Perlick Flow Control Taps - All Foam Wtf?

[Diesel80]

I just had foaming issues with my Perlicks starting on the weekend.
Yet to diagnose.

I suspect the cheap chinese shanks may be to blame. A gnarley looking floaty passed through into the beer the other day.
Not sure of the longevity on these shanks with poor maintenance. Suspect some form of corrosion is present.

New ones are on the way already so will see what happens when I pull everything apart and reinstall.

Hopefully i have better luck when all the maintenance is complete.

Cheers,
D80

 

[woodwormm]

I would suggest the first pour foam is the temperature of the tap...

My perlicks always foam the first bit (half a butcher glass) but i put that down to the heat of the tap, can't ignore simple physics on this one. even with your cooling fan i'd suggest you're cooling the beer in the lines inside the font a bit but the actual metal of the taps is absorbing heat from the surroundings...

but sounds like you're back to a good spot.

regarding the flow control... i had mine pointing to the fridge but have now swung them right around to face out and they seem a little better... but am i correct in thinking no flow is fully forward, full flow is at 90 degrees (ie upright) and then they decrease flow again towards the end of movement? mine seem to operate over a 180 degree movement with 0 degrees = zero flow, 90 degrees = full flow and 180 degrees = zero flow again. Is this normal?

 

[woodwormm]

oh and those font nuts... yep I hear ya! part of the reason i've got a collar now!

 

[Spiesy]

Changing the shanks on one of those 3-tap fonts is, well, lots of four letter words. The spanner provided with it, for undoing the nuts inside the tower for the old shanks, is a RING SPANNER. Think about that for a second.
I actually bought a new faucet/shank spanner with the shanks, which is a tad better, but the old nuts were too big for this.
I eventually got the new ones screwed in tight using a combination of the new spanner and a spanner from my toolbox, a fraction of a turn at a time with each one, alternating between fractions...
Anyone who has done this before would know my pain, anyone who doesn't have one of these fonts is probably wondering what the hell I'm on about.

I only have the 2-tap model, but I found the easy way was to cut the lines below, put the line of the tap you want to loosen (or tighten) through the ring spanner, tip the font upside down and shake it until the spanner appears. Worked pretty easy, tbh.
N.B. when tightening, it's easier to have hose already on the shanks and clamped before tightening.

 

[mikec]

regarding the flow control... i had mine pointing to the fridge but have now swung them right around to face out and they seem a little better... but am i correct in thinking no flow is fully forward, full flow is at 90 degrees (ie upright) and then they decrease flow again towards the end of movement? mine seem to operate over a 180 degree movement with 0 degrees = zero flow, 90 degrees = full flow and 180 degrees = zero flow again. Is this normal?

I found that when the faucets are not connected to the shanks, I can move them 180 degrees like you describe. But once they're attached, they have no more than 90 degrees movement from off to full open. If you look side on from the right hand side, off is about 7-8 o'clock and full on is about 10 o'clock.

 

[Spiesy]

what's a faucet?

 

[krausenhaus]

Flow controllers face away from fridge.

Is there a reason for this? I've been using mine facing towards the fridge since I've got them. I turned it around the other day and didn't notice any difference from what I've been getting in the past.

A trick that Cocko told me, is for your first pour on a tap, do it at a trickle... just to chill the tap, then let it go as desired.

This is exactly what I've started doing as well, has stopped me impatiently ditching half a glass of foam every time the tap is warm.

 

[mikec]

what's a faucet?

American word for tap.
I think I've been using both, just to mess with ya!

 

[dicko]

Regarding the spanners, I have thought about replacing my shanks, (although at the moment they are still working fine with perlick non adjustables) and my thoughts were to cut the spanner at the ring end so that it has a section missing wide enough to fit over the beer line. This way I could replace the shanks without removing the font from the fridge.
Follow what I mean??

Cheers.

 

[Amber Fluid]

what's a faucet?

It's where the main bush fire is in Tassie atm. :blink:

 

[mikec]

Regarding the spanners, I have thought about replacing my shanks, (although at the moment they are still working fine with perlick non adjustables) and my thoughts were to cut the spanner at the ring end so that it has a section missing wide enough to fit over the beer line. This way I could replace the shanks without removing the font from the fridge.
Follow what I mean??

Cheers.

I thought about doing that too. But the el-cheapo original spanner is pretty thin, I think if you cut it, it will lose any integrity it had left.

