Pour Too Slow On Dorado (celli Knock Off) Taps

[n4077113]

Need some trouble shooting ideas.....

Recently built my converted chest freezer kegerator using dorado brand celli knock offs from pinnacle and am pretty happy with it for the economy effort .

Problem is, the pour is too slow, even at maximum flow restrictor setting. The flow is maybe half of what I was hoping for.

• force carb'd at 13psi for ten days and am happy with the carb level
• used shortest amount of beer line possible between keg and tap
• Have pulled the taps apart a few times and methodically fiddled with a few of the adjustable fittings with no improvement. same principals as the celli's I believe. But I don't know what a few of the internal mechanisms really do.
• I poured some beer straight from the beer out line (!) which came out gushing quickly as expected, leading me to believe it is the tap which is hindering the flow.
• I don't believe I should really need to increase the serving pressure anymore to get higher flow.
• One of the taps flows significantly faster than the other three.
• Am not looking for a "you get what you pay for" reply, but thanks anyway.

Any ideas guys?
Cheers

 

[crundle]

The serving pressure isn't that high really, depending on the temperature of your kegerator, so it might pay to look at playing with one keg only to increase the pressure in stages to see if that can fix the problem in one tap. If it works, then adjust the rest to match.

The tap should be the restriction to flow with that type of tap, but if one is running better than the rest, then perhaps there is something you have missed in the internal setup that is different in the taps you have.

Perhaps some pictures to help show the internals might lead to a better answer, as I don't have these particular taps.

What type/internal diameter beer line are you running?

cheers,

Crundle

 

[Polar Beer]

Oldmate

I have same taps and same issues. Have 3 taps on. 2 for beer and 1 for soda water. The soda water gushes out while the other two are at about half pace. No idea why. I've learned to live with it.

Cheers
Polar

 

[devo]

I've not had any problem with my celi knock off. I find it performs just as well as my other original celi!

One thing that caught my attention is that you state you have your beer line at the shortest possible length. How short is short? I have beer lines at least 2 plus meters in length which can be considered over kill by some but I've found it works best for me after a trial and error period.

Also you do tend to need to pull apart and clean out the celi's more often than the standard tap. They do tend to gunk up.

 

[Screwtop]

Did you get the correct tap mount with your tap, mine turned up with the regular type, had to get them to send the right one (tapered inside to match the regulator).

Screwy

 

[n4077113]

Its good to know some other people are experiencing some problems and that some are working well. I get the feeling there must be some kind of internal alignment that I might be missing or an adjustment that can be done to fix my problem.

The taps originally came with a elbow barb to suit large 8mm id beer line which I replaced with some john guest fittings so I could use regular beer line and have the line coming out straight. This seems to work well. I thought perhaps that these taps were designed for a large diameter beer line, maybe this is the problem. Any comments? To the guys that replied to this post already, are you using the large diameter beerline (8mm id) or regular beer line (5-6mm id)

The taps dismantle and look in every way very similar to celli's like shown here.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13978

The second part from the right has a very slim flat screwdriver face on its right hand side which can be adjusted, I originally thought this would fix the problem. The first part on the left also has a flathead screwdriver face which is apparently purely for dismantling.

Once again, any ideas?

 

[Ross]

We just recieved the complete range of chinese fonts & taps supplied with these fridges as we hoped to supply a cheaper range with our new kegmates arriving next month - The quality unfortunately is absolutely rubbish, & even though the pricing initially appeared very attractive, we are couriering the entire parcel back to China & will not be associated with such rubbish. Anyone local is welcome to drop in to see what we are talking about. Also the Chinese fonts don't even allow an upgrade to better taps, as the thread length is different.

For those with problems, I'd be returning for a replacement & keeping your fingers crossed.

Very dissappointed.

Ross
CraftBrewer

 

[n4077113]

We just recieved the complete range of chinese fonts & taps supplied with these fridges as we hoped to supply a cheaper range with our new kegmates arriving next month - The quality unfortunately is absolutely rubbish, & even though the pricing initially appeared very attractive, we are couriering the entire parcel back to China & will not be associated with such rubbish. Anyone local is welcome to drop in to see what we are talking about. Also the Chinese fonts don't even allow an upgrade to better taps, as the thread length is different.

For those with problems, I'd be returning for a replacement & keeping your fingers crossed.

Very dissappointed.

Ross
CraftBrewer

My kegerator under question is a converted chest freezer with a collar using dorado flow restrictor taps from pinnacle. even with the flow problem I still think they are so far great value for money at $50 a pop and would still buy them again. Straight through the recessed collar, too easy.

 

[Murcluf]

We just recieved the complete range of chinese fonts & taps supplied with these fridges as we hoped to supply a cheaper range with our new kegmates arriving next month - The quality unfortunately is absolutely rubbish, & even though the pricing initially appeared very attractive, we are couriering the entire parcel back to China & will not be associated with such rubbish. Anyone local is welcome to drop in to see what we are talking about. Also the Chinese fonts don't even allow an upgrade to better taps, as the thread length is different.

