Vent-matic Vs Perlick

[Fingerlickin_B]

Anyone used a Vent-Matic and Perlick copy side-by-side?

Id be interested in the performance difference (if any) between the two.

If anyone in Canberra has a Vent-Matic, I've now got a Perlick unit, so we could hook both up on one of our sytems to do such a test

Oh, and on a side note, the Vent-Matics are backnow being made by Shirron who purchased the Patent after Vent-Matic went broke (but Im sure you already knew that ).

PZ.

 

[razz]

Plenty of discussion on the US forums some time ago Fingerlickin_B.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Thanks Razz, I found this on the BrewBoard:

Vent-Matic Ultraflow Faucet vs Perlick Comparison FAQ
Contributed by gpflepsen

A few weeks ago, after watching a neighbor snap a valve stem on his stuck faucet, I succumbed to the desire for a seat forward faucet. I decided upon the Perlick, mostly in consideration of the price. I had read many comparisons of Perlick and Vent-Matic with the consensus being they were equal faucets able to do the job of dispensing beer negating the stuck faucet syndrome.

I found out Perlick and Vent-Matic are not equal and do not perform the same. My first symptom was a foamy pour immediately upon replacing my old rear seal with a Perlick. Satisfaction was not had. Some additional research lead to finding others who suddenly discovered a foamy pour with the Perlick.

I decided to call Vent-Matic to explore their faucets. I ordered two of the new design Ultraflow faucets. This was an eye-opening experience.

Initial Impressions
Perlick: I noticed a seemingly well-made faucet. I did note its difficulty in mating with the splines of my shacks. Out of 5 Perlick faucets on my two shanks, two wobbled, two were very tight and one was impossible to mount. The splines in the Perlick are cast leaving a rough and somewhat unrefined finish.
Vent-Matic: Also appears to be a well made faucet. The splines are clean and sharp. These fall all the way onto my shanks. The nozzle is a larger O.D. and I.D. The exterior is almost mirror finished with laser etched printing. Gone are the embossed Vent-Matic letters. Present is a tab to facilitate a faucet lock.

Here are the faucets side by side.


Faucet Nozzles
The nozzles are noticeably different. The Perlick is markedly smaller than the Vent-Matic’s. I measured the Perlicks at 3/8” or about 9.5 mm. The standard Ultraflow faucet is about 11 mm. I also ordered an additional larger nozzle, 12.5 mm.


Inlets/Splines
This is looking into the base of the faucets. Notice the larger diameter bore in the Ultraflow and the larger shuttle valve. Note the step between the Perlick’s splines and bore. Also note how defined the splines are in the Vent-Matic. They are fully machined resulting in greater accuracy than the Perlick’s splines.


Interior Finish
I took both faucets apart directing my attention to the finish of the interior passages.

Perlick: Note the crazing on the bore’s passageway and valve seal area.


Vent-Matic: Here, note the splines and bore surface.


Outlet
Here are views inside the outlet, where the nozzle screws into the faucet.

Perlick: Note the finish of the interior passageway. The seal ring resides in a machined groove.


Vent-Matic: I saw smoother machining inside. The seal ring is on the nozzle.


Shuttle Valves
The relative size of the shuttles is apparent. The seal for the Perlick is an o-ring of circular cross section. The seal ring for the Vent-Matic is of a triangular cross section. The Perlick seal diameter is smaller than the Vent-Matic’s. The larger sealed area will give the Vent-Matic a more positive and tighter seal. The force of the pressurized liquid behind the valve pushes more on the Vent-Matic seal.


Valve Stems
The stems seem to be very similar in design. They both seem to throw the shuttle a similar distance. The Perlick stem is indexed to the shuttle and the Vent-Matic’s stem is not. This means the handle can spin and is not held to a certain orientation. Vent-Matic offers a stem that will not rotate in the faucet. I don’t use handles so I can’t judge the merits of this difference.

The seal rings in the Perlick are not typical o-rings. The seal in the body of the faucet is a double ridge type and would require a pick to remove. The seal above the ball joint is a flat rubber washer.

