Changing beer faucet

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hello,

I’ve been brewing for a few years now but have only been a AHA member for the last year. I started legging early this year. I bought a kegerator set up on sale. I like most of it but the taps seem cheap. They gum up easily even with regular cleaning.

I read some other posts and it sounds like switching to forward sealing taps would resolve the issue. Is swapping out the two different style faucets on a tower as simple as just changing faucets? I will try looking up online but didn’t see information on where I would buy the faucet from.

Thanks

2

Assuming the faucets you have right now are the “standard” size (I’ve seen some manufacturers using a weird size) then yes - changing a faucet is a 30 second task.

When you buy your new faucets, also buy a keg/faucet spanner (looks like a handle with a semi-circle and hook at the end. They’re stupid cheap and they make the job absolutely brain dead with no chance of marring the faucet tower collar.

Once you have that, twist the collar with the spanner, remove the faucet and clean the port out. (Oh and you did disconnect the kegs first, right? :slight_smile: ). Push the new faucet in, twist the collar tight and reconnect the keg.

1 Like
3

I tried Perlick SS flow control taps, and I thought they were awful. I moved to Nukataps, and I added Duotight flow control disconnects. Everything works great now, and I have a lot of flexibility with line lengths.

4

Really doesn’t matter the brand/type of beer faucet used we MUST clean them, often by disassembly, otherwise we’re asking for trouble.

5

I recently bought a Nukatap SS flow control faucet to try in the hopes of replacing 2 Perlick flow control faucets which I absolutely hate. Unpackaged it to find that the moving shuttle which regulates the flow is plastic? IS that what you found also?

6

I’m curious what people dislike about the Perlick flow control faucets. Do they not perform as advertised? Are they a pain to clean?

I’ve considered a “flow control” style faucet, which is why I’m curious.

7

They have lots of fiddly parts, and there are other issues. I got Nukataps with Duotight flow-control disconnects, and my troubles disappeared.

8

I have two Perlick SS faucets with flow control. The flow control goes from closed to wide open in about 5 degrees of handle rotation. The full range of the handle is around 210 degrees by my guesstimate. The handles also get very sticky after only a couple of days of non-use. The threaded collar that holds the handle mechanism in place often turns with the handle. Other than that their fine :grin:,
FWIW I disassemble and clean all of my faucets after each keg kick. I have an intertap flow control faucet which is great, range of flow control is not too tight, smooth motion, etc. Can’t seem to find them any more though.

9

Thanks for the details. I love my Perlicks, but I guess I’ll stay away from their flow control version.