Nukatap and/or Intertap individual part availability?

[Yesfan]

@KegLand (or anyone) Can I get individual parts for a Nukatap/Intertap faucet? The part in question is the 2 red cup seals for the Nukatap (they're white for the Intertap faucets) that surround the ball portion of the tap lever. I have two Nukataps and each one had a split in the cup while a 3rd one was split completely in two. It was a bit of a PITA to get the split halves back together. I won't worry if they won't leak, but I'd like to have some extras on hand for peace of mind.

I checked the usual suspects (More Beer and William's) but all they have is the rebuild kits which also have parts for the flow control faucets, which I do not need. Anyone know if the white cup seals form the Intertaps will work with the Nukataps? The levers look to be the same thing. I know the spouts are interchangeable between the two so thought I'd ask.

I'd rather buy a bag of 10, 25, etc of just the cup seals (or any of the individual parts) than to buy a complete rebuild kit and be stuck with a bunch of excess parts I won't/don't need. TIA.

 

[pers]

Had the same problem with the red seals. All of them cracked in less than a year.

I have 2 other early Nukataps that had the white Intertap seals so they are interchangeable. The white ones are still fine on those taps so I ordered an Intertap kit just so I could replace the red ones with white.

There's obviously a difference in quality between the red and white material. Would be nice to just be able to order the cups.

 

[TestTickle]

I believe they are called ball washers? Not sure if someone would be able to confirm this, but I am pretty sure this is it:

• https://www.beveragecraft.com/faucet-ball-washer
• https://www.kegoutlet.com/fa70105-taprite-standard-faucets-replacement-parts.html
• https://rapidswholesale.com/american-beverage-default-18666.html
• https://www.wholesalebeerparts.com/...faucets/faucet-repair-parts/nylon-ball-washer
• https://www.hobbyhomebrew.com/product/ball-washer-for-standard-usa-style-draft-beer-faucets

EDIT: The last link was to the wrong part. Fixed it.

 

[Yesfan]

I believe they are called ball washers? Not sure if someone would be able to confirm this, but I am pretty sure this is it:

• https://www.beveragecraft.com/faucet-ball-washer
• https://www.kegoutlet.com/fa70105-taprite-standard-faucets-replacement-parts.html
• https://rapidswholesale.com/american-beverage-default-18666.html
• https://www.wholesalebeerparts.com/...faucets/faucet-repair-parts/nylon-ball-washer
• https://www.hobbyhomebrew.com/product/friction-washer-for-standard-beer-faucets

Is that truly a universal part? Most of the diagrams in those links show a rear sealing faucet.

 

[day_trippr]

@Bobby_M carries an Intertap rebuild set https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/intertapseals.htm and perhaps could inform whether the ball seals are available separately...

Cheers!

 

[TestTickle]

Is that truly a universal part? Most of the diagrams in those links show a rear sealing faucet.

I believe so. I’ll find out soon enough.

 

[AK_brewer]

I believe so. I’ll find out soon enough.

Please report back if you find one that works (or doesn’t). I think many of us Nukatap users are frustrated by the lack of availability for this particular component.

 

[TestTickle]

@Bobby_M carries an Intertap rebuild set https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/intertapseals.htm and perhaps could inform whether the ball seals are available separately...

Cheers!

Just received these on Saturday but won't have time to verify the fit for a few days. However, they look exactly like the same washer in my Nukataps. Ordered from Hobby Homebrew.

 

[TestTickle]

Just received these on Saturday but won't have time to verify the fit for a few days. However, they look exactly like the same washer in my Nukataps. Ordered from Hobby Homebrew.

Ok, so they are not exact matches, but close. The diameter on both the rubber friction washer (top) and the nylon ball washer (bottom) are exact, but you can see a slight difference in thickness (new ones on the left, originals on the right).

However, I installed both on one of my Nukataps and they work perfectly.

 

[KegLand]

I am not sure if this helps at all but the washers are slightly different. In the past we manufactured the Intertap taps with a nylon cup washer. Nylon is hard wearing but it's not as slipery and it also doesnt have quite as good chemical resistance especially when you are using highly acidic substances like phosphoric acid to wash the lines.

With the Nukatap taps we did make some efforts to upgrade them an in my opinion it's a superior tap design. With the nukatap taps we for the first time tried a self lubricating PE material and this was more slipery so you could do up the bonnet even quite tight and the tap would still move back and forth very smooth. The particular PE grade was also superior with respect to chemical resistance too. These were RED in colour as opposed to thw white Nylon.

