Author: Marshall Schott
If ever a controversial product I did review, Vent-Matic Ultra Flo faucets takes the cake. The entire story is pretty interesting, from the company history the owner shared with me to the impact my review had on where things ultimately ended up. It may seem odd that I’m spending the beginning of this review focusing on a different product, but I think my reason for doing so will eventually make sense.
I don’t get anything out of bashing others, even when I feel like they’ve wronged me in some way. It’s an odd philosophy, I get that, but it works for me. I only say this because my purpose in sharing this story isn’t to rail on anyone, but to provide a little insight to those curious about what happened to Vent-Matic after my review. I’m also willing to accept this serves as a confessional of sorts, as much of went down following my review of the aforementioned product left me feeling not very great. For those not interested in story time who would rather just read my thoughts on Intertap faucets, skip to the next section.
| The Backstory |
Back in August 2015, after being unable to fix leaks in 3 out of 7 of my Perlick 525SS faucets, I began searching for an alternative and with some digging eventually stumbled on the Vent-Matic website. It looked like shit, but the faucets seemed pretty rad, at least enough for me to ask them for more information. In that email, I dropped that I had a brewing website and was planning to publish a review of the faucets, assuming they were as good as they sounded. The following day, I received a response back from Brad, the owner, saying he would like to setup a phone call, so I shot him my number and a good time to chat. He called later that week and we talked… for over an hour.
Brad spent the better part of our conversation explaining to me in great detail Vent-Matic’s history, which for the sake of brevity and out of respect for Brad’s request to keep certain things private, I’ll not go into too much detail about. Basically, Brad was unhappy with the sticking that occurred in other forward sealing faucets and designed a non-sticking alternative. After a few business partner disagreements and compromises, it was decided that Vent-Matic would license their brand to other manufacturers under condition faucets marketed as Vent-Matic be made to the exact specs designated in the blueprints. This didn’t happen, poor quality Vent-Matic faucets began to hit the market, and Brad began the fight to regain control of the business.
It wasn’t too long after the legal dust had settled that Brad and I connected. With great confidence, Brad told me about everything that made the Vent-Matic Ultra Flo faucets great and offered to send me a few to review, admitting this would be the first time he’d done such a thing. Suffice to say he was right, the faucets were incredible, which made writing a glowing review very easy. On October 1, after a few weeks of regular use, the article was published and within hours Brad emailed me saying he was being “inundated with comments and sales.” Fantastic! Or so I thought.
Less than 2 weeks after the review went live, I was contacted by the first of many folks saying they either hadn’t received the product they ordered or what they did receive didn’t really resemble the product I reviewed. I reached out to Vent-Matic and they assured me all issues were being worked out, which in the end seemed to be the case. Everything seemed to be going good.
I believe it was March of last year that someone directed me to the website for Intertap faucets. Noticing how similar they looked to the Vent-Matics I’d been using, I emailed Brad for more information. Oddly, he never responded. Now, whether coincidence or not, I can’t be sure, but two curious things happened very soon after I sent that email:
- Vent-Matic lost all signs of life. No responses, no inventory, no website.
- The one place in the US carrying Intertap faucets pulled them from their catalog.
Not sure how to deal with the product review I’d published a few months earlier, and making zero progress with Vent-Matic, I decided to reach out to Keg King, the Australian company responsible for Intertap faucets. Their swift response confirmed my suspicion that Vent-Matic had contacted them and that they were in the process of “working out a patent agreement.” This was in April and by June I received word an agreement had been made, meaning Intertap faucets would again be available in the US. To this day, I’ve yet to hear from Brad about anything, multiple emails over the last year all met with silence. It’s as if Vent-Matic vanished into thin air, just… gone.
| Intertap Forward Sealing Faucet Review |
I was recently contacted by site sponsor MoreBeer asking if I’d be interested in reviewing a product they thought would interest homebrewers, a new competitor in the forward-sealing faucet market called Intertap. After a moment of hesitation, I eventually agreed, as I’d received a ton of questions about this product and felt an honest review might help make up for what I still view as a failure on my part.
The well packaged and surprisingly weighty faucets arrived the day after I was informed they shipped.
