Kegging Setups

[mckenry]

I'm part way through setting up my flooded font for, uh, flooding. I've got hoses etc ready to be hooked up and a 5L reservoir in my keg freezer for the cold water, but I'm just wondering what pumps people are using to pump the cold water. Ideally it should be something quiet if possible and works with 1/2" / 12.7mm hoses. I will be running the beer lines with the coolant lines and insulating the lot (DIY Andale Python )

The plan is to put the pump on a timer and only run it a few hours a night to keep the font and lines cool, not interested in glycol or using an expensive chiller type deal given it's an occasional use home setup.

Hi vortex,
I use a pond pump. Its quiet, submersible, and handles a good volume. Not sure exactly, but with 12mm hose theres probably 7 or 8 L/min (very rough guess). Its plenty anyway.
Also, not required to run it on a timer overnight. Just fire it up a few minutes before you want to pour. The font gets cold very quickly.
That is unless you have a really long beer line and too much beer will get warm overnight?

 

[PeteQ]

From



To



Excellent birthday present from SWMBO

I'm having foaming issues at the moment but everyone seems to talk these guys up so I'm sure it's just teething issues

Cheers and have a great long weekend

 

[Cocko]

I'm having foaming issues at the moment but everyone seems to talk these guys up so I'm sure it's just teething issues

Awesome mate.


What foaming issues? Are you adjusting the flow?

If your beer is highly carbed you may need to restrict flow a fair bit.... It may be a slow pour but end up a perfect pour... Ultimately, whay you are after yeah?

Pay off for metres of line I guess.

Looks amazing!

 

[Camo6]

^ This. The only time I get excessive foaming is if I've let the keg overcarb a bit.

 

[431neb]

Only the keg side is controlled directly (STC1000), the fermenting side is adjustable using the "coldness dial" which I guess is merely a vent to the freezer side.

If an STC was used to run a little computer fan or similar over the coldness vent, your fermenter temps could perhaps be controlled more accurately. I love the idea of using these fridges but I would want that temp in the fridge to be buttoned down to a tight range. Do all of these double door suckers work using that venting system or do some have separate refrigeration pumps for each side? I don't know much about fridges as many can probably tell.

 

[PeteQ]

Awesome mate.


What foaming issues? Are you adjusting the flow?

If your beer is highly carbed you may need to restrict flow a fair bit.... It may be a slow pour but end up a perfect pour... Ultimately, whay you are after yeah?

Pay off for metres of line I guess.

Looks amazing!

I've only had them installed for 2 days. Last night and the night before I restricted the flow all the way off, opened the tap then slowly let it run into the glass until I thought the tap was cold and then slowly opened it up to have half a glass of head and half beer pouring very very slowly.

I should mention I haven't changed any settings at all, 3 metres 5mm ID line, 14psi or 100kpa and 4 degrees. Perfect pour with the brumbies, shit pour with the Perlicks.

Also I can hear the turbulence when I pour at any restriction, kind of like a 'ssshhhhhh' sound... Can anyone else comment on this?

I was playing around with it a lot last night and didn't want to waste any beer so plenty of small sampling = quite dusty today...

Cheers

EDIT Just changed the line length on one of the kegs to about 1.2m, PERFECT pour... weird? Maybe it needs that pressure to work correctly?

 

[Edak]

Less length fixed it? That's strange... Usually is the other way around...

 

[PeteQ]

Less length fixed it? That's strange... Usually is the other way around...

Yep, now back to pouring half head half beer unless I restrict it to about a schooner a minute

Dropping lots of cash on nice taps to pour a shit beer is pretty frustrating. The compact head it pours is nice though!

 

[humulus]

Yep, now back to pouring half head half beer unless I restrict it to about a schooner a minute

Dropping lots of cash on nice taps to pour a shit beer is pretty frustrating. The compact head it pours is nice though!

Im running 4 perlicks with 3m of 4mm line,maybe extend the lines or a smaller diameter beer line

 

[Edak]

Do you have gas bubbles in the beer line? That's the problem that I had, used a fan to blow up cold air to the lines. Problem solved now...

 

[PeteQ]

Edak you're a bloody genius!

I'm not entirely sure why I didn't see this earlier. Maybe I had the co2 in the lines earlier with the old taps but the perlicks don't handle the co2 in the lines so well?

Just checked the temps and it looks like there's a temp difference of nearly 5 degrees between the top and bottom of my kegerator.

 

[Dan Pratt]

I should mention I haven't changed any settings at all, 3 metres 5mm ID line, 14psi or 100kpa and 4 degrees. Perfect pour with the brumbies, shit pour with the Perlicks.

100kp...thats way too much, it will get through the lines on 5kpa(only at a trickel though)

I used to run mine heavy on about 75kpa but these days its at about 40kpa and the pressure is bang on for pouring a good pint.

 

[PeteQ]

100kp...thats way too much, it will get through the lines on 5kpa(only at a trickel though)

I used to run mine heavy on about 75kpa but these days its at about 40kpa and the pressure is bang on for pouring a good pint.

Perlick recommend 1.2m of 4mm Id at 17psi or around 120kpa!!

at the end of this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYwNSZ3utVM

 

[Dan Pratt]

PeteQ,

Mate I was just suggesting an option based on what I have done. I should of clearly stated that with my previous post.

Referencing the YouTube clip then the hose is 1.2m of 9.5mm(3/8) hose not 4mm.

 

[Natdene]

Just wanted to share my latest project. While I am saving up for my three tap keggerator from CB for inside the house, I am setting up a fridge in the shed to store some kegs in at cold temps, and gas them up ready to swap over when one runs out inside. Have taken off the door liner and about to cut out the big lump in the middle and line with some sheet metal, then add a black board to the front as I will also slowly add four taps to the fridge so I can have some beers in the shed. Any tips?.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

you seem to know what your doing natdene, just read and re-read the wiki's on kegging, good source of info

 

[Bizier]

Is anyone here rocking a coffin style keezer? I searched but it did not yield much.
I am totally tempted to make one for the next iteration of household beer dispensing.

 

[phoenixdigital]

Is anyone here rocking a coffin style keezer? I searched but it did not yield much.
I am totally tempted to make one for the next iteration of household beer dispensing.

Here is mine
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/235-kegging-setups/?p=939693

If I had my time again I would make a lighter less sturdy frame. I was clueless when it came to wood strength at the time and overbuilt it. No issues with the weight as its on wheels though.

Edit: Yeah looking at that model for the frame it is way over the top. None of it needs to hold any structural weight it is just a skin around the outside of the keezer. Also I never put in any of the diagonals in my final design.

Things to note I made the "skin" frame slightly larger than the keezer itself in order to allow the keezer to release heat. Plus there is about a 1cm gap from the top of the frame to the table top. Again to allow for heat to escape.

 

[Mall]

Got my keg King set up last night:

So far so good, I got the line (gas and Liquid) lengths right thanks to good advise in the forum. Seems carbonation is spot on at 8-10 psi for serving.

CO2 bottle sits around the back so there is space behing the kegs for Coopers Best Extra stout stubbies in an emergency.

 

[431neb]

Anyone used an ice- cream fridge with the sliding doors on the top? I just inherited one.

Just dreaming up ideas for it. Will post pics tonight.

I'm thinking of building a cabinet / bench over it and fitting a font to that.

Anyone have any suggestions?