The seals in the Vent-Matic appear to be ordinary o-rings, though it is my understanding they are made of a low wear long life material. They fall out of the faucet and are not retained in any grooves.


Conclusion
To put it shortly, the Perlicks I received foamed and the Vent-Matic didn't. I was pouring a hefe at 15 psi.

The reasons:

1) The Perlick's nozzle is too small for pouring highly carbonating beers. The beer comes out with too high a velocity. The velocity into the glass causes foam. Lower CO2 ales (like British styles) can be poured like this because of their lesser volatility (CO2 wanting to come out of solution). It actually takes a rougher pour to get these beers to do a head.

2) Valve body turbulence. I can take both the Perlick and the Ventmatic and blow through them. You can tell by the sound and feel the Perlick is more turbulent.

It comes down to having a system tuned for good performance. I think an Ultraflow faucet is important because it gives you the best in construction and the ability to interchange nozzles based of beer types being poured. This is only a start, enough restriction needs to be between the keg and faucet to give pour rates that will result in little to no foaming. I'm sure the Perlicks can handle a hefe, but the amount of restriction to make them work will have to be more than a Vent-Matic.

Oh well, I'll test the Perlick tonight (arrived today) and see what happens...surely it'll still be better than some

PZ.

 

[razz]

I just spent a little time reading B3's forum, the arguments are long and varied. I did gather that Perlick are a better product now than they were some time ago. Let's know how it pours, especially a wheat. I'm thinking about a new tap myself !

 

[Phrak]

I've just (Yesterday!) received 2x Perlick taps/faucets/whatever-you-want-to-call-them from the states. They will be installed into a brand-new kegerator system (my first!) by this Saturday. They had better be ready, or else there will be no beer for my daughter's 1st birthday party! h34r:

I chose the Perlick's because I wanted the forward-sealing design, but I was on a bit of a budget. There are also so many reported problems with the supply of vent-matics in the US. In fact, ventmatic are allegedly in receivership, and a company called Shirron are now manufacturing and selling the vent-matic faucets.

After this weekend, I'll offer the same as Fingerlickin_B - I'm happy if anyone in Sydney wants to drop around and have a look at my Perlicks.

If all all goes to plan, I should also hopefully have them hooked up to Aussie snaplok adapters as well. I'll reply back here with installation pics once the system is up and running.

All going well, I will order at least 2 more units for my brother-in-law within the next month.

Regards,
Tim

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Well Tim, you need not fear, as these are GREAT! :beerbang:

Obviously there have been some changes made since the article/thread quoted above was written.

The internal machining is exceptionally smooth for a start (unlike the one pictured in the BB version of above), and the new ones even look better:



The pour is excellent...even with an overcarbed keg that made one of my DA taps with the same amount of line go burserk & pour half a glass of froth, I can now get a good beer in the glass

Happy? Hell yes!

If you get the new version I can guarantee you'll be very happy too

PZ.

 

[Phrak]

Yep, I have the same tap as you've got pictured there. I didn't realise there were two different versions until I received mine and they were significantly different to the brewboard comparison photos.

Quick question for you - you know those snaplok adapters I bought off you? From your picture, it looks like I need another part between the back of the snaplok and the splined shank head. I've highlighted it here.


What part is this mate?

For now, I've attached the taps directly to the shank, and it seems to hold a seal. Again, not enough time to take pics unfortunately, but will do so after the party

Tim

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Hey Tim,

Sorry, but what you have drawn around doesn't help me, as it seems like you've outlined half the snaplok adaptor (like I sold you) and part of the plastic seat thingo that resides in the font (the name escapes me right now).

I flogged this picture from Craftbrewer:



If you can indicate using it I'd probably have a better idea of what you mean

PZ.

 

[redbeard]

I have some vent-matics from the bulk buy & am very happy with them. Im kinda surprised that they are in receivership considering what a good product they have. Perhaps my next tap will have be one of those Octoberfest ones that fill a 1l stein in 10secs !?!

