Who repairs soda fountain draft arms??

[sc1101]

I'm curious if anyone has used a company they had good luck with to rebuild the draft arms on an old soda fountain? I have sent mine out to a particular company and received them back looking like they were untouched for 375.00 prepaid. I would not like to mention the company name at this time because I'm in contact with the owner and hoping he does the right thing. I feel uneasy about sending the draft arms back to him again so In the meantime I would like to find someone else who can work on these. This will give me an option if I decide not to send them to the same place. I have posted a picture below of the gaskets they told me they replaced. What are your thoughts. Would you send it back or demand a refund and send it elsewhere??

[MaineT]

Those look like the same washers as inside a sink faucet. I would personally start at home depot and see if they match up.

[cola62]

I was thinking the same thing they look like standard flat washers.  You can buy a pack for a couple dollars.  What else were they supposed to do to it.

[cohammer]

You got burnt ! You need to get a quote and detail of the work to be done before they touch it. Like , new screws,washers and polished.

[CocaMan]

I would definitely keep at them for a refund and if it does not work out then I would post what company it was on here and report them to the BBB to see they get a response.  If they did not do what they were supposed to do in the first place then they should refund it in my book.

[sc1101]

You guys are correct that side is very basic. The main reason I sent it in for a rebuild was the other side draft arm. It looks much more complicated then this one pictured. This side pictured is the one that I could easily take apart to ensure the job was done properly when I got it back. Now that I see the easiest of the two weren't  repaired I doubted the hard one was even touched. There's no way in my mind the washers pictured were replaced. They are stained green from what looks like years of water running through them. Am I imagining that?

[stuntpilot]

They didn't replace the washers as it would have be kind of hard, most old soda fountain draft arms have leather washers.
If you put a rubber washer in there it will eventually swell up from the soda water and block the flow.

Draft arms are really not able to be reconditioned other than replacing the washers, what happens is the body of the arm becomes pitted from the contact with soda water and leaks, new washers won't do much good.
You can purchase new arms like the one on the right, the one on the left is a different story, I'm not sure if anyone has reproduced that version.

That's a very nice soda fountain you have there, are the draft arms functional? Is the original carbonator underneath?

[sc1101]

Thanks for the compliment. You are correct about the washers they told me all the leather washers had to be made by hand and that was the reason for the expense. I should have gotten something in writing as was previously mentioned. I didn't hook up the carbonator or anything yet. My first plan was to make sure I wasn't going to flood my basement with 70 year old faulty valves. This was the reason why I sent it out. I wanted to ensure proper functioning before moving forward. My issue with this hole thing is I sent it out to be what I thought was rebuilt with a good cleaning.  I don't mind paying up for specialty work I get the fact that it takes time to make the leather washers. I just now feel taken they were never even replaced and he's telling me they were and clearly from the pictures they weren't.

[sc1101]

Now I really feel like I got shafted.  I just took the other side draft arm apart. Guess what I found?? Nothing was touched not even the cobwebs! I am so pissed.

[MoonDawg]

       A set of leather punches and a piece of cowhide..........it  can't be that difficult to make washers!