11 replies to this topic

[mach5]

Can anyone with a stout faucet help me? I'm looking for info about the restrictor disc inside the faucet...does anyone know the rough dimenensions of the disc? I'd like to know the rough diameter of the disc and the rough diameter of the holes? Also, how many holes are there? You don't need to be exact, I'm just looking for a rough idea to get close, I'd like to make some. Also, if anyone has converted a perlick to use a restrictor disc for nitro dispense, let me know. Thanks.

[Thirsty]

It looks like it is exactly 1/2" in diameter and there are 5 holes. The holes seem to be equidistant from the centerpoint as they are to the edge. It is pretty thin, but not flexible. The grommet is of the same OD.

[gumballhead]

not sure if they will help you out with size issues but it's a great pic.https://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/s-s-nads-restrictor-plate.html

[Thirsty]

Ah, but wait, there was this other gizmo below the restrictor plate, in the spout, I noticed it when I went to clean it before putting it back together. It seems like a diverter of some sort.

[Stout_fan]

Restrictor plates and divereters. What are we talking here, NASCAR?Thirsty, can you fit a drill through any of those holes?They look like 1/32"

[Thirsty]

Restrictor plates and divereters. What are we talking here, NASCAR?Thirsty, can you fit a drill through any of those holes?They look like 1/32"

That was my first thinking too when I saw the post title.I do not have any drill bits that small, however the lead from a mechanical pencil fits through perfect. What are those .5mm?

[Stout_fan]

That was my first thinking too when I saw the post title.I do not have any drill bits that small, however the lead from a mechanical pencil fits through perfect. What are those .5mm?

Depends.I've seen .7 .5 and .3(which is absurdly small)Generally it says either on the side of the pencil or the lead holder.

[mach5]

Thanks for the information everyone. I was looking at a BYO article that was describing how to make one and it says about the diameter of a penny and get creative with the holes. I pretty much looks like I can find a spare button about that size and that would work nicely. I made a plastic disc that is the size of a penny and I put 5 holes in it that are about the size of a thumb tack...that might work, but my cutting kind of sucks so it is not perfectly round. I think I'm going to try to find a button and call it a day.So what I'm trying to do here is turn a regular perlick into a stout faucet. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Thirsty]

So what I'm trying to do here is turn a regular perlick into a stout faucet. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Are you going to be carbing and serving with nitro or beermix?

[gnef]

I hope this works out for you, but it sounds like it may be more work than it is worth. If you really like to make things yourself, then I can understand it. If you are just trying to save money, this might be a more frustrating enterprise than it is worth for what you might get in return, especially if you aren't using beergas.I would say that if you are making the investment into a separate beergas tank, you will also want to make the investment into a true stout faucet. It is a large upfront cost, but you can find stout faucets used on ebay (I think I bought two of my three on ebay), and I found a beergas tank on craigslist for pretty cheap; airgas can be flexible when swapping tanks - you might be able to bring in a spare 20# CO2 tank (if you have a spare), and swap it for an 80 CF beergas tank, and just pay for the fill. I've thought about doing this to have a spare beergas tank on hand, but then I realized that after 4 years with the first beergas tank, I still have over 1200 PSI in it, so it will last me quite a bit longer before I need to even get it refilled.With that said, I hope you get amazing results, and if you do, please post back! Even though I've already made the investment into stout faucets and beergas, if there is a cheaper alternative that works just as well, that is something I could use later on, or recommend to other brewers.

[mach5]

OK, so here's a little bit of a story but worth the read if you are interested in setting up a nitro system.A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to do a nitro system so I researched all the components...tank with a CGA-580 valve, stout faucet and nitro regulator. My big holdup was the tank because these were going everywhere for like $100 and I didn't want to spend that on a tank so I started searching and waiting for used deals on ebay. I later found a company that was selling them for around $60 shipped (+ sales tax in PA), the source was GTS-Welco, google them and you can buy tanks right from their site, or from ebay for a few bucks more. I thought that was a decent price for a new tank with a purchase receipt.So, I dropped the dough on a new cylinder with the CGA-580 valve (female) required for nitrogen. When it came, in all my excitement I rushed to our local gas supplier. They told me they would have to order tanks and I could do an exchange. OK, a few more days waiting...no biggie. So the filled tank comes in and I take my empty tank over to do the exchange. When the clerk put the tank down for me I checked it out and it had a standard CGA-320 valve, the ones used on CO2. I asked the guy about it and he told me that sometimes they fill the mixes in standard CO2 tanks. The tank was labeled as 75/25 nitro/CO2 mix. At this point, I had my faucet and regulator on order from thebeveragefactory.com (best prices on NEW stuff that I could find).When I took the tank home I hooked it up to my CO2 regulator and let it rip, low and behold it worked and the regulator was able to push enough pressure. This is where this thread comes into play...now I needed a way to modify my faucet to get stout-like results, until the real deal arrived. Well, I made a little disc out of some thick plastic and shoved it in my Perlick between the faucet body and the screw off nozzle. I poured a beer and BAM! it worked! I was so amazed...I got the nice cascading effect and the awesome head and tiny bubbles. Success!So, the lowdown is...if you can do this simple mod to your faucet and you have a gas supplier that will fill or exchange a standard CO2 tank for the same tank with the gas mix, then you can be in business for almost no cost over your regular tap system (except that of the beer gas).The deal is I still have a regulator coming, which will be put into service for nitro dispense, I also have the faucet coming which I'll swap out the homebrew faucet for the real one. Then I'll have a spare tank and spare regulator that will be used for carbing CO2, then the beer will go into the fridge for nitro dispense. All said and done I think it will be a good system, and I really can't wait to see how the stout faucet performs over the homebrew version.

[chuck_d]

Cheaper than NB: https://www.micromat....htmlMicromatic are very helpful on the phone too, so you might just give them a ring and talk about what you want to do.