beer cooler jockey box

McStew

Has anyone every made a beer cooler jockey box and if so what online kits do you recommend

Thanks any help is appreciated

Greeno55

I made this bad boy. It's a 5 gallon Home Depot cooler, the copper coil is just a 3/8 tubing pancake I wrapped around a corny keg, and bought some odds and ends from an online homebrew store. I spent less than $100, which as I'm sure you are aware is a fraction of buying it. Let me know how I can help.

McStew

do you recommend hooking it up to CO2 or is that not necessary ?

Greeno55

Oh it absolutely needs to be hooked up to gas. It actually takes a pretty high psi to push the beer through over 50' of line. I usually set it between 25-30.

McStew

Thanks @Greeno55

Greeno55

No worries bud! It was a fun build, and even more fun to test out. Let me know if you need any other help. Cheers!

NPHuskerFL

I love thermodynamics in a beverage setting =D>
Awesome!!!

NDG

woah . . 

Griffin

That is too cool!! :-bd

rtt121

I wouldn't leave your keg hooked up at 25-30 psi when your not using it.

It wont take too long before you can only pour foam as it will become way overcarbonated.

McStew

@rtt121 thanks I only plan on shot term runs with this project 1-1.5 days  

Lit

Yeah I leave my kegerator at home usually around 6 PSI and that seems to work well.

rtt121

Lit said:

Yeah I leave my kegerator at home usually around 6 PSI and that seems to work well.

It is a balanced system.  6psi works well for you but how much beer line from tap to keg?  I am guessing about 10 feet?  That same 6psi with a 3 foot beer line would be way too much pressure for the tap.. but if you were to turn it down to 2-3 psi you would have undercarbonated beer.

PSI = Beer line length = carbonation level of your beverage

Its all about finding the sweet spot and any one change affects all three

rtt121

This is why restaurants and bars use "beer gas".  Its is a nitro/co2 mix.  This gives the ability to turn the PSI way up to match very long beer lines... only the co2 in the mix carbonates and thus you do not end up with over carbonated beverage.

fishlessman

mine was pretty simple, guinness doesnt need to be too cold. i dont remember what i set the pressure at with the 75%/25% nitrogen/co2. i bought enough guinness one year that the distributor set me up with tap and handle for free

Lit

@rtt121 when I was setting up my kegerator and researching the right PSI I never read anything about the line length as a factor and I read numerous sites. I did read line diameter is a factor and the type and temperature of beer but never anything about line length. Maybe thats because kegerators have short enough lines that it isn't a factor but just saying thats the first I have heard.

rtt121

 It is most certainly a factor.

The first google search I clicked on after typing balancing psi and beer line was:

https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/164-balancing-your-draft-system-advanced-brewing

A matter of balance
Calculating the correct dispensing pressure and making changes to the system is known as “balancing” and is critical to pouring a perfect beer. Balance is not only dependent on the carbonation level and the temperature of the beer, but several other factors also enter into the equation. These include the overall height difference between the keg and the tap, the length and diameter of the dispensing line and the type of tap being used. Changes to any one of these will change the balance of the system.

rtt121

There are other variables as well.. such as is the beer working with or against gravity.. temp of beer etc..

IMO the balancing act was always between PSI, Line Length, and desired carbonation.

Also IMO 6psi is not enough to keep the beer carbonated to my preferences.  I always worked my way back from desired carbonation.  Which for me and my cold kegerator at 35degrees means I need about 12PSI.  In order to pour a nice beer with 12psi I have about 16 feet of 3/16" beer line.  My tap is only 3 feet from my Kegerator.

Greeno55

Correct, you definitely would not want to leave your keg charging at 30psi for a period of time, unless of course you are charging it.  But then using a jockey box at an event, or camping for an evening or two, you really do need a lot of pressure to combat the resistance of the 54 or so feet of line you are pushing the beer through.  Line length does play a major role in psi settings.  At home, at 42 degrees, I keep most of my brews at 10-12psi which gives me a co2 volume of 2.4-2.6.  Works perfect for my needs.  When I had shorter lines, 10-12 psi was way too much.

rtt121

Greeno55 said:

Correct, you definitely would not want to leave your keg charging at 30psi for a period of time, unless of course you are charging it.  But then using a jockey box at an event, or camping to an evening or two, you really do need a lot of pressure to combat the resistance of the 54 or so feet of line you are pushing the beer through.  Line length does play a major role in psi settings.  At home, at 42 degrees, I keep most of my brews at 10-12psi which gives me a co2 volume of 2.4-2.6.  Works perfect for my needs.

+1

Lit

@rtt121 at 12 PSI I get 80% foam when I pour a beer. Mine is one of the small beermeister units so it has under 5' of hose and I keep it at 34-35 degrees.

rtt121

@lit that is because you only have 5' of hose. it is too much pressure for that little hose.

If you replaced the 5' with ~15ft it would pour the same way it does now with 6 except you would have more (IMO better) carbonation after it balances.  FWIW most of the hose/line should stay inside the beermeister it is simply their for resistance.

McStew

Seems like a bit of an art form to get the correct settings.  Is this something I should even try when only using 1-3 times a year?  

rtt121

@McStew it sounds more complicated that it is.  I would do it.. its fun in itself.

If using a setup like the jockey box with really long beer lines I would:

Lets say you need 50psi to push it through.  I would only have 50psi on the beer when you are serving. IE if you do not finish your keg the day you tap it, unhook it.  Then bleed off the pressure on the keg.  Then I would hook the co2 back up to the keg with 12 psi.. once it takes the c02 you are ready to repeat another day.

EDIT: It takes a while (1-3 days) for the beer carbonation to match the PSI.  So if you hook up 50psi to the keg it will not immediately overcarbonate it. If you left it overnight you would start to notice a difference.

Greeno55

McStew said:

Seems like a bit of an art form to get the correct settings.  Is this something I should even try when only using 1-3 times a year?  

Don't let all the balancing talk worry you.  This is more for a home keg system where you'll be pouring from it regularly and beer is sitting for some time.  For a jockey box, attach a keg, put the gas to it, and start at 20 psi, if you don't like the pour, bump to 25, and then to 30.  If it's too high, lower it, relieve some keg pressure and go again.  That's all you have to do for that.  There's no real issue other than making sure you have an ice water bath in the box itself.    A few other things to think of, make sure its a water bath, and not just a bunch of ice.  The bath surrounds the coils with near freezing water, making the heat transfer amazing, and super cold pours.  Also, make sure to have beer in the lines before you add the ice and water.  I read in some forums where adding the ice water over empty lines caused them to cool so much, beer was freezing in the line.  I don't use mine all that often, but when I do, it's been so worth it.

McStew

@greeno55 thanks I will post pictures of my progress as parts arrive 

Lit

Thanks @rtt121. I may have to get a longer hose and test it out. I know the pressure is very sensitive on mine. Even a pound or 2 makes a huge difference.

rtt121

I would try it.  Let me know how it goes!

Greeno55

Lit said:

Thanks @rtt121. I may have to get a longer hose and test it out. I know the pressure is very sensitive on mine. Even a pound or 2 makes a huge difference.

When I was having problems with massive foam pours I did two things.  I first put in a small computer fan pointing up the beer tower to keep those lines cold that were outside of the fridge, and then I replaced the beer lines with longer, higher quality ones.  Haven't looked back.  I eventually upgraded my faucets, and that helped with pours as well, but not necessary to get rid of the foam.

Lit

I may need to replace the lines. The tower and hose stay really cold they are insulated well.

Greeno55

@McStew @Lit @rtt121 Are you all home brewers?