Does anyone notice this in their shanks? Took my setup apart for cleaning the other day and noticed this. Seems kinda sketchy… or am I just being paranoid? I tried soaking it in BLC and scrubbing with a brush and that didn’t do a damn thing for it. These are supposedly stainless steel, so it can’t be any of the finish wearing off, like if it were chrome. Is it beerstone? And if so, does that affect flavor?
Thanks!
Anyone have any insight on this? My other 2 are brown, but not as bad as this one. The opening to the nipple looks brown as well.
I’m ditching my tap setup for now and using a picnic tap. Not as convenient but oh well, I guess.
Since that’s on the interior surface that touches beer, I assume you pump star san through to sanitize ? If so I wonder if the acid is doing that? Is that a Perlick ?
The faucets are Perlick, but they seems fine. It’s just the shanks I’m worried about.
Looks like the “ss” couplers I bought after I soaked them with Star San. Star San strips the plating off. Real SS doesn’t have this issue.
Really wish folks would just sell REAL SS parts and be done with it. As it stands now I don’t trust things, I’ve been burnt by “stainless steel” not being so.
Yeah, that was my thought. My question is, since most of us run Star San through our taps to sanitize, are we ingesting anything as a result of this? Perlick is telling people not to use some of their faucets to serve cider or sour beers, but not warning people about sanitizing with Star San. They’re not returning my emails as of yet - I’d just like to get some clarification.
Interesting information. Thanks guys. Kind of bums me out as I’m not sure I want to use these now and am left using picnic taps until I can afford to buy new shanks (if necessary). It’s fine for me, but I really like having taps for when people come over.
Did you try barkeepers friend. That stuff always takes everything off my pots and pans. It almost looks like they are chrome plated instead of SS and the chrome wore off and that’s the brass underneath.
I have not tried BKF, but I will. I wonder how that would get the inside of the shanks too, maybe my dip tube brush would get it… If it really is that the chrome plating wore off, I wonder if these are still safe to use and also won’t affect the beer flavor? I can’t be the only one experiencing this. I’m surprised only a few have chimed in here.
Personally, I wouldn’t trust them, especially is replacements aren’t terribly expensive.
In my case, what was especially concerning was that the parts were advertised as being stainless. If some cheap Chinese pot metal is used, who knows its composition? One can hope everything used would be food safe, but if it’s already been proven untrustworthy once…
You may be right. The two that were advertised as stainless were purchased from Beverage Factory I believe. They don’t look as bad as the one pictured. After soaking in BKF for a few minutes and scrubbing with a brush, it didn’t do anything. I’m guess it’s brass? And is brass bad for beer and our health then?
And if it is just beer stone, how does that affect the beer?
I agree. Isnt brass coming in contact with beer said to contribute to possible off flavors and small amounts of lead? I tend to worry more about that stuff and avoid it than most people do. Living in NJ has exposed me to enough.
I remember seeing several posts on the NB forum (which unfortunately are no longer accessible) about beer eventually eating through chrome plating in shanks and faucets. I really cannot tell what’s going on with that shank from the picture though.
I’m using stainless steel elbow shanks from Micromatic and have not had any issues with discoloration.
I had the exact same issue recently and also concluded that the SS shanks I had purchased were actually chromed brass. Same issue with the nipples that that connect to the shanks. A couple of those I could actually see chrome flaking off.
Bought new shanks and nipples, which is NOT inexpensive when you are buying 4 of each… I hope they are actually SS this time. Does anyone know how to determine if these things are actually SS rather than chrome plated?
Here’s the shanks I have. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/4-5-8-faucet-shank-with-welded-nipple.html
It says nothing about being stainless or anything. That bothers me. I may be getting new shanks with tax refund money here in a month. And, no, the stainless ones aren’t cheap. A friend of mine was telling me that I shouldn’t worry about it and there shouldn’t be any lead exposure. He might be right…just don’t know what to think. Still might not be a bad idea to upgrade to some good stainless shanks though. I feel I may find in a few years this same discoloration happens. The next time you apart your taps, guys, take a close look and snap a photo; I’ll bet they aren’t pristine and probably have some discoloration.
They are not stainless. Price would be about $10 higher and it wouldn’t have a welded tail piece.
The picture is of the faucet? Are your faucets stainless or chromed brass? How old is this gear?
I don’t know if this helps but brass is not supposed to have much lead. I don’t know if beer, being more acidic than water, would leach out more water than lead.
“As of January 4, 2014, Federal Public Law 111-380 prohibits the sale of plumbing fixtures with a wetted surface area containing more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead. This law virtually eliminates the lead content of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures intended to convey or dispense water for drinking or cooking.”
My faucets are Perlick 425SS and 525SS, so good to go there. It’s my shanks that need replacing… I’m going to throw down for Micromatic here in a bit. I’m certain, now, that these shanks are chrome plated brass. Unfortunate. I’m sure they’re fine, but I don’t really want to f*ck around with this anymore. Stainless is the way to go.
Tommy, even if 0.25% lead is in there, I’m not a fan of that. Thanks for posting that. I imagine almost every bar we get beer is serving from cheaper sh*t like this. So, it’s probably a non-issue. But either way, I don’t care for it.
Looking at Beverage Factory, they are showing an all SS with fitted tail piece just like the plated type.
All SS Contact 4 1/8" Long Shank with Nipple Assembly - 3/16" I.D. Bore Model:SHANK4-ASC ($20.95)
http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/faucets/stainless-steel-shanks/KCSHANK4-ASC.shtml
Tom
Yes, they say “all SS contact”, but that still bothers me. They’re still chrome plated on the outside, which may be fine, I guess. Just wanting more assurance I guess.