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Main
Date: 26 Nov 2006 14:40:20
From: Lost Canadian
Subject: New keg setup.
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Hi all. I'm just about to take the plunge and get myself into a keg
setup. I have yet to purchase anything so I was wondering if anyone
has any recomendations. I was thinking about keeping the kegs in a
fridge in the basement and running a line up to the kitchen (directly
above the keg). Would something like that work or the height too much
or the line to long to keep the beer cold.
Any recomendations on an affordable kit to pick up and thoughts on
keeping the beer one floor down.
Could I run a beer line through my freezer to chill the beer as it
moves through instead of keeping the keg in a downstairs fridge?
Well thanks guys.
Cheers, Christopher.
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Date: 26 Nov 2006 15:06:40
From:
Subject: Re: New keg setup.
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Long draft lines without a glycol setup can be nightmarish. If the beer
warms up in the line at all the CO2 will expand and you will have a
foamy mess at the tap. If you are intent on storing the beer downstairs
and serving it upstairs, I would balance the lines to 16 PSI.
Pressurize at 16 PSI....do the calculations to make sure your lines are
balanced.
Then run the bundle through 4" PVC wrapped with insulation. Mount a
small fan in your cooler downstairs and keep the cold air blowing from
the cooler through the lines. Alsom remember that you will want to
bundle fruit beers seperate from regular beers because flavors will
leach across lines.
How do you intend to configure your draft box upstairs? Mounted on a
cooler? Or just terminating over a counter. I would recommend a
cooler....else you will be asking for problems.
I wouldnt try running lines through a freezer. You will freeze the
beer.
Lost Canadian wrote:
> Hi all. I'm just about to take the plunge and get myself into a keg
> setup. I have yet to purchase anything so I was wondering if anyone
> has any recomendations. I was thinking about keeping the kegs in a
> fridge in the basement and running a line up to the kitchen (directly
> above the keg). Would something like that work or the height too much
> or the line to long to keep the beer cold.
>
> Any recomendations on an affordable kit to pick up and thoughts on
> keeping the beer one floor down.
>
> Could I run a beer line through my freezer to chill the beer as it
> moves through instead of keeping the keg in a downstairs fridge?
>
> Well thanks guys.
>
> Cheers, Christopher.
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Date: 27 Nov 2006 04:28:56
From: MarkMc
Subject: Re: New keg setup.
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I don't know if they are used in the US or not, but in the UK, in pubs
we use a recirculating chiller (ice bath) which recirculates ice cold
water out through a pipe and returns back to the chiller. All the beer
lines get bundled up with the recirc water lines, and the whole lot has
an insulating wrap around it. This is called a python because it looks
like a big fat snake.
This is used to manage the CO2/fobbing/heated lines issue.
For extra cooling, some chiller devices have 'product' in and out ports
through which the beer being served gets passed and passes through a
heat exchanger in the ice bath on its way to the tap. This is
installed at the beer engine/tap side of things.
If you can't get them in the US, it shouldn't be difficult to make up
something similar with a fridge, a heat exchanger (copper coil?) and a
pump, which is effectively what the pub chiller is in one small (and
sometimes very large for big pubs) package.
I think the height shouldn't be a problem, especially with 3/8" MDP
beer line.
Cheers,
Mark
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Date: 27 Nov 2006 22:03:16
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: New keg setup.
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On 26 Nov 2006 14:40:20 -0800, <ccormie@gmail.com > wrote:
> Hi all. I'm just about to take the plunge and get myself into a keg
> setup. I have yet to purchase anything so I was wondering if anyone
> has any recomendations. I was thinking about keeping the kegs in a
> fridge in the basement and running a line up to the kitchen (directly
> above the keg). Would something like that work or the height too much
> or the line to long to keep the beer cold.
IMO, really long lines tend to cause trouble for homebrewers. Commmercial
bars can get around the issues, but I think it would tough to do at home.
You're going to have to deal with the lines warming up, issues with
balancing the system so that you don't get a lot of foam while pouring,
etc.
I would suggest starting out keeping the taps closer to the kegs, and then
tackling the idea of serving on a different floor of the house later.
> Could I run a beer line through my freezer to chill the beer as it
> moves through instead of keeping the keg in a downstairs fridge?
Yes, this is possible. Not many people do it this way, but you can get
something like a coldplate, put it in the fridge, and store your kegs warm.
Then the beer is chilled "inline" while you are pouring it. They tend to be
alright for one or two people, but you may have problems with it if you
try and pour a lot of beer through the system in a short time (like a party
or something). If you put too much beer through it too quickly, it'll
start to warm up and you won't get cold beer at the tap. It works fine for
a couple of pints at a time though.
You can do a search in this groups archives on groups.google.com for
"coldplate" and probably find some more information. We've talked about
the idea before, although not many people seem to be doing it, so you may
have trouble finding someone with a lot of experience to help you out if you
have problems. Whereas there are a lot more people using the more traditional
method of having the kegs in the fridge, so you may have an easier time
with help/advice.
John.
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