Need A Beer Chiller Solution

[christofurry]

Guys,



New to this forum but Ive been stalking you guys for a while.



Ive come up on a small problem....Ive just built an outdoor kitchen (this is a good thing) the bad thing is the wife wouldnt let me have a space under the bench for a kegerator.



I cant fit a keg in the outdoor fridge as its usually stuffed with food.

Indoor fridge is full of most normal indoor fridge stuff.



SO Im trying to come up with a sneaky keg system.



My 1^st idea is to get a plate chiller (out of a miracle box) and place that in the freezer compartment of the outdoor fridge, hide the keg/gas under the bench somewhere and have a gun tap system that can be removed if need be.



Question: Will a plate chiller sitting in a normal freezer chill a warm keg?

Question: Could I use a stainless coil in place of a plate chiller because Im having a hard time finding a plate chiller?



Cheers

Chris

 

[Paul H]

Guys,



New to this forum but Ive been stalking you guys for a while.



Ive come up on a small problem....Ive just built an outdoor kitchen (this is a good thing) the bad thing is the wife wouldnt let me have a space under the bench for a kegerator.



I cant fit a keg in the outdoor fridge as its usually stuffed with food.

Indoor fridge is full of most normal indoor fridge stuff.




SO Im trying to come up with a sneaky keg system.



My 1^st idea is to get a plate chiller (out of a miracle box) and place that in the freezer compartment of the outdoor fridge, hide the keg/gas under the bench somewhere and have a gun tap system that can be removed if need be.



Question: Will a plate chiller sitting in a normal freezer chill a warm keg?

Question: Could I use a stainless coil in place of a plate chiller because Im having a hard time finding a plate chiller?



Cheers

Chris

I think getting a new wife would be an easier solution..

Cheers

Paul

 

[argon]

By the time you have to locate a keg and gas and whatever mechanism you use to chill and dispense, a kegerator or small firdge is probably going to be your best option.

However, as you've already excluded that idea, have a search around for a miracle box on ebay or wherever. Only thing is you'l have to keep it cool somehow... which either means in the fridge and/or filled with ice.

My strategy would be (excluding a dedicated keg fridge... doesn't have to be a kegerator with a font BTW) would be to buy a 9L corny and have it in the fridge with a bronco tap. Then over time, get a 19L in there, then another, then another till it was full and you had a dedicated fridge for beer. Just chip away little by little and it'll happen.

 

[mje1980]

If its going to live in the freezer, maybe the plate chiller might freeze any beer left in there between drinks, possibly clogging it the next time you went to pour one?? Very clever idea though, it would save a lot of space. It might be a bit of stuffing around getting the pouring pressure right though.

 

[christofurry]

Paul - New wife out of the question, its costs too much to turn them over/trade them in

Argon - I can hide the keg under the bench seat in the kitchen, but we didnt have enough room for a kegerator... go figure

mje - Was thinking that the plate might freeze the beer, possibility to keep it in the fridge. Im worried that I would only get 1 or two beers out of the plate before its warm beer in a fridge.

 

[christofurry]

ah yeah thats another problem.

Ice is a rare commodity, its a rural property, so an actual magic box is sort of hard to feed.

 

[ArnieW]

What about something like an ice bank?

http://www.pinnaclewholesalers.com.au/prod...2/BEER_ICE_BANK

This mob sells on ebay and I got one for much less than the advertised price at the link above. It is quite a compact unit. It's effectively a miracle box that keeps itself cold.

 

[A3k]

what about a counterflow chiller made out of copper pipe with a hose around it.

i wouldn't put the chiller in the freezer, it would be a pain with it freezing up.
you could have the chiller in the fridge or outside, and a bucket of glycol in the freezer. Pump the glycol through the coolant side of the chiller with a cheap pump. could still freeze up when not used though.

i reckon the same thing would work with a bucket of water in the fridge. this would remove the chance for freezing the beer, and the need for glycol. you'd probably get the beer down pretty cold.

main problem would be if you were pouring lots of beer, the water would warm up.

just another option... keg in the fridge would still be better

 

[A3k]

what about a counterflow chiller made out of copper pipe with a hose around it.

i wouldn't put the chiller in the freezer, it would be a pain with it freezing up.
you could have the chiller in the fridge or outside, and a bucket of glycol in the freezer. Pump the glycol through the coolant side of the chiller with a cheap pump. could still freeze up when not used though.

i reckon the same thing would work with a bucket of water in the fridge. this would remove the chance for freezing the beer, and the need for glycol. you'd probably get the beer down pretty cold.

main problem would be if you were pouring lots of beer, the water would warm up.

just another option... keg in the fridge would still be better

 

[drsmurto]

The 9L keg option already mentioned by Argon would seem to be the easiest solution.

Doesn't take up as much room in the fridge. Fit a picnic tap to it and it's out of sight. A 9L keg sill still hold ~15 pints.

Brew 18L batches and fill 2 at a time, when you are having a party chill the 2nd keg down in a bucket of ice until it's needed.

 

[Dave70]

Buy a bar fridge of appropriate size, slam your keg in and be done with it. If you have to build an attractive timber box around it and sit a vase with wife pleasing flowers atop, so be it. Trying to re-invent the wheel more often than not winds up being an expensive wast of valuable drinking time.

Or do what I do and just exist under the house in the garage like a troll who emerges periodically with glasses of beer.

 

[christofurry]

Digging up an old thread...

I picked up a stainless coil agers ago and never got to using it. Its raining and Im bored so and its got me thinking. There is 14m of stainless coil


and now Im back to the drawing board.

Who thinks that if I put this coil in a glycol solution in the freezer and pumped room temp beer through it - Would it?
A. Chill my beer
B. Chill my friends beer (say 4 beers every 30 minutes)

Thoughts?