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Author Topic: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?  (Read 2393 times)

Offline Saccharomyces

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Believe it or not, I have always used picnic taps on my kegs.  They are easy to clean, and they allow me to make the most of the limited storage space in my brewing refrigerator, which is Sanyo 9.5 cu. ft. non-frost free refrigerator. I purchased the Sanyo new in late nineties to replace an ancient non-frost-free refrigerator that I had been using as a dedicated brewing refrigerator since 1993.  That refrigerator was ridiculously expensive to operate.

With that said, I am in the process of building a portable 2 x 3-gallon keg cool box that intend to bring to HomebrewCon.  I was thinking about purchasing a pair of chrome non-name brand faucets and shanks until I started to hear horror stories about rear-sealing faucets sticking.  The price delta between a pair of rear-sealing chrome non-name brand faucets and shanks and a pair of Perlick 630SS faucets complete with stainless steel nipple shanks was a little over $60.00.  This price delta set off my penny wise, pound-foolish alarm (a.k.a. my buy once, cry once alarm).  Sixty dollars is a drop in the bucket if I have to worry about staying on top of faucets during HomebrewCon.  Does anyone consider Perlick 630SS faucets to be extreme overkill on a cooler-based portable cold box?  The 630SS combo is currently priced so attractively that it does not make sense to go with 630PC faucets and chromed brass shanks.

Offline tommymorris

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2016, 05:24:42 pm »
Believe it or not, I have always used picnic taps on my kegs.  They are easy to clean, and they allow me to make the most of the limited storage space in my brewing refrigerator, which is Sanyo 9.5 cu. ft. non-frost free refrigerator. I purchased the Sanyo new in late nineties to replace an ancient non-frost-free refrigerator that I had been using as a dedicated brewing refrigerator since 1993.  That refrigerator was ridiculously expensive to operate.

With that said, I am in the process of building a portable 2 x 3-gallon keg cool box that intend to bring to HomebrewCon.  I was thinking about purchasing a pair of chrome non-name brand faucets and shanks until I started to hear horror stories about rear-sealing faucets sticking.  The price delta between a pair of rear-sealing chrome non-name brand faucets and shanks and a pair of Perlick 630SS faucets complete with stainless steel nipple shanks was a little over $60.00.  This price delta set off my penny wise, pound-foolish alarm (a.k.a. my buy once, cry once alarm).  Sixty dollars is a drop in the bucket if I have to worry about staying on top of faucets during HomebrewCon.  Does anyone consider Perlick 630SS faucets to be extreme overkill on a cooler-based portable cold box?  The 630SS combo is currently priced so attractively that it does not make sense to go with 630PC faucets and chromed brass shanks.
I've seen Perlicks on draft boxes before. There's nothing wrong with spending a few extra dollars to have something nice. I skipped the rear sealing faucets and went straight Perlick's. I think they look awesome and have no regrets.

Offline Stevie

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Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2016, 05:26:31 pm »
I am planning a similar project for camping and I feel that they are overkill. Sticking should not be a problem when used over short periods. Tens of thousands of bars use the plain rear sealing faucets without issue.

What are you planning to do to water proof it? I was thinking heavy rubber sealed with contact cement as I don't have fiberglass skills. I was going to just go with a cooler, but the coolers that are large enough are huge.

I feel that stainless is certainly worth the upgrade.

Look into Intertap faucets. Stainless can be found for less than perlick and they use a design said to be superior. I just installed three flow control faucets and have been happy so far. Still need to put together a write up.

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2016, 05:29:40 pm »
Mark, I used to consider the Perlicks overkill - until I got so sick of sticky, shi##y chrome ones that I tossed them and bought Perlicks (I have 630SS too). So, overkill on a jockey box? Maybe, maybe not, but you could 'multipurpose' them on a future kegerator at some point, too.
Jon H.

Offline smkranz

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2016, 06:10:13 pm »
For use exclusively on a jockey box, I would go with the most basic inexpensive chrome faucets.  You'll be serving behind a table and guests walking up will see the back of the jockey box and won't even see whatever shiny hardware you are pouring from.  There won't be any sticking issues for the short term use of the conference, or a camping trip, group brewing event, etc. 

But if there's a chance you might go the kegging route at home, and you could deploy these faucets for every day use, it would be worth spending the extra $$ for stainless front-sealing faucets.
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Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2016, 06:44:21 pm »
Mark, I used to consider the Perlicks overkill - until I got so sick of sticky, shi##y chrome ones that I tossed them and bought Perlicks (I have 630SS too). So, overkill on a jockey box? Maybe, maybe not, but you could 'multipurpose' them on a future kegerator at some point, too.

There is no arguing that a 630SS Perlick faucet is overkill on a portable cool box, but so is a 50' stainless steel coil per tap in a jockey box.  I have purchased enough "value" gear to know that I will eventually buy what I wanted in the first place.  It was difficult to justify spending $30.00 on a chromed brass non-name brand faucet and chromed brass shank when a Perlick 630SS faucet and stainless steel shank could be had for less than $60.00.  I have witnessed what water with a pH of 6.0 can do to chromed brass fixtures.  Beer has a pH in the 4.0 to 4.2 range.


Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2016, 07:27:09 pm »
By the way, while I cannot say that I will never own a dedicated kegerator, the probability of that occurring in the near future is slim. Sure, I miss how beautifully a well-made faucet pours, but I like how easy my setup is to maintain.  Plus, it allows me to house kegs, a yeast bank, blank media, propagation media, crops, and hops in the same refrigerator. 



One of the Rubbermaid containers on the shelf holds blank media while the other holds inoculated slants.  I store  autoclaved liquid media in 100ml media bottles in plastic bags on the top shelf. I store crops on the bottom shelf.  Hops are stored in the non-frost-free freezer compartment. 

I installed a 1/4" MFL bulkhead through the sidewall, attached a 1/4" FFL to 19/32-18 fitting, and then attached a ball lock gas post. 

[/URL]

A 1/4" FFL to 1/4" barb fitting is attached to the other side of the bulkhead



With that said, Tommy's setup has me thinking.  He is using Perlick 650SS flow-control faucets with adapters that allow the faucets to be attached directly to the liquid disconnects.   I use relatively short picnic faucet setups, which result in excessive foaming if my kegs have too much top pressure.  The setup works for me because I am not a fan of gassy ale.  However, I feel another round of 100% lager 100% of the time coming on. There was a period when almost everything I brewed was a lager.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2016, 11:39:51 pm by Saccharomyces »

Offline tommymorris

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2016, 07:43:25 pm »
By the way, while I cannot say that I will never own a dedicated kegerator, the probability of that occurring in the near future is slim. Sure, I miss how beautifully a well-made faucet pours, but I like how easy my setup is to maintain.  Plus, it allows me to house kegs, yeast bank, blank media, propagation media, crops, and hops in the same refrigerator. 



One of the Rubbermaid containers on the shelf holds blank media while the other holds inoculated slants.  I store  autoclaved liquid media in 100ml media bottles in plastic bags on the top shelf. I store crops on the bottom shelf.  Hops are stored in the non-frost-free freezer compartment. 

I installed a 1/4" MFL bulkhead through the sidewall, attached an 1/4" FFL to 19/32-18 fitting, and then attached a ball lock gas post. 

[/URL]

A 1/4" FFL to 1/4" barb fitting is attached to the other of the bulkhead



With that said, Tommy's setup has me thinking.  He is using Perlick 650SS flow-control faucets with adapters that allow the faucets to be attached directly to the liquid disconnects.   I use relatively short picnic faucet setups, which result in excessive foaming if my kegs have too much top pressure.  The setup works for me because I not a fan of gassy ale.  However, I feel another round of 100% lager 100% of the time coming on. There was a period when almost everything I brewed was a lager.
What's that sticker on your kegs? Just too blurry to make it out when I zoom in. I need to know ;)

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2016, 11:35:31 pm »
What's that sticker on your kegs? Just too blurry to make it out when I zoom in. I need to know ;)

The stickers are neckers and labels that one of my children had Grog Tag print for me as present a couple of years ago.  They say "Hair Of The Dog Brewery."  I had been away from brewing long enough that one of my children decided that my home brewery needed a new name.  She chose that name because we have two golden retrievers.  My previous brewery was named after a nickname that my wife gave to the dogs that I owned when we met.  Those dogs were a non-shedding breed.  I have gone back to using my old home brewery name. 

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2016, 01:18:25 pm »
Get the Perlick's.  If you don't do it now, you won't be happy and you'll do it in a couple months.  At that point, you'll have sunk $90 into each of them since you'll have some crappy faucets you'll never use.

I bought Perlick's for my fridge, haven't installed them yet.

My outdoor rolling bar has regular faucets, which I'll leave in place.  It'll only get used a couple times a year for parties, so they're fine for my use.  And they were free.  If I bought them, I would have gone with Perlick's.
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Offline tommymorris

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2016, 02:17:05 pm »
What's that sticker on your kegs? Just too blurry to make it out when I zoom in. I need to know ;)

The stickers are neckers and labels that one of my children had Grog Tag print for me as present a couple of years ago.  They say "Hair Of The Dog Brewery."  I had been away from brewing long enough that one of my children decided that my home brewery needed a new name.  She chose that name because we have two golden retrievers.  My previous brewery was named after a nickname that my wife gave to the dogs that I owned when we met.  Those dogs were a non-shedding breed.  I have gone back to using my old home brewery name.
I hope you get to drink some beer with your kids. Mine are quite old enough yet, but, I am looking forward to when they are.

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Perlick 630SS faucets on a cooler-based portable cool box?
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2016, 02:19:43 pm »
I agree with the others.  Get the Perlick's. 

I put the chrome type on my keg fridge at first and later bought the ones I should have.  It doesn't take very long for the cheaper kind to stick so bad you will swear the lever will break off before they open.  Not worth the hassle IMHO.

Paul
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