Removing the small plastic bag from each faucet revealed an attractively shiny stainless unit that had a very sturdy feel.
Like Vent-Matic and the defunct Perlick 425, Intertap faucets have a threaded nozzle that can easily be removed, though interestingly, it has a slightly larger diameter. I removed the nozzle to get a closer look at the faucet’s innards and was pleased to see smooth machining with no burrs.
I noticed the Intertap had a very familiar tapered shuttle design to stop the flow of beer rather than a ball at the bottom of the lever piece. This unique component is apparently responsible for significantly reducing the likelihood of leaks.
Looking into the faucet from the backside of the body, I could see the other side of the shuttle surrounded by more smooth and shiny stainless steel.
With things looking good so far, it was time to install the faucets on my keezer. After disconnecting and cleaning all of my beer lines, I swapped out the Vent-Matic faucets for the Intertap faucets, a task that took all of 15 minutes.
Now to see how these new and supposedly improved faucets work! I connected a keg, ran off a couple ounces of beer to fill the line, then poured myself an inaugural pint. The beer came out in a full stream, filling my glass gradually and leaving just the right amount of foam. I’m not sure if it’s because of the larger diameter nozzle, but it seems to me the Intertap faucet pours with slightly less foam than my Vent-Matics such that I can fill a 5 oz taster glass to the perfect level with ease.
Unlike other faucets I’d used in the past, pulling the lever on the Intertap feels like what I imagine shifting an Abrams tank is like. Incredibly solid with absolutely zero play. Happier than I expected at this point, I was excited to play with some of the accessories, a novelty in the world of beer faucets.
MoreBeer included 4 different Intertap faucet add-ons including a set of self-closing springs, a really simple yet clever solution to a problem any kegerator/keezer owner has experienced– the accidentally bumped lever that ends up pouring beer all over the place. The spring, which is placed between the faucet and the shank, purportedly provides enough pressure to close the lever on its own.
I installed the springs on a couple of my faucets and they worked fine, though one seemed to lose its bounce a bit after about 3 weeks of use. I never realized how awkward it is to have to hold a faucet open while filling a glass, it made the process feel almost like a task. I determined this accessory isn’t necessarily for me and removed the springs, though I can see how it might be helpful for those with rugrats or pets who can’t keep their paws off of things.
The rest of the accessories are threaded and attach to the body of the faucet, replacing the standard nozzle. I received a very familiar looking barbed growler filler, the diameter of which was notably larger than fillers for other faucets. The only downside I see to this is the 1/4″ ID tubing I use for the Brü Bottler won’t fit, but that’s a simple fix.
Another accessory I received is the ball lock spout that essentially converts the nozzle of the faucet to a ball lock disconnect. Clever as hell! While I use pin lock kegs, a single liquid ball lock disconnect would allow me to rack carbonated and clear beer to another closed keg directly from the tap without opening my keezer. I’m thinking this will make the perfect solution to the previously mentioned Brü Bottler issue, as 1/4″ ID tubing fits nicely on the barb of my disconnect. It was also pointed out to me that the ball lock spout can be used to attach counterflow bottlers such as the Blichmann Beer Gun, allowing for the filling of bottles and growlers without opening the kegerator/keezer. For CO2 flushing, an extra gas line can easily be ported to the exterior of the keezer.
I also received the stout spout, which is supposed to be used with a typical nitrogen setup… which I don’t have and, honestly, don’t have much interest in getting. So instead, I tried it out with what I do have.
Better than I expected, especially since this was done without nitrogen, though I’m sure it’d be more genuine if done “the right way.” Like regular nitro faucets, the stout spout is longer than the standard nozzle and has an integrated aerator disc that creates a lusciously creamy head with our without the use of beer gas (nitrogen). While I enjoyed the results I achieved using just CO2, which turned my Intertap into more of a creamer faucet, the stout spout is also designed for use with nitrogen gas to produce and even more authentic nitro pour.