Perhaps a tap 'shootoff' is called for between the isb & hbg for ummm xmas ? ;-)

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Hey Tim,

I noticed you used the term "splined shank" and have now realised something.

Do you mean a fridge door-mounting shank?

If so, yeah the tap connects directly to them and you don't need the snaplok adaptors, as they are for fonts.

If this is correct and you have unnecessarily purchased the adaptors I'd be happy to buy them back from you for the same price you paid me for them :beer:

PZ.

 

[barls]

has anyone tried the new vent-matics can they comment on them. im looking to get at least one to replace the brumbies i currently have or would i be better off getting the perlicks

 

[apocrine]

has anyone tried the new vent-matics can they comment on them. im looking to get at least one to replace the brumbies i currently have or would i be better off getting the perlicks

I have 2 Ventmatic Ultraflow taps and last week received 2 Shirron taps from the U.S and there isnt any noticeable difference other than the ventmatics have ultraflow written on the side. They all pour an excellent beer. Very happy with mine. :beerbang:

 

[razz]

Morning apocrine, may I ask where in the US you purchased your taps?

 

[apocrine]

Morning apocrine, may I ask where in the US you purchased your taps?

No problem Razz Northern Brewer. Very quick, 6 days from order to delivered. You would need to order collars and shanks from somewhere like Craftbrewer (no affiliation). :beer:

 

[razz]

Thanks man, I've ordered from them before, they are very reliable.

 

[barls]

has anyone tried the new vent-matics can they comment on them. im looking to get at least one to replace the brumbies i currently have or would i be better off getting the perlicks

I have 2 Ventmatic Ultraflow taps and last week received 2 Shirron taps from the U.S and there isnt any noticeable difference other than the ventmatics have ultraflow written on the side. They all pour an excellent beer. Very happy with mine. :beerbang:

cheers that exactly what i wanted to hear just out of interest how much did it cost to get the 2 taps including postage

 

[apocrine]

has anyone tried the new vent-matics can they comment on them. im looking to get at least one to replace the brumbies i currently have or would i be better off getting the perlicks

I have 2 Ventmatic Ultraflow taps and last week received 2 Shirron taps from the U.S and there isnt any noticeable difference other than the ventmatics have ultraflow written on the side. They all pour an excellent beer. Very happy with mine. :beerbang:

cheers that exactly what i wanted to hear just out of interest how much did it cost to get the 2 taps including postage

2 taps $85.30 with $30.80 in shipping .....thats US Dollars
Cheers

 

[Phrak]

I have some vent-matics from the bulk buy & am very happy with them. Im kinda surprised that they are in receivership considering what a good product they have. Perhaps my next tap will have be one of those Octoberfest ones that fill a 1l stein in 10secs !?!

Perhaps a tap 'shootoff' is called for between the isb & hbg for ummm xmas ? ;-)

Yeah, the story I've read is that it was less to do with the quality of the product (which everyone agreed was fine), but more to do with supply issues.

There's a huge 20-or-so page thread on www.brewboard.com about the whole thing if you're interested.

Happy to have a intra-Sydney Brewers group tap shoot-off! Would be good see the differnce

Tim.

 

[Phrak]

Hey Tim,

I noticed you used the term "splined shank" and have now realised something.

Do you mean a fridge door-mounting shank?

If so, yeah the tap connects directly to them and you don't need the snaplok adaptors, as they are for fonts.

If this is correct and you have unnecessarily purchased the adaptors I'd be happy to buy them back from you for the same price you paid me for them :beer:

PZ.

Hey FLB, yep, I'm trying to attach them to a fridge door shank, but as we both now know, there's probably something missing in the middle. Until I can figure out the part, I've got the system up and running with the taps attached directly to the shank.

Thanks for the offer to buy them back, but I'll keep plugging away to get them working :beer:

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Nah Tim, what I am saying that that you have them connected correctly (like the Vent-Matic pic in the first post of this thread).

Just leave them like that and they'll work great :super:

PZ.