Hello everyone,
I am using a kegerator for about two years now and loving it. Barely bottle anything anymore, and if I do, it is a with a beer “gun”.
However, if I am away for a few days the faucets get really sticky, to the point where I am afraid to break something. Any recommendations on what to do about that? To keep them operating smooth?
I would like to maintain my kegerator so that it is easy to pour a pint even after a couple of days absent.
Best thing to do is to swap your faucets for a “forward seal” type of faucet like a Intertap or Perlick. Those keep the mechanism wet and don’t get “beer glued”
Thank you, I will give it a try. Found one on MoreBeer.
Anything specific I should be aware of?
Drew beat me to it. I had 4 “standard” faucets and swore I would snap the handles off if they weren’t used every couple of days. I replaced them with Perlick forward seal units (which ever were in the cost range I could afford at the time) and have never looked back.
Paul
Have you disassembled your faucets for cleaning within these past two years? I bet you will be surprised at the thick, coagulated gunk that is inside.
PS. for bottling from the faucet look into getting a TapCooler. It is a lot less awkward to use than those guns.
Thank you Kevin, I disassemble and clean the faucets every time I clean the lines, which is every 3rd or 4th keg.
But I will follow the recommendations to swap to the forward sealing faucet, makes a lot of sense to me.
Thanks for mentioning the TapCooler. Will look into it.
I’ve had the same issues with my facets. I work out of town and gone 5 to seven days, when I get home there’s nothing I want more than a cold mug of homebrew. When I pull on the handle it would be stuck and I would grit my teeth hoping the faucet wouldn’t break. I’d routinely disassemble and clean my faucets after each floated keg. I switched out the Becker faucets to Perlick. I never had the same issues with Perlick’s. The problem I started having with them is finding replacement o-rings. I’ve reached out to Perlick several times but never received a response. I’m now using Nuka Taps and a Inter Tap. It’s been a couple years now and I haven’t had any issues.
You can also squirt the faucet with alcohol (I use Ethyl rubbing alcohol). That should keep them from sticking too much before you have a chance to take them apart. I also switched to Perlick faucets many years ago and love them. They do not stick at all. They are a bit more expensive but worth the cost.