Why are my new Ventmatic faucets CRAP????

[Jeffinn]

E-mailed the Chi Company on Friday and requested a return label as per their direction and have not heard back from anyone.

 

[ryan_george]

E-mailed the Chi Company on Friday and requested a return label as per their direction and have not heard back from anyone.

They were closed until yesterday, and I imagine they have a bit of a backlog to work through from the thanksgiving shut-down. Hold tight

 

[nopride]

Damn, I hate to read this right now. I am just finishing up a keezer and have two of these sitting in a box ready to go. I have the 1.1 version, so we'll see how they work. I'm hoping to get them installed this weekend, but I've never had perlicks - so I don't really have anything to compare them to.

 

[Gregthespy]

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with 6 faulty faucets. Even with the forward seal seamingly fixed with the new seals they sent I have a harder time overlooking the leaking bonnets.

At least I could make sure the faucet was not leaking when it was the fwd seal issue. Now that the bonnets leak constantly it makes my kegerator and drip tray look constantly like a mess.

I may just have to experiment with a home made solution.

 

[Jeffinn]

Yeah, they haven't even acknowledged the bonnet leaks. It doesn't seem like these were anywhere near production ready. It's unfortunate that they were rushed to market. And the fact that Ventmatic isn't stepping up to make things right should be a warning flag as well. I've seen this thread referenced in a few other forums so maybe the word will get out before too many people spend their hard earned money on these.

 

[fpweeks]

No bonnet leaks for me but the faucets are very fussy about sealing. Emailed them over the weekend. No reply yet.

 

[fpweeks]

received an e-mail today.....can't complain yet about the customer service.

Mr. Weeks
Thank you for your inquiry,
We apologize for the delay; we were closed for the T. Giving holiday and then we have played “catch-up”.

We are extremely sorry to hear that the Vent-Matic faucets are not to your satisfaction. We understand that you have not received the new front seals.
The new seals are on their way to you via USPS.


If after the installation of the new seals you are still not satisfied with the Vent-matic Faucets, please do not hesitate to let us know….we like happy pours !

Taylor

 

[day_trippr]

This has "protracted ordeal" written all over it...

Cheers!

 

[thadius856]

Gotten three shipments from Chi recently.

Shipping time wasn't too bad at all, though it could have been a few days less considering I'm < 100 miles away on the same distro hub.

 

[Gregthespy]

Yes, for the record, the CHI company has been a great company to deal with and must say that they are trying to stand behind the products they carry which is more that I can about most companies these days!

I may send out another email to them regarding the bonnet leaks and see if I may be able to get a comprable replacement or some sort of solution.

 

[thadius856]

To be fair, they're not very good at returning emails. They always answer my calls, and I've even dropped by in person a few times on road trips.

I called inquiring about a 10-way secondary. They said they could build one, no problem, send over my specs. I send em in, a week goes by, then I follow up, still nothing back from them. They never got back to me, so I took my business to AIH.

Jay answered every question I threw at him via email and is walking around with my five-large in his pocket. Plus another five-large from his BF sale.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Sorry to hear some people are having issues with their VentMatics. I bought two back in August to go with the three I'd purchased years ago. I lubed them up when I got them and I never had any issues with leaking from the bonnet. However, one of them did have a very slow leak from the front seal. I got it to stop dripping but requested the v1.1 seals anyway. Since installing them they've worked perfectly.

One thing I noticed was the linkage between the lever and the sealing piston is a little bit different compared to the old ones. The new design is a little trickier to seat. I've found that opening and closing the faucet while tightening the bonnet nut ensures everything is lined up correctly. Not sure if that's the source of the bonnet leaks or not.

 

[mikescooling]

I know the MFR could have a problem in a production run, or a product they use like O-rings. But a faucet simple part, maybe I'm just lucky. I have one 525 and a bunch of cheap ones. If they ever did have a problem, I'd throw them away and buy another. I looked at what most bars are using and it's the cheap ones. I'm not pooping on people who are having problems, just saying the cheap ones work too; it's one less thing to get upset about.

 

[Hamaki]

I'm slowly accumulating the necessaries for kegging and, after reading about the cheap faucets sticking, figured on Perlick faucets. Ventmatics became available again and, after reading rave reviews from years ago I was thinking of going with them. Seems to be trouble getting things back up to snuff with the new production run, though. Now I read posts about problems with Perlicks leaking. I'm wondering if this is an issue with stainless steel, maybe difficulty holding tolerances during machining, that might not be a problem on a brass faucet? Any significant reason to go with ss Perlicks over plated brass or are there problems with the brass Perlicks also?

 

[thadius856]

I'm slowly accumulating the necessaries for kegging and, after reading about the cheap faucets sticking, figured on Perlick faucets. Ventmatics became available again and, after reading rave reviews from years ago I was thinking of going with them. Seems to be trouble getting things back up to snuff with the new production run, though. Now I read posts about problems with Perlicks leaking. I'm wondering if this is an issue with stainless steel, maybe difficulty holding tolerances during machining, that might not be a problem on a brass faucet? Any significant reason to go with ss Perlicks over plated brass or are there problems with the brass Perlicks also?

