Does anyone make something like a picnic/cobra tap, but sturdier, e.g., stainless? I've looked online, but have come up empty; I figured I'd "tap" into the collective knowledge. For now, I'm not looking to convert my temp controlled freezer into a kegarator, complete with mounted perlick taps. The plastic jobbers keep breaking on me. On 2 out of my last three kegged beers, the cobra "hood" has snapped off, with the little plastic nub that attaches it to the tap's valve breaking. Now, every time I want a saison, I need a pair of vise grips to open the valve. (A regular pair of pliers would work too, but I like to use my vise grips) Alternatively, how can I stop being such a klutz? No one else seems to post about this problem.
Not sure if you are talking about the box itself being stainless, or certain components. Either way, I see stainless steel jockey boxes currently on ebay from "norcaldraft" for about $500 - $1000 depending on how many coils and what coil length. Sounds expensive to me, but it might be a starting point for purchase or designing your own. Looks like they resell the 54 quart stainless cooler (from coleman) for about $99 as well. Just search ebay for "stainless jockey box" and you'll find the ones I'm referencing.
I've had the same picnic taps now for 2+ years, not sure now you keep breaking them. And for the record, I've never seen the product you describe (which the guy above isn't understanding). Midwest lists this: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/compact-chrome-faucet-assembly.html which is ludicrous, as it has no line to slow flow... I figure maybe you could piece something together using that though (splice a line in and use a couple of connecting pieces)
I do the same as I you. Three kegs in my chest freezer with picnic taps. Mine are years old and (knock on wood) have had no issues. I use these and try to have an extra one on hand. http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/foam-free-tubing-kit-bl-ball-lock-version.html You can buy the taps real cheap to and just replace them when they break. http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/valve-flex-faucet-head-w-barb.html Cheers!
I wonder if they are breaking because they are at my temp controlled freezer temp (35F) and therefore stiff when I'm using them. Still, I can't be the only one... can I?
Mine is at 37deg. Maybe you have a defective batch? I'd just buy new taps and replace what you have. Cheers!
Unconventional, but how about something like this? http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/BRECO-Air-Gun-5X786?Pid=search
I've broken them before when I used them, but it was mainly me pulling down it harder than I needed to. Stopped breaking them when I would flip them in the up position and let it fill the glass and then pop it down slowly to stop the flow. At the price, it's your best option other than putting taps in. I eventually built my keezer and put the perlicks in there because I got tired of the mess of taps and leaks in the bottom of the freezer.
I think I would have better luck if I flipped them in the up position, like you say. I've not been doing that because I have been drinking from little half pint glasses and I wanted some control to prevent overflow. Solution = drink more? The keezer could eventually happen, but first I'm going to wait for the dust of my ongoing job-search and household relocation project to settle. On the bright side, I won't have to move those cumbersome picnic taps!
I break one every year or two. They are cheap, 4 bucks at the local store, and a little less online. I just keep a couple of spares on hand. Mine also live in the fridge but I doubt temperature is a big deal. The plastic just gets fatigued after awhile.
I use these for parties when I am serving outside.. It takes some adjustments on the co2 side, but I can usually get it to work.
Yup, but if you want to carb in the keg, you need ~12 PSI, and then every time you want a pint, you'll need to purge to ~2 PSI. For a party this is reasonable, but for everyday use - nope.
Thanks to everyone who pointed out that the plastic things are cheaply replaced. It's not the solution I was looking for, but options appear to be limited. I was thinking about the solution kjyost and sarcastro describe, but I think it would require some finese and possibly trial and error. Since I live in the sticks, I was hoping for a pre-packaged one-stop shopping solution, but it doesn't appear to exist. Looks like the next order I place will either include 3-4 taps or I'll be building the keezer thingy.
Yeah I think I mistook "picnic tap" for a "picnic cooler" as I usually refer to a "picnic tap" as a "party tap" myself.
I just went down and poured a pint from an older tap head. I noticed that it was a little loose, i.e. the spring is losing its springiness. This probably means that the plastic is less able to resist the force of an eager thumb and will break relatively soon. I'd noticd this before but failed to mention it yesterday. I doubt that looking for extra springs is a worthwhile endeavour; just some possible insight into what is happening.
