

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/taps-faucets-pid-4933ROTO-V.html
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/taps-faucets-pid-4933-FCC.html

 

[ckcanady]

Quote:
So what about flow control faucets? Pain in the butt or a godsend with high carbed beers?

They are ok... They just help with the flow but should not effect the carbonation that is coming out of your beer so if it is over carbed- it will still be over carbed. The cool thing is you won't need to change the restriction in your line to balance the system, just adjust the faucet. Obviously the more expensive one would be better- there are more working parts to clean with the cheap one... The more expensive one seems much better but I have never used one...

 

[45_70sharps]

So what about flow control faucets? Pain in the butt or a godsend with high carbed beers? Like......

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/taps-faucets-pid-4933ROTO-V.html
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/taps-faucets-pid-4933-FCC.html

I was just going to post about these.
They seem pretty cool. You can set the pressure to what you want for carbonation and serve without trying to fine tune the line length.
Extra moving parts though so I was wondering if they were more prone to problems like leaks?
Anyone used them? Even if they weren't used on my kegarator build, it seems like they would be ideal for a portable build since you wouldn't have to worry about the line length.

 

[ckcanady]

The cheaper of the two isn't really more prone to leaks but it does take a little more work to clean them... Probably triple the time.

 

[45_70sharps]

I was looking at the Perlick flow control faucet.
http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=619

Anyone know anything about this one? I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money or not.
It would sure be nice to control the flow at the tap so that if you had different carbonation levels in different kegs, you wouldn't need different regulators.

 

[JuanMoore]

I was looking at the Perlick flow control faucet.
http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=619

Anyone know anything about this one? I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money or not.
It would sure be nice to control the flow at the tap so that if you had different carbonation levels in different kegs, you wouldn't need different regulators.

You still need a separate regulator for each carb level you want to serve. If you keep multiple beers at the same pressure, they'll end up at the same carb level. The flow control faucets simply add resistance.

My solution to serving beers at different pressures was just to use extra long lines. They'll handle high pressures/carb levels fine, and still pour standard or lower carb level beer fine too, just a little slower. Since I'm not running a bar, the time it takes to pour a beer isn't all that important to me. I also figure that if I have time to drink a beer, I have a few extra seconds to wait for it to pour. As always, YMMV.

 

[45_70sharps]

Thanks for the opinion.
I've never set up a set of taps before so I'm trying to learn from the experience of people on here.
Of course like anyone I'm trying to spend as little as possible on things like faucets, but I'm not being tight. I will end up spending what I need to so that I can have the right gear and have as much trouble free enjoyment as possible.
This thread has been very helpful. I would have ended up spending $20 each on faucets that would leak or stick.
I would rather wait a month, spend the extra and have quality parts that last and pour beer well

 

[smokinghole]

I'm not looking to fix the high carb I am looking to easily serve high carb. I make lots of saison and other higher carbed belgian beers so I have stuck to bottle conditioning in order to have proper carb. A flow control faucet should allow me to serve a decently high carbed saison just fine.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I make high carbed beers and have no problems serving out of my 425's, as stated above the regulator controls the carbonation the flow controls help to keep it in solution in shorter line sets at higher psi.

 

[rjschroed]

There is no reason not to serve a high carbed beer on tap. All you need is a longer beer line and a second regulator to serve a second, higher carbonation level. Also, flow restriction can be achieved by varying your line length. It's much cheaper to have a few different lengths of line around too. This link is useful:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/0...our-kegged-beer-co2-line-length-and-pressure/

 

[Golddiggie]

Being able to serve different carbonation ranges/sets is why I have a dual body regulator. It feeds two different manifolds inside the brew fridge, so that I can have different kegs on either of the two pressure sets. With only having three taps, room for four kegs, and the styles I brew, two pressure ranges/levels is more than enough. I've also made my lines long enough that any of the three faucets works with the pressure levels.