I’m no expert, but I’ve had plenty of “real” nitro served beers and I’d be hard pressed to believe what I’ve poured using the stout spout were much different. Such a cool solution, particularly for those of us who don’t want to invest in a full-fledged nitrogen setup, though I trust it’ll work well for those seeking a more genuine nitro pour as well.
| THE VERDICT |
If it’s not already obvious, I’m beyond pleased with Intertap’s forward sealing stainless faucets, in fact I’m struggling to come up with anything negative about this product. I may not be the biggest fan of the self-closing spring concept, but that’s mostly because it doesn’t serve my purposes, and besides that, they’re a $2 add-on accessory. Intertap faucets have an incredibly solid feel when opening and closing the lever, providing a smooth full pour that falls beautifully into the glass while creating the perfect amount of creamy head. The stout faucet provides those who prefer it an incredibly simple method for achieving nitro pours that rival the genuineness of more expensive setups at a fraction of the cost. These faucets simply look, feel, and work great, to the point I’ll depart from my norm to say they’re actually better than other popular faucets on the market.
As if the quality of the units and unique accessories weren’t enough, Intertap faucets are also considerably less expensive than other options at just $32.99 for stainless and $18.99 
for chrome plated. Oh yes, and they are actually available and being sold by MoreBeer, one of the most reputable online homebrew retailers in the world!
One of the more common questions I get after reviewing a product is whether or not I’d recommend it for a family member or friend, my response almost always being in the affirmative. But I’ll be honest, if my twin brother, who happens to be currently planning his keezer build, doesn’t go with Intertap faucets, I’d be inclined to view him differently as a person.
If you have been using Intertap faucets and have some thoughts on them, we’d love to hear about it in the comments section below!
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87 thoughts on “Product Review | Intertap Forward Sealing Faucets”
I bought one of these from a UK supplier to test out last year when building my kegerator including the long SS shank. I was so pleased with them I soon bought two more for my system. Very good quality product and excellent pour with them.
If anyone in the UK is thinking of getting / using them with the long shank you can get a great John Guest fitting to fit the back of the shank to use with 3/8 OD Valpar beer line all from MaltMiller.
Excellent review and I couldn’t be happier than I am with my four Intertaps – though I went for the flow control model, which (for me) is a game changer. Like James above I’m in the UK, bought mine from the Malt Miller and use John Guest fittings with 3/8 line (though JG reducers are available if you prefer narrower diameter beer line). I have the growler spout, which I use via some 1/2″ tubing and a 3/8″ reducer to fill bottles from the tap in my adaptation of the Bru Bottler. I didn’t realise they make a ball lock spout! This is sheer genius, as it will allow me to use my keg jumper to fill PET bottles under counter pressure with a screw-on carbonation cap.
Looks like the promotion code is taking off 5% not $5…
Hmm. Let me check with 3B about that. Depending on how many you buy, that could be a better deal.
Do you still have a code? Is it still valid?
Unfortunately, the promo is over.
Interesting saga! So, Brad sold off his patent to Intertap? I suppose he didn’t have the money to pursue the licensees who didn’t uphold their agreement to use his specs? I feel for him in a way.
I honestly don’t know what happened except for that Brad (VM) and Intertap/Keg King worked out an agreement. Yeah, I sort of feel for him too.
Yeah, these taps are simply fantastic. I also got mine from the MaltMiller in the UK,
Got two to replace some old chrome plated generic ones that gave me nothing but hollow pours.
Now consistent steady stream pours with pretty much zero dripping after closing the tap and no more stuck handles if you don’t pull a drink every day.
Keep up the good work guys!
I had really high hopes for these because I loved the interchangeable spouts and attachments. I bought four of these for my basement bar. The problem I had with them was they tended to be difficult to pull the first pour after sitting for a day, the handle was sticking. Maybe I was unlucky, but I’ve had beer on 3 of the 4 and they were all much stickier to pull than what I’m used to (Perlick), Which I believe contradicts the point of a forward-sealing faucet. I am sending them back. Just replaced them with 630ss faucets, so much smoother. I’d be shocked if anyone really tried them side by side with perlick and said they were nearly as smooth of operation.
I did, however, order and keep 1 flow control intertap faucet with ball lock spout to use for bottling with my beer gun.
I intentionally let faucet sit for a full 6 days after pouring before pulling another pint, just to test sticking: none. The faucet worked great.
My 2 neighbors have Perlick 630 taps, we use each others’ keepers many times per week, they both plan to swap for Intertap soon.
