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Author Topic: Flow Control Faucets  (Read 3185 times)

Offline BrodyR

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Flow Control Faucets
« on: May 18, 2015, 01:52:39 pm »
Does anyone have any experience with flow control faucets? I was at a brewpub last night and they caught my eye - seems like the benefits are better/easier pours and if I'm not mistaken you could leave the PSI up high to carbonate and not pour all foam.

Offline AmandaK

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Offline BrodyR

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2015, 02:49:47 pm »
Thanks - so it sounds like a Perlick 650SS flow control should be worth my while?

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2015, 09:27:36 am »
1) Here: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=21869.0
2) Much verbage here: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=18347.msg286892#msg286892
3) And here: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=22461

Amanda, any issue with leaks on the flow control Perlicks ?  I'd read some accounts to that effect, but I didn't know how prevalent it really is. My standard Perlicks (630SS) are flawless. But I am drooling over the flexibility with the flow control.
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Offline AmandaK

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2015, 09:28:42 am »
Had a leak in 1 of the 5. Cleaned the o rings and it doesn't leak anymore.

Otherwise flawless.
Amanda Burkemper
KC Bier Meisters Lifetime Member - KCBM 3x AHA Club of the Year!!
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2015, 09:29:58 am »
Had a leak in 1 of the 5. Cleaned the o rings and it doesn't leak anymore.

Otherwise flawless.

Cool, thanks !
Jon H.

Offline hollick

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2015, 08:09:54 am »
I used one of these in a portable system (2.5 gallon keg, 20oz CO2 tank, Igloo cooler) and it works perfectly.  You can take it right out of the trunk after a long drive and get a perfect pour. The beer line is less than a foot long, too.

Offline a10t2

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2015, 02:20:14 pm »
I've probably posted in at least one of the threads that Amanda linked, but I worked at a brewery that put them in initially and ended up switching to the regular Perlicks. It just took too much fiddling around to get the side gaskets properly sealed every time we broke down the faucets for cleaning. The losses weren't really significant because they just dripped, but the time and sheer fact that it looked so unprofessional were deal-breakers. This was a little over a year ago, so it's possible the design has been improved.
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Offline bassetman

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2015, 10:03:36 pm »
Love mine. Had them apart several times , no leaks at all. Just perfect pours.
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Offline graymoment

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2015, 08:05:52 pm »
2 of my 5 taps are the Perlick 650SS flow control faucets. I regret having purchased them because they do not work well for the purposes that I purchased them for. I like to carbonate some beers (saison, berliner weisse) up to 3.5-4.0 volumes, and wanted to find a tap that would let me pour those beer without creating very much foam. Unfortunately, they do not work very well. The only way to get the aforementioned beers to pour without creating 90% foam is to almost fully restrict the line to a trickle. While I can [mostly] deal with the patience of a 3 minute pour, the beer I end up with is not any more carbonated than if I filled a pitcher full of 90% foam/10% beer and let the foam dissipate. It seems that there is too much turbulence in the system or something, and I'm basically letting the foam dissipate as it trickles to the bottom the glass. These faucets do not come close to performing like the Rototap flow control faucets that good beer bars use. Even though the Rototap faucets are considerably more expensive, I will switch to those at some point so that I can properly pour highly carbonated beers.

Offline AmandaK

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Re: Flow Control Faucets
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2015, 07:14:36 am »
2 of my 5 taps are the Perlick 650SS flow control faucets. I regret having purchased them because they do not work well for the purposes that I purchased them for. I like to carbonate some beers (saison, berliner weisse) up to 3.5-4.0 volumes, and wanted to find a tap that would let me pour those beer without creating very much foam. Unfortunately, they do not work very well. The only way to get the aforementioned beers to pour without creating 90% foam is to almost fully restrict the line to a trickle. While I can [mostly] deal with the patience of a 3 minute pour, the beer I end up with is not any more carbonated than if I filled a pitcher full of 90% foam/10% beer and let the foam dissipate. It seems that there is too much turbulence in the system or something, and I'm basically letting the foam dissipate as it trickles to the bottom the glass. These faucets do not come close to performing like the Rototap flow control faucets that good beer bars use. Even though the Rototap faucets are considerably more expensive, I will switch to those at some point so that I can properly pour highly carbonated beers.

This sounds like a line balancing issue rather than a tap related issue. We pour at 15psi for normal beers and 25 psi for the Belgians and do not have issues with the 650SS. Can you pour a lower carbonated beer out of these taps perfectly? Or is it also foaming then too?

I've probably posted in at least one of the threads that Amanda linked, but I worked at a brewery that put them in initially and ended up switching to the regular Perlicks. It just took too much fiddling around to get the side gaskets properly sealed every time we broke down the faucets for cleaning. The losses weren't really significant because they just dripped, but the time and sheer fact that it looked so unprofessional were deal-breakers. This was a little over a year ago, so it's possible the design has been improved.

That may be from the old 575s. The new version (with the print "P", not the scrolled "P" on the front) is quite nice and we haven't had
Amanda Burkemper
KC Bier Meisters Lifetime Member - KCBM 3x AHA Club of the Year!!
BJCP Assistant (to the) Midwest Rep
BJCP Grand Master/Mead/Cider


Our Homebrewed Wedding, AHA Article