Pretty sure plated brass has the same problems. The Perlick problem seems to be somewhere in the design. However, my Perlicks have seen daily service for over a year and never leaked once.

If you're worried about leaky Perlicks, wait for Q1 2014. The 525SS is being redesigned as the 630SS to solve these issues. That said, I have 6 525SS faucets on order because I'm confident they won't be leaking.

By the way, if you live in the US (edit: this is a federal policy under the EPA), many brass items are about to get more expensive. I just bought my 10-way brass secondary before the below takes effect:

What?
In January 2011, the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act was signed into law, which will reduce the allowable lead content of wetted surfaces in drinking water pipes, pipe fittings, and plumbing fixtures.

*California & Vermont (Jan 1, 2010), Maryland (Jan 1, 2012), and Louisiana (Jan 1, 2013) have adopted lead in drinking water standards that will go into effect prior to January 4, 2014.

What does this mean for me?
Your current inventory of 85-5-5-5 leaded brass becomes obsolete on January 4, 2014. This means you will no longer be able to sell valves, fittings, or fixtures that contains lead which exceeds the 0.25% weighted average limit for wetted surfaces.


What are the products impacted?
The product affected by this legislation includes all valves, fittings, or fixtures that come into contact with potable water, except those excluded per Federal Public Law 111-380.

Does the chrome plating allow for the use of leaded brass? Dunno. Maybe? Not a lawyer.

 

[OddNotion]

I installed mine yesterday. The pour from these faucets is great. However, I am noticing some leakage from both of the installed faucets like others have reported. One faucet leaked from the spout, the other from the bonnet. I used the replacement o-rings for the forward seal, but still about an ounce of beer dripped over the course of 6 hours. Not much, but it should be 0. I emailed them this morning, hoping to receive a response back.

 

[fpweeks]

my new gaskets arrived, i have not had a chance to get them installed yet. Will report back, i am hoping it corrects the problem.

 

[Jeffinn]

I got a return label from them and sent both of my faucets back this week. We'll see how well their return process works.

 

[fpweeks]

Swapped out the new gaskets......so far so good.

 

[OddNotion]

I have tried 3 of the 4 faucets I was sent. 2 work just fine, the thrid still leaks. I emailed Chicompany 4 days ago, no response. I sent a follow up today, I hope this can get resolved.

 

[Billsbrew]

I found with the 525ss faucets that they didn't fit right when I used a chrome plated brass shank. So I purchased ss shanks and no leaking. Just wondering if the leaky people are using chrome shanks with the ss faucets?

 

[DrunkleJon]

I like my 525SS's. I do find that I get 3-4 drops after a pour and where I have put tall tap handles I tend to have worse leaks. If I use the 3 inch plastic tap handles I only get the 3-4 drips rather than the possibly more consistant leak. Regardless of how tight I screw down the crown. Just a thought, do those who are having forward sealing leaks use tall or heavy tap handles?

 

[thadius856]

I like my 525SS's. I do find that I get 3-4 drops after a pour and where I have put tall tap handles I tend to have worse leaks. If I use the 3 inch plastic tap handles I only get the 3-4 drips rather than the possibly more consistant leak. Regardless of how tight I screw down the crown. Just a thought, do those who are having forward sealing leaks use tall or heavy tap handles?

Everybody gets the 3-4 drops after a pull on rear-sealing faucets. That's just the residual beer that was forward of the seal.

 

[day_trippr]

I found with the 525ss faucets that they didn't fit right when I used a chrome plated brass shank. So I purchased ss shanks and no leaking. Just wondering if the leaky people are using chrome shanks with the ss faucets?

These leaks are either at the bonnet or the spout, and have nothing to do with the shank...

Cheers!

 

[fpweeks]

Replaced my seals and have used for a week or so. They seem to work great now. No complaints!

 

[CB77R]

I spoke to CHI today: They have shipped the entire inventory of Vent-Matics back to the mfg. for retrofitting for new-new seals and o-rings. Due to the leak issues, the mfg. will be replacing everything to make them 110%. They said look for the re-issue of "version 2" in January to February.

 

[Gregthespy]

I'll have to re email them, I'm to the point now where I'm unhooking my connectors after every pour since the bonnets are leaking so much. I can't believe this wasn't addressed as an issue with the 1st revision.

 

[Jeffinn]

Sent both of mine back 10 days ago. No response/refund yet. I'll wait another 10 days and then contact my credit card company.

 

[Jeffinn]

Sent both of mine back 10 days ago. No response/refund yet. I'll wait another 10 days and then contact my credit card company.

I received my refund today, 12 days from the time I shipped them back and they paid for the shipping.
I cant say anything bad about their customer service, even when handling it via e-mail they took care of everything in a polite, professional and somewhat timely fashion (considering the time of year).

 

[fpweeks]

Turns out one of mine is now leaking through the bonnet. Their customer service has been prompt and responsive. They have offered to take mine back or I can wait Until they release the new seals.

Honestly I'm debating about getting two new perlicks