I had a similar issue with mine, and it turned out the ring around the base of the tap handle was too tight. This adjusts how freely the tap handle moves, and once I loosened it a little, the tap action was very smooth. Hope I’m not stating the obvious if you tried this already.
I’m famous!
Fuckin’ A, you are.
I have 630PC’s, 525SS’s and one regular Intertap. I did hit the internals with 1000 grit sandpaper before putting it on line as many recommend and I did adjust orientation the shuttle as it will be more free moving oriented one way or another. Having said that, they are FAR superior in pour and seal to either of the Perlicks. I’m going to sell both of my 630’s.* The 525’s have issues that caused them to become discontinued (that an engineer like me can fix), but their diameter is bigger than the 630s are and pour better, but not as well as the Intertap. Side by side the 630 pour is terrible compared to the Intertap. IMHO.
The other thing I don’t like about either of the Perls is that I also serve wines and ciders. They can not (CANNOT!) handle pressure above about 18 PSI. (for like a champagne) They won’t leak when closed, but about one out of 5 pulls at that pressure and you won’t be able to shut the tap without pulling the liquid fitting off your keg. Not a big deal for most of you, but that made me completely lose confidence in the design. The Perls were a patent workaround for Brad (who apparently, according to the story on the street worked for Perlick previous) patent. Perlick when they came out with the 425 thought they would win (apparently) on a non compete, but those don’t hold up well to Patents. The ball in the Perls has an inconsistent seal on the O-ring, and causes some turbulence in the beer flow. The shuttle on the Intertaps are designed for laminar flow with the viscosity of beer…. Much better design.
Whether or not that patent should have been awarded in the first place is questionable IMHO as you can actually find prior art out there if you look. And that feud really screwed up the market for 15+ years too…
*Thanks Marshall. I just ordered two FC Stainless Intertaps to go with the one I smuggled in from China.
They were hocking Intertap straight from China on Aliexpress.com until about 3 months ago. Pricing was best id found. Not sure if they had excess stock or what. Decided I’d rather support my go to homebrew shop in Canada http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com
I’ve been telling people for a year that these taps are going to spell the death of Perlick but the attachment to a brand is strong.
Thanks for the back story! I’ve been trying to sort out what happened and this is as clear as the mud has been.
I bought two from Williams Brewing and then they didn’t have them for a long time – tracked down ontariobeerkegs and bought a bunch more – have never had any issue with sticking or leaking – love the growler attachment – pretty well replaced any use of a beergun – interested to try the ball lock attachment
This may be a dumb question, but do these work with normal everyday shanks? In other words, do you have to swap your existing shanks, or just replace the faucet?
Not stupid at all. Yes, they work fine with standard faucet shanks.
On my setup I used standard shanks
What setup did you use for the stout spout ? Normal Co2 or beer gas ? Which pressures ? I have intertaps at home for 6 months and am really pleased with them, and was looking at that stout attachment !
You do absolutely nothing special, which I know sounds crazy, but it’s what makes the stout spout so rad. Carbonate your beer to your preferred volume with only CO2, attach the stout spout, enjoy a creamy nitro version of your beer. It’s seriously just that easy.
haha, i was going to ask the same question – good answer….
i’ve got 3/4 installed (need more money before buying more (i havethe flow control ones)
i feel like the stout spout might be a good addition to the flow control on, slowingthe flow down, when pushing through the restrictor plate seems smart?
i bet your looking forward to nz in a month or two… i might not be able to make it now (waiting for surgery 🙁 )
After some more digging, I discovered the stout spout is indeed designed for use with nitrogen. But based on my experience without it, I won’t be making the switch 🙂
Does anyone know if the accessories for these faucets will work with Vent-Matic faucets?
They will not, the threads are different sizes.
Are the threads the same for the Venta-matic and the Intertap? I haver two Venta-Matics and would love to use the ball lock attachment.
Unfortunately, they are not.
One of my Ventamatic taps puts out a little bit of beer after I have used it. I close it and a few seconds later a little bit of beer comes out. Has anyone else had this happen with these taps.
Yes, both the original Vent-matics and the newer ones. Glad they are over a drip tray.
So Marshall, what are you going to do with your vent-matics?
