27 replies to this topic

[BlKtRe]

I have 2 of the old-school Ventmatic faucets (slightly wider than the standard) and 2 Ventmatic Ultraflo faucets.. all in stainless. No trouble with them and so, so glad I have them. My taps were originally 2 VMs and 2 Perlick 425s but the 425 is one-piece and you can't change out the spouts. Thanks to TAG for selling me 2 of his VMs. Love em!

Yea, the originals are pure bliss. Wish I had a few more of those. 

[matt6150]

The 425's I have are all 2 piece.

Same here.And both the 425 and 525 brass faucets have SS levers, so I would assume/hope the 630 will too.

[Big Nake]

The 425's I have are all 2 piece.

Oh, I beg your pardon... was the 525 one-piece? Anyway, these were 1-piece and they weren't bad faucets but I wanted consistency and I wanted to put a different spout on mine.

[matt6150]

Oh, I beg your pardon... was the 525 one-piece? Anyway, these were 1-piece and they weren't bad faucets but I wanted consistency and I wanted to put a different spout on mine.

Yeah 525 is 1-piece, I have one its not the greatest.My plan right now is to pick up a 630 and see how it goes. I will still keep an eye on Craigslist for a couple more 425's though.

[HVB]

Even with the issues I am thinking of getting 3 525's for my portable setup that is only used a couple times a year.

[matt6150]

Even with the issues I am thinking of getting 3 525's for my portable setup that is only used a couple times a year.

Should work just fine, there really not THAT bad. Esp. since you will only use them a couple times a year. The biggest thing with mine is that it dribbles quite a bit after i shut it off.

[HVB]

I have a few of the earlier versions. They are also a POS imo. This version not only leaked at the bonnet but also at the oring that where the ball closes against the oring. Brew pubs around here have to replace those ball orings on a monthly basis to keep beer from flowing onto the floor, which is what happened to me. This design relies heavily on keg pressure to help seal the ball against the oring. The new design on the 630's made a thicker oring for the ball to rest against hopefully making a longer lasting better seal. The only redesign the 525 got was the bonnet leak fix. So I consider the 525 to be a POS too. 

 

Time will tell on the 630 and how well the ball seal will last. But for right now it seems to be the best forward sealing design out there. Nothing will ever compare to the original VM's and the lawsuit Perlik imo. 

 

Check this out. It shows the new bonnet and ball oring design on the 630.

 

https://imgur.com/a/MyQ48#otyE4je

I just saw this update.  Maybe the new ones will be good?

 

[color=#ff0000;]UPDATE - 7-11-2014:1. All patent challenges have been satisfied and the current patent holder has been deemed -THE Patent Holder-.2. The previous production batches of the 2013 VentMatic were based upon an early design version of the faucet, NOT the version that was ultimately built & sold by Shirron. The previous design was erroniously supplied to the mfg. by the original patent holder. The mfg. is now making them to the correct standard with minor [/color]beneficial updates.3. The CHI Company should have the latest version (v.4) available for testing sometine late August or early September, 2014.

[color=#ff0000;]Thank you for your patience in this matter.  [/color]

[gnef]

I don't have any of the 630, but I do have three VM Ultraflows, three perlick 425, and 7 525's. I also have a stout faucet.

 

I definitely like the VM and 425's the best because I switched out the spouts for 8mm a while back, and they are just very durable faucets.

 

With that said, I haven't had any problems with my 525's... yet. I have quite a few of them, but I don't use them very regularly, so problems will likely show up later.

 

I have been thinking about increasing the number of taps, but I think I will hold off for now, and see how things settle in the next couple years. 

 

I may get a 630, just so I can swap out the stout faucet when I want to, and also so I can see how the new faucet performs.

 

If they come out with ultraflows identical to the ones I have, that will definitely be the best way though (also the most expensive route!). I do like the stainless shuttle design for some reason.