 

[Amber Fluid]

regarding the flow control... i had mine pointing to the fridge but have now swung them right around to face out and they seem a little better... but am i correct in thinking no flow is fully forward, full flow is at 90 degrees (ie upright) and then they decrease flow again towards the end of movement? mine seem to operate over a 180 degree movement with 0 degrees = zero flow, 90 degrees = full flow and 180 degrees = zero flow again. Is this normal?

I have Cellis but if valid and if they are similar then the more I have the flow restrictor forward then the faster the flow. Pushing them back slows the flow to a trickle and complete stop.

I always have my first pour as a trickle and open them up as the tap cools down. This works well.

 

[Spiesy]

American word for tap.
I think I've been using both, just to mess with ya!

Sorry mate, I was just taking the piss

 

[Aces High]

SO, the big test! Pour beer. First few test pours were still rubbish! But the kegs had been out and warming up for a while so I left it until the next day and tried again.

Now, results are similar to what I'm used to. First pour from the tap coughs and splutters and I get half a glass of foam, after that all is good. There does't seem to be much difference between short lines and long.
It would seem that the CO2 in the tap and lines is coming out of solution perhaps? I am thinking that MAYBE I now need to increase the serving pressure a bit, to keep pressure on the liquid in the lines - would that be logical?
When I was having all the foaming issues I had turned the pressure right down. Over the last couple of days I've been increasing the pressure ever so slightly each day (now at about 12psi), and so far no ill-effects.

I bought the stainless shanks from america with my perlicks 545 . My first system was keg king and these new stainless shanks are just so much better quality in every way.

My 545's have never dripped and always do a perfect pour. My keg system is currently sitting in a 40+ degree tin shed and worked perfectly when i poured a beer yesterday.

I keep the flow controller almost fully closed for about half of the first pint then will have it fully open by the end of that beer. Any beers straight after that are with the flow control fully open.

Try pulling a full glass with the flow controller fully closed. If its still all foam then i reckon the problem isnt the tap.

I have the pressure set at 10psi and only have about 400mm of line between the keg and the tap.

 

[Batz]

So these other shanks giving grief are a Chinese knock-off?

 

[givemeamash]

Nick (or anyone else)can you pass on a bit of info on how you have fixed those taps on and the set-up. Are they glued to the timber or are they fixed at the back somehow? Are they constantly under pressure and dont drip??? Got a couple of those and never thought of using them as you have. Was going to order some perlick but may chop that after this thread.
Thnks heaps

 

[dicko]

Nick (or anyone else)can you pass on a bit of info on how you have fixed those taps on and the set-up. Are they glued to the timber or are they fixed at the back somehow? Are they constantly under pressure and dont drip??? Got a couple of those and never thought of using them as you have. Was going to order some perlick but may chop that after this thread.
Thnks heaps

I thought we were talking about flow control taps.
Mmmm, if you need to know about the above set up SEND a PM to the person who put this option onto this thread and keep this thread on topic or as close as we can.

Cheers

 

[dicko]

So these other shanks giving grief are a Chinese knock-off?

Not giving me any grief at the moment, nor in the last twelve months, but, I am ready for the drama when it comes. I've already cut my spanner. :lol:
The reason I cut it to do the job was because the shank nuts were loose on my Keg king when I took delivery.

Cheers

 

[jc64]

Movement on my taps, 45 degrees down is no flow, 45 degrees up is full open. When first tapping a new keg I shut the flow off than adjust for my perfect pour and leave. When the tap is first used for the day it of course is warm so it's a bit foamy, I simply pour a small sample and discard or slurp up, than it's back to what I wanted previously.

In regard to the question of why the flow control compensator faces forward. On the instructions for disassembly of the tap it is the way it is pictured, good enough for me, might make bugger all difference but at least I know it's not the wrong way.

http://www.perlick.com/pdf-files/67010-FC.pdf

 

[Spiesy]

Nick (or anyone else)can you pass on a bit of info on how you have fixed those taps on and the set-up. Are they glued to the timber or are they fixed at the back somehow? Are they constantly under pressure and dont drip??? Got a couple of those and never thought of using them as you have. Was going to order some perlick but may chop that after this thread.
Thnks heaps

The taps are fine. In fact, they are awesome. Just get some decent shanks, fit them correctly and pour appropriately.