I already sent them to Malcolm.
Stout spout? I think I see a potential xbmt. Normal pour vs. stout spout, either a stout or something hoppy. I’ve been seeing a lot more nitro pour hoppy beers lately, and while I understand the chemistry as to why perception should be very different, I’m wondering if a n=30 panel would result in a significant result at P<\= 0.05
IPA on nitro… not my thing at all. Blegh!
My hunch– it’d be almost impossible not to tell the 2 beers apart based on carb level alone, at least if comparing standard to stout spout. Now, perhaps stout spout vs. true nitro would be a little more difficult… but I don’t have the latter and have no interest in getting one :-/
Right. And I’m wondering what the potential effect of just the aerator might have without the nitro. Obviously nitro is heavy and inhibits expression of aromatics, but would the aerator itself (w/o beergas) have a potentially positive effect for hoppy beers?
Nitrogen is actually insoluble, so it doesn’t really do much for beer. It’s primary purpose when serving beers on nitro is to allow for high pressure pouring through a restrictor plate without risking overcarbonation.
I’m curious too, though 🙂
Agreed with Nitro. Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my proposal. I was thinking, in terms of isolating variables, just using the stout tip w/o beergas. I get that nitro is heavier, so it inhibits expression of aromatics, but as this is just aeration w/o beergas, would that be potentially beneficial. After all, if something hits your p-value, you end up following up with hedonic preference, so this could be a way for homebrewers to potentially improve the hoppiness of their IPAs. Just an idea; maybe not a great one.
I may not have been very clear about this, but the stout spout works without beer gas (nitrogen). That beer I poured was a normal beer carb’d with CO2 to ~2.6 vol being served at 13 psi.
No, you were perfectly clear. That’s one reason I thought it might work – normal co2 vs. co2 with a little aeration assistance.
And re: Nitro/beergas, my understanding was that while it’s insoluble, as the beer is pushed out, a layer of nitrogen still rests in the head of the beer, in addition to the fact that there’s less co2 leaving solution, carrying hop aromas with it. Could be wrong though.
After doing more research, it appears the stout spout is designed for use with nitrogen. Based on my experience without it, I plan to stick with using it as is.
nitrogen has a bit of a sweet flavor where CO2 is tart, also nitrogen doesn’t go into solution the same way CO2 does so the beer will have very low “fiz” and a much softer feel and taste. So I am with you. I have yet to have a beer on nitro, other than a stout, that I liked. IPA would probably suffer more than most. NEIPA might work, maybe?
I am kicking myself now for paying for the Perlick upgrade on the 3-tap kegerator I just bought last week. I had been looking at the Intertaps for a while knowing that I was planning on buying a kegerator soon, but hadn’t seen a review from a source I trusted (until now). I may still consider getting one with a stout faucet in the future, since that may meet my needs for the occasional British beer without having to go full nitro.
Bah!
Amazing saga! I live in melbourne australia and not far from keg king. They’re a pretty cool company but notorious for selling cheap chinese made copies of taps, fittings etc. After your vent matic review i bought 6 taps from them. They were very difficult to deal with to the point where i thought I’d done my money and wasn’t going to get any taps. then they just turned up. 4 have never missed a beat and 2 have always given me problems. In emails they were telling me about how keg king were selling a chinese made knock off of their product. To cut a long story short i probably could have driven a couple of kilometers and bought an almost identical product. This is by no means being critical of your review. Love what you’re doing for home brewers.
After your vent matic review, I ordered 4 taps from them and it was the weirdest experience ever. They emailed me a bunch saying they were out of stock, they had them back in stock, they didn’t have the shanks, etc. They finally shipped my taps, but then dropped off the face of the earth and stopped answering all emails. I must have gotten my order in just under the wire. Btw- I love my vent matics and have never had a problem with them.
Thanks for the promotional code!
Yeah, I haven’t finished my collar, so I don’t have traditional taps, just picnic – bear with me here – I have it permanently configured with the Tasty McDole bottling wand set up. I love the creamy head that I get in the glass, pouring that way. I don’t see a need for Nitrogen.
It is a shame Keg King/Intertap have put their English sparkler spout on ice for now, apparently they have decided there was not much demand for it so are using their resources elsewhere at the moment.
