I bought one of these from MoreBeer (sorry John, it was before you had them), I can answer most of your questions:
- Inner diameter is not the same as the 525, bowie bottler will not work. It's smaller, the bowie will not insert. I even tried with just one set of o-rings, no luck.
- I have poured a few beers (including one that was overcarbed) with good results. I've currently got mine pouring soda (25 psi) on a 4' line. Nothing but good things to report with the function right now.
- You can install them on a standard shank. You lose some of the range of motion of the adjustment lever, but that is by design - you only need the extra range for disassembly, and you won't be taking it apart with it's on the shank.
- I spoke with an engineer at Perlick about the above and about an SS model. Perlick is currently waiting on a small run of samples from a SS batch. If they're happy with the product, they're going to go into full production. It wouldn't be before summertime.
Any other questions let me know. It's a great faucet, I'm planning to switch all mine over as soon as I can get my hands on SS versions.