Faucet and thermostat questions

Kegging
1

  1. Is there a trick to keep a faucet from sticking? If I don’t use it for a few days it sticks a bit when I go to pull it. No big deal just curious.

  2. Does anyone know how to monkey with a thermostat to make it get colder? I have a store bought mini fridge type kegerator and it only gets down to 40 degrees, the thermostat knob is like a 3 position dial that is basically off – cold – colder. It has to get colder than that, it’s just a damn mini fridge.

2

  1. If it is the less expensive faucets, you could try spraying StarSan in the faucet to dislodge the sugar residue. Maybe disassemble and lube? If it a Perlik, disassemble and lube?

  2. if it’s a mercury type thermostat, try to rotate the unit. this will skew the reading the unit receives and lower the temp.

3

The reason your faucet is sticking is that beer residue gets around the shaft that connects the tap handle to the seal, which is exposed to the outside air. Eventually enough liquid will evaporate so that you have a carbohydrate/protein glue around the shaft which will cause it to stick. That’s what forward sealing faucets were designed for (Perlick 425, 525) - the seal happens forward of all of the moving parts so they never get dried out beer residue in them.

4

I spray mine with starSan after each use and before each use, and I don’t have any problems with it sticking

5

Thank you for that info, I always wondered what the big deal was with the Perlick.

6

I hated to spend the money for Perlick but did as I don’t use the kegerator every day. Yeah, awful, I know.
I was warned it was worth it and it obviously is.