For those with problems, I'd be returning for a replacement & keeping your fingers crossed.

Very dissappointed.

Ross
CraftBrewer

Seriously what do you expect from anything that comes out of china, a country notorious for pumping cheap crap, ripping off someone else who has done the hard yards to create the product. When buying chinese made goods you should be nothing but very dissappointed.

 

[Georgedgerton]

Not going down the path you specifically asked not to - I do know when you need to watch your dosh you would have hoped for something a little better than the problems you have.

I don't think $50 is good value for money when:

1) The taps don't work as they should

2) There is no supplier / stockist / retailer etc to assist you with your problems

3) In the future will you be able to get service kits for them?

Your taps may well turn out to expensive in the tong run

Hopefully you will be able to sort your problems with a little help from others

 

[enoch]

The taps dismantle and look in every way very similar to celli's like shown here.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13978

The second part from the right has a very slim flat screwdriver face on its right hand side which can be adjusted, I originally thought this would fix the problem. The first part on the left also has a flathead screwdriver face which is apparently purely for dismantling.

Once again, any ideas?

I would look at the cone on the right and the cam that engages it. It needs to pull the cone toward the left to get max flow.

If you post the equivalent photo of your tap in bits it may help.

 

[shmick]

Mine poured a little slow to start with also.

I backed off the large slotted screw at the front a few turns to allow the seat to open up a bit wider and give a longer throw on the handle - just don't overdo it or it'll come out completely (messy).

Being the impatient type, I still wasn't happy so I just removed the restrictor cones and re-assembled.

Fixed

 

[n4077113]

some photo's. The macro setting is stuffed on my camera so a bit blurry on the close ups.

 

[clintmo]

i too have these dorado taps and find them so rubbish after owning a celli. I am going to get some of those perlicks from usa and hopefully fit them to the dorado font. I also found the dorado taps rust! if i havnt used a tap for a while my first few beers will taste like rust.

 

[Pennywise]

Another one here having the same problem with the Dorado taps (from Pinnacle). One tap is fine the other is phuked. After noticing the flow getting slower and slower I soaked the tap in PBW, and flushed it out, did nothing and the flow slowly got weaker and weaker untill it stopped completely. I the dismantled the whole tap (as above pics show) thinking maybe some crud stuck in there, nothing found.

 

[thanme]

I think these are the same as the taps I have??
I bought my kegerator from Pinnacle and they look the same.

To be honest, I've been running my kegerator for 2 years and haven't had any issues. Although mine don't have the black bit on the spouts??
The only problem I really had was the tap handles getting "sticky" when turning on/off, but a quick clean fixed that.

 

[n4077113]

After carefully looking at the internal components and how they work, I reckon;

• The tolerance on their machining is pretty shit house, (If that's the right terminology), as you might expect for $50. I noticed certain internal holes are in slightly different positions on each tap. This might account for why some taps are ok and others crap.
• The maximum flow angle of the little adjustable arm for each tap is random due to the random position the lever is drilled into the cam/thingy it turns (bottom left parts on close up pic).
• As I commented earlier I would still be very interested to know if people are getting better flows with 8mm id beer line (to suit the large elbow barbs they come with) rather than 5/6mm id line (like im running from john guest fittings). Please comment people on which diameter line you are getting fast/slow pours with.
• As schmick suggested, I can confirm that removing the cone turns it into a normal tap, with fast flow (very fast for my short length of line), that would need balancing with a suitable length of beer line. If your really not happy with the slow flow, try this option. Definatley defeats the purpose of having a flow restrictor though.....
• I didn't find backing off the front slot to improve the flow, It made mine foam and drip. Mine works best done up tight(ish).
• There is another internal slotted thingo you can adjust, its on the right side of the part in the centre on the close up pic. I found mine works best screwed tight(ish)

 

[potof4x]

Got the same drama with these taps. Purchased the Kegerator from Grays online ( first mistake ) and chased this problem for a while. After battling them for a while, I began using the kegerator as a fermenting fridge and let the situation lapse.

Used the original 8mm line at about 1m length, no good

Gonna cut my losses and save up for a set of cellis from Ross, anticipate they will be the last taps I buy!

 

[Pennywise]

You'll notice a big difference in the real Celi taps. I have 1 Celi & 1 dorado and am looking forward to the day the Dorado one shits itself, just so I can buy another Celi

 

[sanders4_]

I have two of these dorado taps that came with the keg-orator from pinnacle and haven't had any problems. Definitely no flow problems. I also have a Celi tap, which is by far the better tap, but the price tag helps with the quality.

The CO2 regulator I got with the keg-orator was threaded off centre making it almost impossible to tighten sufficiently onto the CO2 bottle. To Pinnacle's credit - I told them about it and they sent out a replacement VERY quickly - so I given them 11 out of 10 for customer service. The second regulator was fine.

So i would say whoever commented on the variable build quality and tolerances would be spot on suggesting this is the cause of some taps pouring slower regardless of adjustment. If it is a big concern for you - chase it up.