SS Vs. Clear Poly tube (Jockey Box)

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jdbright79

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Hey guys, sorry if this has been brought up. Tried searching but couldnt quite find what I was looking for.
Im going to a "dry" wedding in a couple weeks :( So I decided to make a jockey box :) Anyway...I have no idea how often I will use it in the future. So is it worth spending the money for Stainless tubing? Or will plastic tubing do the trick? I did some thermal research and it looks like stainless transfers heat 85x's better than plastic tubing. But a constant pour isnt really an issue. If we gotta wait a min or two between pours for the beer in the line to chill, I can live with that.
Cant use copper. I havent poisoned anyone yet and hope not to :p
I have seen the link for the "jockey box project" and am now hopeful I can pull it off.
If anyone has had success with plastic I'd appreciate the heads up.
25' or 50'? Id like to use thin wall tubing for a better heat transfer but Im afraid I might have to use higher co2 pressure and might run the risk of rupturing the line.

Thanks in advance
 
I have a jockey box that has 100' of stainless and I can only get 2-3 pours off of it before I start to get foam. I don't think the plastic would work. I have to set my psi to 25-30 psi.
 
The cost of 50'+ of tubing will add up and will eventually need to be replaced. I picked up a used cold plate on ebay for about $40 shipped. Stainless and aluminum construction and it will last for many years.

Here's one
 
Plastic tubing will not work. