I’ve noticed after a few days of non-use my tap handle becomes very difficult to use and eventually becomes stuck. I’ll then have to soak it in hot water for a bit and it eases up and flows again. I clean my line and faucet with PBW in between kegs. Any thoughts or suggestions to avoid this (besides drinking more often!)?
Sounds like the issues I used to have with my original rear-seal faucets. Beer dries out in front of the valve and causes the slider to stick tight. I always worried I was going snap the handles off when they got stuck.
I fixed the problem by buying forward seal faucets. No more stuck taps after that. It was a bit of an expensive fix though, I will admit.
Paul
I used to have the same issue thought it was never very severe. Recently replaced all 4 with intertap faucets which solved that problem and gave me much better pours overall. I think I got them for $30 a piece or so.
Maybe an upgrade is in order, thanks! I realize now I should have posted this in the “Kegging and Bottling” section!
take your current tap handle completely apart, the pieces inside are supposed to be ‘chromed’, if they are partially or all brass the ‘coating’ has come off, that’s your issue. replace it with the ones mentioned above, make sure you buy all SS and you shouldn’t have the issue ever again.
Upgrade to some forward sealing faucets, like Perlick’s or Intertaps. The cheapo standard faucets work fine if you keep them busy, but the design allows beer in front of the seals to be exposed and dry out, in a relatively short period of time, causing the faucets to stick. Also, be sure to clean your beer lines and faucets twice a month to help maintain the quality of the beers you have on tap.
Agee, get forward sealing .
Simple fix, pour and enjoy every day!
I had the exact same issue and the forward sealing faucets were recommended. I got a couple and haven’t had any issues since.
The thread I started is here in case you want to check it out, https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=34277.0. I have a picture of the Perlick faucets I bought.
Same. Gonna reinforce prior comments - I cured that issue by getting forward sealing taps. I too feared breaking off a tap handle fighting with sticky rear seal taps. No issues now. To me definitely worth the expense and anticipate many years’ use out of them.