Maybe if enough people ask them about it they will reconsider 😉 , if it got you 90% of the way to a beer engine type pour it would be amazing!
Good review, love these taps I have 4 all with the flow control feature which is handy. I also found the stout spout to work perfectly with CO2 and wouldn’t be without it now. The corny post fitting is indeed extremely useful for using a counter pressure filler and well worth it. I am eagerly waiting to see if they ever launch the English sparkler adapter, this would really be the icing on the cake and I know I’m not the only one who wants this.
Good to hear my experience with the stout spout on CO2 is shared by others! An English sparkler would be a lot of fun.
We do make the best beer in the world over here Marshall, everyone should use a sparkler 😉
You definitely make the best beer in that part of the world!
Great review as usual. I am so happy to have picked a couple of Intertap taps for my first two taps on my new keezer. They have been amazing so far and I continue to recommend them to everyone. Great to see them gaining popularity over some more expensive brands.
Cheers!
Stout spout is OUT of stock… pout
😤
INTERTAP – Stainless Steel Stout Spout, for taps, for home brewing
http://s.aliexpress.com/mQreEvm2
This is fantastic. I was considering the Perlick to replace my sticking taps, then I read this review, and the reviews of the review. Now, both Discover and MoreBeer are very happy with me as I ordered 6 of the SS taps. Unfortunately the nitro accessory is on back order. And the promo code did provide $5 off/ faucet. Yay!
I just bought a KegKing series 4 Kegerator and the unit come with these intertap stainless taps, after reading this review i’m feeling smug / lucky that the unit come as standard with such great taps.
I completely agree with all comments above, the beer pours beautifully from the taps and they feel very solid to use. They are easy to clean.
Overall highly recommended.
Thanks for your review, honesty and discount code. I feel more comfortable purchasing these faucets now that morebeer sells them as well. Just bought a few for my kegerator, very excited to try them for myself. Cheers!
I guess I was one of the lucky ones, I received my Vent-matic promptly after the previous review and haven’t had any troubles with it since.
Then again, my wife tried to get me a couple of Intertaps (cheap copies?) from AliExpress for christmas – ordered in November but they never arrived, just got the refund this week. Maybe I’ll jump on the MoreBeer offer instead 🙂
Man, I must have been one of the only ones to actually get a good pair of vent-matics. They even accidentally sent 3 (I emailed them and paid to ship one back…)
Is there any reason to switch to the Intertap system outside of the changeable tips? Marshall, if Morebeer hadn’t sent you these, would you have switched over?
Honest answer: no, I wouldn’t have switched. My VMs were great and had no issues. Since VM isn’t available, Intertap is easily what I’d recommend.
I picked up 5 Vent-matic’s after your first review and couldn’t be happier with them but must have been just under the wire..
Just bought 2 to try a month ago. Absolutely the best faucet I’ve ever used. The pour is wonderful.I will be taking advantage of the $5.00 off deal and getting my other two I need. Great review. Thanks and CHEERS
You have convinced me. Great review! Just grabbed 3 of them from More Beer with $15 off and free shipping. Cant beat that.
Now I feel like a girly man with my Perlick 630SS Faucets. I might put a brown paper bag over the tap tower with the universal No sign.
I’ve been running two Ventmatics on nitro at 30+ psi for many years, they are the best. If you just crack them, they cream via a beautiful cone of beer. Open all the way, you get very little foam.
I got an Intertap w/stout nozzle for Christmas. Very good faucet, best currently on the market, but I still prefer the VMs. Without the stout nozzle the Intertap doesn’t seem to cream in the same way as the VMs. The stout nozzle works nicely though.
My wife was kind enough to pick up an Intertap with the stout handle for Christmas. It is far superior to the Perlick 525s I have on the rest of my kegerator and the stout faucet (which I used on a porter) worked like magic. I immediately began to wonder how to sell off the Perlicks to fund more Intertap faucets. I didn’t think I’d have a need for the corny fitting, but also was given a ManCan128 for Christmas that uses the same real keg fittings. Being able to package up a growler effectively as a CP filler would be awesome!
