Miracle Box

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daveisbludging

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Guys,

I'm investigating ways I can make my keg setup portable. I'm a regular camper and when we go away we don't have access to electricity. I've seen the metal plates which seem to cost a fortune. I'm trying to work out whether I can use a HEAP of beer line in an esky with ice and whether that can sufficiently cool beer down from a warm keg to a drinkable temperature. If I use a plastic beer line will the beer freeze in it?

Has anybody tried this?

Cheers,

Dave
 
Yes you can make a miracle box exactly that way.
Do a search on this site cause I recon there is a picture of one in a post from some time ago.
Cheers
 
Jayse has made one based around BEVA beer line I think. I think he said it worked ok. Try searching Jayse and miracle box or similar.
 
daveisbludging said:
Guys,

I'm investigating ways I can make my keg setup portable. I'm a regular camper and when we go away we don't have access to electricity. I've seen the metal plates which seem to cost a fortune. I'm trying to work out whether I can use a HEAP of beer line in an esky with ice and whether that can sufficiently cool beer down from a warm keg to a drinkable temperature. If I use a plastic beer line will the beer freeze in it?

Has anybody tried this?

Cheers,

Dave
If you are interested - i was quoted 30.00 for ss tubing that normally runs inside the chiller plates.

ie - you get the tubing but no chiller plate around it.

I can confirm the price and availabilty if you are interested.
I feel this would be better than platic beer line.

Alternatively, you can buy a 3 gallon keg and soda stream and tap set up from the states.
The 3 gallon keg should fit laying down in the esky for transport - then you stand it up on a bed of ice and conect the soda stream and tap and away you go...
 
i put my 18ltr keg in a clean plastic bin, with the line wrapped around it, then i fill the remaining space with ice. It takes only about one bag to fill.
 
Works a treat. B)

Jayse

magic_box007.jpg
 
Someone say magic box, :D
Like i said it works a treat. :chug:

Jayse

magic_box2014.jpg
 
Oh shit i just noticed theres a can of west end in the back ground there.
Believe me i didn't buy it. :ph34r:

Jayse :chug:
 
GMK said:
If you are interested - i was quoted 30.00 for ss tubing that normally runs inside the chiller plates.

ie - you get the tubing but no chiller plate around it.

I can confirm the price and availabilty if you are interested.
I feel this would be better than platic beer line.
Ken

Can you find out the price, size of tubing and length? Sounds pretty good for $30

Hoops
 
Ok

Just confirmed - i can get upto 5 of these.

15m of SS Tube: 12cm wide x 12cm deep x 40cm high of uncompressed coils - that can compress down to 25 cm - picture a square spring.

6mm ID tubing will fit onto the SS tubing - also includes straight pieces to conect you beer line to.

Would also make an excelelnt pre chiller and even an imersion chiller.


Let me know if you want me to order any.

:lol:
 
Ken, How do you think the SS tubing would compare to plastic beer line? What stops the beer from freezing in the lines? Is it just a matter of drinking enough to keep it flowing?

Jayse, Any ideas how many metres of tube you have there?
 
What stops the beer from freezing in the lines?

The alcohol in the beer stops it from freezing in the coil unless the temp is made to drop to its freezing point.
It wont reach this low temp in ice alone.
Cheers
 
daveisbludging said:
Jayse, Any ideas how many metres of tube you have there?
I have been asked that before and my answer was, I have no idea at all and aren't about to try and measure it now its all coiled up. ;)
Lets just say quite a lot but i could not even have a wild guess as to how much exactly.

Sorry for not beable to help there.
Jayse
 
Ive got no idea what the temp would be to freeze beer but if it got that cold in a bucket or esky of ice I recon you wouldnt be needing the miracle box.
I had it freeze up in a fridge one night a party but i think the thermostst in the fridge might have been a bit dickie. It soon poured again when we took the keg out of the fridge and that was in July at night time - outside on a verandah.

Regarding the length of the tube in Jayse's miracle box, I have seen it up close and I would say it has got about 15 coils in the esky so if you estimated about 2 feet or 600 millimeters per turn ( coil) then you would have about 30 feet or about 9 meters of tubing.
Probably in this case, more IS better, so I would put as much pipe as you can fit in the esky you are using but allowing a spacing between each coil for ice.
I hope this helps
Cheers
 
Personally i think in this case the difference between ss and beer line would be negligable. The money you saved in using beerline could been spent getting more. I imagine it all comes down to the amuont of surface area , of the beer, next to the ice. SS would transfer the cold faster but the line is cheaper and longer. Hence more surface area.
 
I would go the other way.
Firstly because I have this fetish for stainless steel (can't get enough) :D
Secondly in 10 years I would have thrown out all my beer line and got new stuff, whereas the stainless coil will still be going strong.
There is also 15m (45ft) of stainless in those coils. That's a fair bit of surface area.
just my 2c

Hoops
 
no, good point. SS will keep. What is the price difference?
 
wedge said:
no, good point. SS will keep. What is the price difference?
I usually sell beer line for 2.00 per metre.

So the approx 15m of SS at 30.00 is the same price...
 
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