Fully flooded font best ways to glycol

[mrsupraboy]

So guys not sure if there are any cheap glycol systems or anything tho whats the cheapeast ways or the best ways to fully frost a font.

I know some people put a freezer next to it with glycol and pump and a bucket. What other ways are there

 

[spog]

Some here have used air recirculation,using a 12 volt fan ( internally ) and ducting to push the chilled air into the font, others have used what is known as a " font snake " which is a commercially retailed version of the above.
As I have read the success rate in using air circulation is dependent on the cycling = how often it is controlled to operate or not.
Cheers.

And DO NOT try and cheap it by using anything other than recommended chilling chemicals for your beer cooling/chilling.

 

[Rocker1986]

I'll follow this thread because I'm seriously thinking about investing in a flooded font for my kegerator due to it being outside (although in the current weather it wouldn't matter where it was, the damn thing would still be warm). I'm currently using a normal font with a font snake but it's just not cutting it in the summer heat.

Funds are not a problem, so not interested in trying to cut corners to make it cheaper or anything. What would be the easiest way to run a glycol system in a kegerator set up?

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Investigate before spending your $$$$$. Jealous of the comment "Funds are not a problem". Ya won tatts? You opening a pub?

 

[Rocker1986]

Yes I'm not planning on doing anything at this stage, more just researching options and will hopefully set it up over the winter to be ready for next summer.

:lol: Not quite. I'm single, no kids, living at home at the moment to save as much as I can. But I'm still able to enjoy some presents to myself as well. At least by the time I am not single anymore, I will already have all this shit so I won't have to justify spending money on it. Well that's my probably misguided theory but I'm sticking to it.

 

[jibba02]

Kegking have a nice modular system that can be flooded.

 

[jibba02]

http://kegking.com.au/keg-couplers-and-keg-disconnects/font-modular.html

 

[mrsupraboy]

Kegking have a nice modular system that can be flooded.

Yeh i bought the cobra font.

I was considering buying a really small medical freezer. And doing the bucket and glycol with the pump.

 

[mckenry]

None of the answers above will give you 'fully frosted font'. I assume by that term you mean iced up?
If so, youre going to need a freezer for your glycol and a fridge for your beer. Theres no other way to ice it up.
I sweat my 3 tap and 6 tap fonts with the following. The sweat look is pretty cool. The chrome gets cold and shows the chilled metal look due to the temp drop and beads of water appear all over the font.

I use a pond pump in a cut out 3L milk bottle inside the kegerator.
Get the water down cold in the milk bottle reservior. The day I want to 'frost' it up, I turn the pond pump on, run it for 10 minutes or so to cool the font as much as its going to with the water at 2°C, pump out half the water and add ice to fill the reservior.
Works really well as the ice takes a long time to melt at 2°C

 

[mrsupraboy]

Yeh i know that. Its why i was considering the medical freezer cause i know you can get them pretty small. Tho if it outways the cost or close to buying a glycol chiller i might just buy the glycol chiller. The cheapest glycol chiller i can find is around $900 from keg king

 

[mckenry]

What kind of beers are you making that need an iced up font? Ales are best served at 7-11°C and lagers at 4-7°C according to beerandbrewer.
Personally, I like my beers at the lower end of these ranges, but any lower,by running them through iced fonts (I had a glycol chiller once - sold it for $500) is too cold.
If you're making mass market type lagers then go for it. If not, maybe try the cold water flooding before dropping $900

 

[mrsupraboy]

Reguardless of ale or lager. I love my beers cold. Its more of a looks thing....

There is an option of putting the fan fan inside the python font. Ripping out the insulation as well as the glycol coil. Was thinking about it and just have the font sweating a tiny bit. But would prefer the glycol

 

[Rocker1986]

None of the answers above will give you 'fully frosted font'. I assume by that term you mean iced up?
If so, youre going to need a freezer for your glycol and a fridge for your beer. Theres no other way to ice it up.
I sweat my 3 tap and 6 tap fonts with the following. The sweat look is pretty cool. The chrome gets cold and shows the chilled metal look due to the temp drop and beads of water appear all over the font.

I use a pond pump in a cut out 3L milk bottle inside the kegerator.
Get the water down cold in the milk bottle reservior. The day I want to 'frost' it up, I turn the pond pump on, run it for 10 minutes or so to cool the font as much as its going to with the water at 2°C, pump out half the water and add ice to fill the reservior.
Works really well as the ice takes a long time to melt at 2°C

This sounds like it may work for me. I'm not particularly interested in having an iced font, but I want it cold all the way through to the taps to try and minimise the foaming at the start of a pour. Do you need an actual flooded font to do this, or can it be done with just a 'normal' type font that is normally sold with kegerators? Is it just set up with a beer line running from the pump up into the font and then back down into the reservoir?

 

[mckenry]

This sounds like it may work for me. I'm not particularly interested in having an iced font, but I want it cold all the way through to the taps to try and minimise the foaming at the start of a pour. Do you need an actual flooded font to do this, or can it be done with just a 'normal' type font that is normally sold with kegerators? Is it just set up with a beer line running from the pump up into the font and then back down into the reservoir?

No it wont work with the supplied fonts. You need a proper flooded font. A flooded font will have the beer lines poking out, along with 2 brass tubes (or more depending on the number of taps. My 6 tap has 4 flooding lines). The brass tubes are the pipes for carrying the glycol or iced water.

 

[Moog]

I'm thinking of the same type of thing, My taps sit outside the keg fridge and the lines are probably 500mm long, (outside the fridge)
It foams pretty bad then settles down, but by the time you want another beer, its doing it again....(annoying)
I thought about running copper tube next to the beer lines, up into the font and back out again, then pumping water, as mentioned

 

[osprey brewday]

I'm thinking of the same type of thing, My taps sit outside the keg fridge and the lines are probably 500mm long, (outside the fridge)
It foams pretty bad then settles down, but by the time you want another beer, its doing it again....(annoying)
I thought about running copper tube next to the beer lines, up into the font and back out again, then pumping water, as mentioned

Search for beer python easy to make dont need to be copper i had same problem with the foaming so flooded with water from the cooled space some days it dont condensate up the font but it still stops the foam issues.

 

[Rocker1986]

No it wont work with the supplied fonts. You need a proper flooded font. A flooded font will have the beer lines poking out, along with 2 brass tubes (or more depending on the number of taps. My 6 tap has 4 flooding lines). The brass tubes are the pipes for carrying the glycol or iced water.

Cool, thanks mate. I shall order myself a proper flooded font. What size of tubing goes into (or onto) the brass tubes? Guess it probably depends on the font itself really. Any recommendations for the pump? I reckon I'll just go with that iced water method, not only is it cheaper but I also don't need the thing frozen, just cold enough to alleviate the foaming issues. B)

 

[mckenry]

It's standard brewery transfer tubing. Maybe 10mm ID? I just push it over and hose clamp it. I bought a cheapo 12v pond pump from eBay. About $15. Remember to pump the water around for a while to take the temp down as far as possible them add ice to really sweat the font.

 

[Rocker1986]

Sweet. I'll get the font first and have a squiz at it, then get the rest of the required items. Yep that'll be easy enough, probably switch it on when I first wake up then add the ice later a bit before I start pouring beers.

 

[mrsupraboy]

Im thinking of getting a very small cheap fridges bar fridge. Convert it to a frezzer. Reinsulate the walls inside and do the glycol and pump and bucket thing.

I saw medical freezers are small but cost a mint