Hey Marshall, are these taps able to be completely disassembled similar to the Perlick’s where you can pull out the tap lever from the top? Additionally does the tap shuttle come out the back? I can’t find images of this, if it’s possible, anywhere.
Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work! Cheers
The bonnet can definitely be removed and I have to believe everything disassembled similar to Perlick… but I’m not home and my faucets are all being used to serve beer currently.
I’m not sure what you’re asking about in regards to the shuttle coming out of the back, but the shuttle doesn’t ever stick out of the back of the faucet when closing and opening. Hope that helps.
Yes – just as with the perlick (and vent-matic) designs, by unscrewing the bonnet you can remove the lever from the top, allowing the shuttle to slide out of the back of the tap body. The flow control version can be fully disassmbled in the same way – unscrew the retaining ring, remove the control lever and then the restrictor slides freely out of the tap body
I already bit the bullet on some 630SS from Perlick prior to the Intertaps becoming so widespread, but purchased one Intertap from 3B (with the mentioned deal) (plus stout adapter) for my stout setup. So far the design is pretty nice overall.
My only peeve of the intertap so far is the smoothness of the inside of their spout. It is VERY rough in there (rougher than a galvanized nail!), and I suspect a lot of stuff could collect in all of the pits since it won’t be able to fully drain out easily. This was observed in both the standard and the stout tip.
Whomever is machining these could make a better effort to try and smooth out/polish the inside of their spouts for sure, at least to stand up to other faucets I’ve seen on the market that seem to have more polish to them. I wish I could attach photos to give a better idea of what I mean.
I still have high hopes for it though! I may consider cleaning out the spout with some starsan after I am done pouring for the day. I am not sure if I’ll go through the trouble of trying to polish the inside myself, but sounds like it may be worth it!
Hi Terence,
Very odd that your faucets was poorly milled and rough on the inside, as all 7 of mine are super smooth. I might suggest contacting 3B to request an exchange!
Did you get the SS or Chrome version?
Coupon code is expired. Any chance you could sway them into renewing it? Thanks for the review.
Ahh, sorry, dude, the code has been discontinued 🙁
I’ve been using the Intertap with normal nozzle and stout nozzle for a couple of months now, and much prefer the Vent-matics. My traditional stout faucet does a much better job than the Intertap stout nozzle, and with the regular Intertap nozzle, I am not able to control creaming anywhere close to the way I can with the Vent-matics. If anyone has Vent-matics they would like to get rid of, I’d be happy to take them off your hands. Note: my setup is all nitro, I don’t run CO2.
Does the flow control version provide enough resistance for you to use shortwr beer lines ie 1 to 2 ft.?
Can these be used with sour beers? I have Perlick 650SS which I love but have heard they are made for sour beers as one of the components will emit a sulfur smell when used with sours.
I replaced my faucets that came with my kegerator with the intertap faucets and I couldn’t be happier! It doesn’t get stuck, easy to keep clean, great pour, and all at a great price. Excellent review. Couldn’t agree more.
My flow control intertap is great. I’ve had no issues with sticky taps. I’m sad the self closing shank doesn’t work with them. I also have that stout nozzle and can’t praise it enough for what it does with my stouts. I’d like warn people that the nozzle can leak around the top seal where it screws on when you set the flow control tap flowing too quickly though.
Hi I just bought one of the stainless steel faucets. I noticed upon pouring my first few pints that the head retention inmy beer was less so than what it had been with my old facet. I read a couple reviews that said giving it a good clean before using helps this. I decided to do this. Upon taking it apart I noticed all the internal pieces were quite greasy. I was wondering if the internal parts have to be lubricated or not for the faucet to work. I do apologize if this has already been addressed I did not read all the comments. Thanks in advance for any advise you can give.
What you saw as grease was almost certainly silicone lube from some of the rubber o-rings, it ought not have a negative impact on foam. That said, I’m a clean freak and let all new faucets soak in cleaner then sanitizer before use.
Looks like Brad is still working with Keg King:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INvq8coPnJ4
This is fantastic, thanks for the update.
I got the total scoop, it’s all good news 🍻
I have 2 Ventmatics that have worked great for a number of years, but need refurbishing. Does anyone know if the Intertap gaskets will work on the Ventmatics?