Unfortunately using this new material we came across a very small issue and we had a batch made with the PE where they cracked premesaturely. We have tried to find these and replace them but some have still got out into circulation so we have to appologist for this. Generally speaking with the correctly manufactured cup washer made from the red PE they should last virtually forever if it wasn't for a single batch that had this issue. The older white nylon ones are compatible but really I feel the red ones are still the better product.

 

[AK_brewer]

I am not sure if this helps at all but the washers are slightly different. In the past we manufactured the Intertap taps with a nylon cup washer. Nylon is hard wearing but it's not as slipery and it also doesnt have quite as good chemical resistance especially when you are using highly acidic substances like phosphoric acid to wash the lines.

With the Nukatap taps we did make some efforts to upgrade them an in my opinion it's a superior tap design. With the nukatap taps we for the first time tried a self lubricating PE material and this was more slipery so you could do up the bonnet even quite tight and the tap would still move back and forth very smooth. The particular PE grade was also superior with respect to chemical resistance too. These were RED in colour as opposed to thw white Nylon.

Unfortunately using this new material we came across a very small issue and we had a batch made with the PE where they cracked premesaturely. We have tried to find these and replace them but some have still got out into circulation so we have to appologist for this. Generally speaking with the correctly manufactured cup washer made from the red PE they should last virtually forever if it wasn't for a single batch that had this issue. The older white nylon ones are compatible but really I feel the red ones are still the better product.

Thanks for the insights, that’s good to know. For those of us that have taps shipped with “bad” red washers, do you all provide a way to replace them without having to buy the whole seals kit? I have 4 Nukataps that have all had issues with cracking washers. I’ve replaced a couple of them (indeed, the only parts I’ve used thus far from the seals kit) , but it hardly seems worth buying more of the full kits for just one part.

 

[KegLand]

Thanks for the insights, that’s good to know. For those of us that have taps shipped with “bad” red washers, do you all provide a way to replace them without having to buy the whole seals kit? I have 4 Nukataps that have all had issues with cracking washers. I’ve replaced a couple of them (indeed, the only parts I’ve used thus far from the seals kit) , but it hardly seems worth buying more of the full kits for just one part.

I would just contact your local retailer or point of purchase for these and then if you send some photos of the issue they will probably send a complete seal kit for free but that is between our American distributors and you as a customer.

 

[day_trippr]

So, that's a "No, they aren't available separately"...

 

[KegLand]

So, that's a "No, they aren't available separately"...

Which retailer did you purchase the product from?

 

[Yesfan]

Which retailer did you purchase the product from?

If the retailer, which is pretty much all of them, is going to just ship out a brand new kit when these seals break, is it really going to matter?

My two Nukataps both have failed red PE seals. The don't leak for the most part, but having to take out the individual pieces, make sure not to lose them, and then reinserting them the way they were makes completely breaking these things down to clean a major pain. Besides that, I love these taps. They are awesome. They are very smooth compared to the clunky sometimes "grinding" feel of the Intertaps. Both my Nukas I got from More Beer.

@TestTickle What's the Nukatap's operation with the nylon seals? Does the tap still feel smooth to operate or does it seem like it wants to "stick"? Can you tell a difference after switching them out?

 

[KegLand]

If the retailer, which is pretty much all of them, is going to just ship out a brand new kit when these seals break, is it really going to matter?

My two Nukataps both have failed red PE seals. The don't leak for the most part, but having to take out the individual pieces, make sure not to lose them, and then reinserting them the way they were makes completely breaking these things down to clean a major pain. Besides that, I love these taps. They are awesome. They are very smooth compared to the clunky sometimes "grinding" feel of the Intertaps. Both my Nukas I got from More Beer.

@TestTickle What's the Nukatap's operation with the nylon seals? Does the tap still feel smooth to operate or does it seem like it wants to "stick"? Can you tell a difference after switching them out?

We have to make sure we get replacement seals to the retailer and communicate that to them. In order for you to get the best customer service experience we would like to reach out to the retailer to make sure they have some replacement stock they have received free of charge. If you have contacted your retailer already and they are already happy to give you a free replacement then there is no issue and there is no need to disclose who the retailer is.

The Nylon seals will work but they do not feel quite as smooth. They will still be more smooth than the Intertap as the older Intertap model had a metal on metal fitting whereby the metal shuttle was rubbing on the metal bore of the tap body. So the "grinding" feel you get with the older Intertap taps had more to do with this rather than the bonnet cup washer.