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Kegerator Forum: Little black things in beer

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Kegerator Community Home  »  Draft Beer Dispensing at Home » Kegerator Problems & Troubleshooting » Little black things in beer
Posted:  11 Feb 2011 16:27

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Have an older kegerator at our firehouse and even though I just cleaned the lines last night I continue to get tiny black specks in our beer - almost like a rubber washer is breaking down somewhere.  The washer that fits in the coupling between the keg looks fine though.  I'm thinking of taking the tap housing apart.  Thanks
Posted:  14 Feb 2011 08:07

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Make sure when you clean it, you take apart the faucet and use a brush to clean out the inside and all the parts. There are two washers that could also need replacing. My guess is that you still have some crud built up in the faucet.

Make sure the two relief holes in the faucet are clean also. One runs underneath the plunger and the other runs into the spout.

Just another thought. If it's all been sitting a while might need to clean it a second time. Make sure you also take apart the Tavern Head. Standard ones will have 5 washers and if not cleaned they hold a lot of crud.
Posted:  14 Feb 2011 20:25

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Thanks, just took apart the faucet and found lots of crud.  Is the Tavern Head the tower that the faucet is attached to?
Posted:  15 Feb 2011 02:56

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Tavern head is the coupler that is attached to the keg.
Posted:  15 Feb 2011 16:08   Last Edited By: cnw20

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Thanks again.  Just picked up a Stainless Steel Perlick 525 SS Beer Faucet that claims to be:

"unique in both appearance and function, the Perlick stainless steel beer faucet is the most sanitary faucet available anywhere. Its innovative seat-forward design keeps internal parts from being exposed to air, preventing the handle lever from sticking and minimizing bacterial build-up. In addition, the removable spout makes cleaning much easier. This revolutionary design and stainless steel body ensures a brewery fresh taste."
Posted:  15 Feb 2011 22:09

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They are top of the line. But as with all Perlick items.  You can only get replacement parts with them. They are like the Cadillac of the beer world.

I have a few of them in the market I service and they're just annoying to scrub all the way through. Pipe cleaners work good for that as they bend really easy.
Posted:  17 Feb 2011 19:15

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Great info, thanks.  Since our keg usually only gets used once per week I thought it was a good idea.