15 replies to this topic

[beach]

Since my keezer crapped out I'm in the process of replacing that and upgrading the faucets. I was browsing the webs last night checking the price of the Perlick 525ss' and noticed that one online store (not sure which one) mentioned that the Perl faucet may not fit on all chromed brass shanks. Of course they recommend stainless. Has anyone experienced this? I'm wanting to upgrade the 3 rear sealing taps I have but I don't really want to replace the shanks. This doesn't make sense to me because the size is standardized here.Thanks Bro'sBeach

Edited by beach, 12 July 2011 - 08:29 AM.

[tag]

There have been problems with the splines fitting over the years - is it the faucet or is it the shank?Other than that I love'em.And I vote for stainless shanks too.Do I get a vote?

[gnef]

With all my forward sealing faucets, they have fit fine on both chrome plated brass and stainless shanks. I only have a sample size of 8 though.I did upgrade my shanks to stainless when I broke down everything to clean - the faucets were pretty immaculate, and I doubt I will have to ever thoroughly clean them because of the design, but the chrome plating on the shanks had worn down on all the shanks, and I could see the brass. That made me get all stainless hardware for serving, and from now on, that is what I will use for my kegerator, even as I upgrade to more shanks/faucets. I do keep the chrome/brass shanks and rear sealing faucets for my jockey boxes though - it isn't worth the cost to upgrade all of that to stainless, at least for me.

[Big Nake]

I don't think I've ever heard of this issue. When I did my bar upgrade (getting rid of a double tower and putting 4 shanks through the wall, two of those getting Ventmatics and two getting Perlick 525ss), I went to my (better) LHBS and ordered shanks and never did they mention that some may not work properly. I ended up with stainless but I would've thought these guys (very good brewers and meticulous tinkerers) would've mentioned that there could be an issue depending on what I picked up. The best bet would be to talk to someone at a good supply house like Northern Brewer, MoreBeer or even a place like KegWorks. Good luck.

[beach]

Thanks for the replies. The new keezer is up and running with my existing shanks & faucets. I think I'll upgrade shanks and faucets 1 or 2 at a time. Since the new set up will hold 8 as opposed to 4 this will take a while and cost a fair amount. Only 3 taps to upgrade the rest is expansion. The bigger cost will be adding a second stout faucet that matches the existing one. Beach

[Kremer]

Two of my 6 old type shanks were a bit rough to get the perlicks on. A few minutes cleaning up some bits with a file fixed that. The perlicks seem to have much sharper splines, I ended up deepening the valleys on a couple spots on the shanks where the chrome ended up too thick or the original brass machining was deficient.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I just ordered 2 faucets and 2 shank kits all stainless for the beer fridge that I am taking to the keys. Damn that is expensive. But, I'll be drinking homebrew on tap!Cheers,Rich

[gnef]

Mind if I ask where you got them from? I will be looking to buy numerous kits in the future.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Mind if I ask where you got them from? I will be looking to buy numerous kits in the future.

rebelbrewer.com they weren't completely kitted out and I realized I need 2 more nipples because I lost one and never had the other (4 taps total). I didn't look for the best deal, I use them from time to time because they have decent prices on gear and ground shipping usually comes faster.Cheers,Rich

[beach]

I just ordered 7 more stainless shanks to match the one stainless shank I already have. The Perlicks will come one or two at a time. I also scored a stout faucet with handle for $16.50. Keezer upgrade is in full swing....more $'s Beach

[beach]

So I pulled the trigger and got 4 of the Perlick 525ss' and got 3 of them installed a couple days ago. I have a 7 1/2" collar on my keezer with the faucets mounted a little above the center line of the collar. Once I put my handles on (2 of them are ~6 1/2" long and another one is 11") they were in the way of the lid when it was opened and closed. In other words when the faucets were closed and the keezer lid was opened/closed the lid would hit the tap handles and open them. I ended up near a LHSB in Indy yesterday and picked up handle extensions that let you change the angle so the handles are nearly verticle so that everything has the clearance needed. If the shanks would have gone through the wall the handles would have hit the wall before they were completely closed. I was surprised and very disapointed that I had to buy the adapters to get the faucets to work. Those little bastards aren't cheap. Has anyone else had a similar issue?Beach

[tag]

Yep, same with my fridge.

[Kremer]

I have the little cheap black plastic handles on mine, no problems. I did notice they angle back instead of straight up when closed though.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Mine angle back a little too, but they aren't in the way since I just have the little ones.Also, make sure the faucet fits the shanks. One of my Perlicks would not go on a shank at all. I talked to the LHBS about it and they said that there were some with teeth that were not machined correctly and they won't fit on shanks. However they did say that Perlick was aware of it and if you contact them and send the faucet back, they will replace it (so I have heard). I haven't done that yet, but I will.All that being said, I love the faucets. They work great and don't leak.Cheers,Rich

[beach]

No problems with the faucets fitting the shanks, all is good there. I overpaid for the adapters because I wanted the problem solved quickly and didn't want to wait on shipping. I was also in the middle of adding a manifold for the beer gas and organizing all the lines. so I was in and out of the keezer quite a bit. What really pissed me off was that the faucet that was being accidently turned on the most was the one with the bourbon barrel aged scotch wee heavy. I'm down to less than a gallon of it now. Plenty of IPA and wheat PA, bot noooo, I had to lose the really good beer. A wiser man would have removed the handles Oh well, I've got it fixed now. And I do like the Perlicks.Beach

[stelladog]

I also had a problem with the Perlick faucets fitting onto the chrome plated shanks I was using on my keggerator.I called Perlick and talked to one of their engineers. His comment was that there are chrome plated shanks being sold that are made outside the US. Perlick makes their own shanks and all of their faucets are tested to make sure they fit Perlick shanks before they are shipped. He suggested using their stainless steel shanks.I ordered the Perlick 4-inch long stainless steel shank (Part number 63799-4)and the Perlick 575SS fit perfectly. These shanks are not cheap, but no issues whatsoever fitting the Perlick faucets.Irod