My New Jockey Box

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bucfanmike

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I had a 2 tap jockeybox but got in a sweet deal awhile back for 4 new ss perlick/shank combos. My jockey box was powered by a 7 pass coldplate so it was clear to me it was time to upgrade. Our big beer competition is this weekend and Im in charge of the complimentary beers, so there was no better time

I started with an ebay find, a vintage thermos brand cooler. Its 'rustic' right now, next year it will hopefully get some new paint, not sure what Im going to do with it yet. Marked where the taps would go.
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For the back I prefer one hole, although bulkheads would be nice, I just couldnt justify the cost. 1.5 inch hole allows me to pull through the lines I need and makes it easier to store. These are the plumbing parts to make it clean. Then a dry fit of where it will go, and then the hole.
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This is with the pvc slid into the hole and nuts secured on both inside and out.
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Taps installed, pressure tested, and packed for travel.
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With the drip tray from my keezer.
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Also going to need a lot more gas lines line, built a new quick disco system for co2, more pics of that later. Teaser.
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I have the same exact cooler and the same color for my jockey box. If you need to touch the paint up( mine had some rust spots) walmart brand red paint for $1.00 is an exact match.
 
nope just under the table.. Dont need to ice the kegs. coldplate does it as they are being served.

You do not have the kegs chilled ? I thought that was only the case with SS coil in the cooler. I am going to build a JB with a 7 pass cold plate and read that the kegs need to be pre chilled
 
I have a few more questions for you. What size beer line are you using and how long are the lengths that you are using for each run? I am going to be building a 4 tap jockey box with a 7 pass cold plate in the next few weeks. Since I am only using 4 of the passes I am assuming leave 3 closed?
 
I have 10 ft lines. It was a personal preference for me because of the way I want to use it for camping. With my setup still having the co2 push about 10-12 lbs gives me a good flow. As far as the open lines, yeah just leave them open. I put a cap over my open pass to make sure water doesn't get in. You can also run a beer back through another pass if you choose.
 
I have 10 ft lines. It was a personal preference for me because of the way I want to use it for camping. With my setup still having the co2 push about 10-12 lbs gives me a good flow. As far as the open lines, yeah just leave them open. I put a cap over my open pass to make sure water doesn't get in. You can also run a beer back through another pass if you choose.

Are you using 3/16" line? I am assuming that you are using 10' of line for the beer in ( from the keg to the cold plate) What length did you use from the cold plate out to the shank/faucet?

TIA
Zman
 
Nice work! What sort of a cold plate are you using for this setup? Will it chill the beer well as you pour it if the beer is somewhat warm in the keg?
 
its a 7 pass cold plate and yes it does a fine job keeping up on the cold beer. Ive only ever icebathed the bottom 1' of the kegs when i have been in 80 deg weather.
 
its a 7 pass cold plate and yes it does a fine job keeping up on the cold beer. Ive only ever icebathed the bottom 1' of the kegs when i have been in 80 deg weather.

Do you place the cold plate inside the cooler with the hoses and then cover it with ice? Sorry for the dumb questions... I'm curious about how this works.
 
yes, with a cold plate you want it in the bottom of the cooler and keep it covered with ice only, keep the water drained off. On jockeyboxes with stainless coil, you would use a ice/water mix to keep the coils submersed.
 
So would you say this is the best way to serve kegged beer at a party or event when the event location doesn't have a kegerator or other means to keep the beer cold? I'm considering serving beer from a keg at an upcoming Cinco de Mayo party but I don't know what to do about the lack of kegerator situation at my friend's house.
 
it depends how often you find yourself in this situation. For me, we do alot of camping and I will use this many times a year. If its going to be a 1 time thing or even 1 or 2 times a year, then I would have stuck with the big brute trash can and party taps.
 
I have a 7 product plate as well. When you "jump" the un used passes you just connect some tubing from the " in" side to the "out side" of the 3 unused in/out posts?
 
I would love to see your complete setup, as I am planning a very similar project for our camping trips.
 
I love this setup. I am about to build a 6 tapper for my Homebrew club and I will probably use this as the basic design. Is there anything you would change if you were doing it again?
 
I love this setup. I am about to build a 6 tapper for my Homebrew club and I will probably use this as the basic design. Is there anything you would change if you were doing it again?

not really. It would be nice to have bulkheads through the back for each line, but I just couldnt justify the extra money, would have been about an extra $100 bucks. For this year, I will end up cutting the lines down some. I had made them extra long with the intention of putting this is one storage compartment on my camper and running the lines to another storage area where the kegs would be. I ended up making this fit on a cart that has the kegs on board, so I dont need such long lines.
 
I should probably make it to the award night for the brewhaha one of these years. Looks like a great set up. especially for "camping".
 
If your kegs are warm and you serve at 10-12 psi for the day, do you turn up the psi to recarb your beer at night?
 
If your kegs are warm and you serve at 10-12 psi for the day, do you turn up the psi to recarb your beer at night?


yea, on my long trip for the year last year, I had t keep increasing the pressure to keep a good card level. But that was for a 10 day trip..3 day weekends have never been much of an issue.
 
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