So, I’m at the point to buy my 4 faucets for the fridge door, and I see that Perlicks are the most expensive of the bunch. Why? Do they have a longer lifespan under normal usage? I’m trying to justify spending the additional money.
What are the issues, if any, with chrome faucets?
I’m also considering the faucets with a brass finish. Will the chrome, and brass finishes flake?
Thanks.
In a non-commercial application such as a home kegerator,
do NOT under any circumstances even consider another faucet type other that a forward seal faucet. Perlick’s are forward seal faucets.
Standard faucets will stick if they are not regularly used and I have broken them trying to open one. If you buy a standard tap it will work (It’s what I did) but eventually you will end up buying the Perlicks.
For an application like a jockey box, where the tap is used for a weekend then cleaned and put away until the next time any faucet will work.
For a home application go with a forward seal faucet.
I started out with chrome faucets and later upgrade to Perlicks for one reason. Forward seals.
If you don’t use a chrome faucet for a couple of days it will dry out and get stuck like concrete. The Perlick faucets are forward seal faucets and will still “pop” a little after a couple of days but you will never think you are going to break off the handle trying to force it to open.
A little more money up front would have saved me buying them twice.
Paul
PM sent.
After a second thought…
Maybe I should share the information I have, with everyone.
I found good prices on Perlicks, here:
~$50 for a complete setup (faucet, shank, tail piece, nut, washer & knob) is not a bad deal today. As others have said. You will eventually spend the money so you might as well pony up now & do it right. Cheers!!!
Thanks for the advice. Perlick it is.
How’s this deal> Perlick 630SS Stainless Beer Faucet and Shank Combo Kit | BeverageFactory.com
It has a chrome shank rather than stainless. If you’re okay with that then ya. I went stainless top to bottom.
+1 I definitely recommend all-stainless.
You want the longest shank that will fit in your keg fridge. The shank inside the fridge keeps the faucet cold.
Now that Perlick sells a forward sealing stainless steel faucet with variable resistance I think anyone buying forward sealing faucets should consider those. Northern Brewer and B3 (probably most other places) are selling them.
Very Nice.
Thank you for sharing.
I have one and it works well. Proper system balancing should be fine for regular carbonation beers. Maybe get one or two for highly carbonated hefe’s and Belgians.
Two final questions.
I sure like the look of the Perlick Stainless Steel w/Brass Finish faucets. Will these eventually flake?
I contacted RiteBrew.com since they were recommended here, and have the best prices I’ve seen. They, however, do not provide a phone contact. I emailed them about this since a customer might have questions. They indicated they prefer to handle all correspondence by email. Should this be a concern?
I own 4 stainless Ventmatic faucets which are no longer made. But they are similar to the Perlicks with a forward sealing design and I love them. I recently replaced my chrome plated shanks with stainless so all parts that touch my beer are stainless. When I removed the old shanks, I found that the plating had been removed wherever the beer stayed in contact with the parts. I’m not sure what causes this, (maybe acidity in the beer) but I can’t imagine that it would be good for the flavor of the beer. I would recommend going with all stainless if you can.
I’m going with stainless steel shanks. What sized bore do I want? 1/4", or 3/16"? My beer line is 3/16ID?
I have read that it is better to match your tubing and bore size, but I had trouble finding stainless shanks with a 3/16 bore. I wanted to use the 3/16 tubing to reduce my tube length and my 1/4 bore shanks are only 4" so I don’t think it makes a huge difference. My beers poured nicely after I learned how to balance the system.