Elbow shank upgrade - Steel vs Chrome vs Standard ?

[joshF]

Hey guys,
I'm looking (researching) into upgrading the elbow shanks in my font from the el cheapo's that came with it to something a little higher quality. I know Ross sells the chrome ones for $37 and Connorbreware appear to sell what appears to be brass ones for $22. I've read the chrome ones are a solid improvement over the ones that come with kegerators however after some googling, i also came across these two varieties (albeit from the states):

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Elbow-Shank-Assembly/dp/B004S528NU/ref=pd_sbs_k_1/184-0762910-5305920

http://www.amazon.com/Elbow-Shank-Assembly-Chrome-bore/dp/B004S5BA1Q/ref=pd_sbs_k_2

Is this a similar scenario to the whole Perlick Stainless vs Perlick Chrome debate whereby they each have differences but either way, they are both significantly better than standard shitty taps? In the same context, will upgrading my shanks really provide that much of a difference? I'm stoked with my 525SS setup but is it worth forking out the extra few bucks for the shanks? Not being a tightarse but for the cost of two decent shanks i could pretty much buy another Perlick so just want to get you guys input and thoughts on the whole shank thing.

If you guys could share your experiences/input that'd be much appreciated!!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Florian]

Can't tell you if it will be an improvement or not as i don't know the shanks you have, but if you decide to go through the trouble of upgrading I'd go full steam towards stainless steel.
Ross should be able to get those for you if you give him a call, he had some when i got my stuff.

Just be aware that, depending on your font, it can be a real PITA to replace the shanks, that's why I originally decided to stay with the chrome ones. Will upgrade mine if/when my chrome ones fail, but as I said, if you're already doing the work I'd spend the few bucks extra for SS and be done with it.

 

[joshF]

Thanks Florian,
My font is stainless but i'm almost certain the shanks are the cheap and nasty ones that come with kegerators. Last time i pulled apart the taps to give them a real solid clean i noticed the bore of the shanks was stained to buggery. At first i thought it was rust but checking with a spotlight it's just stains. Not sure if that bore surface area has any effect on the taste of my beer but the shanks themselves feel pretty shitty so wanted to know if upgrading to chrome/stainless was the way to go and offered any significant improvements over cheap ones.

I don't have any foaming issues and the pour from the perlicks is awesome but figure if there's improvement to be had, then i'm all ears!

cheers,
Josh

 

[GalBrew]

Stainless steel all the way. Upgraded my 4 taps and shanks recently from chrome to SS due to the chrome wearing somewhat (not a big fan of that). h34r: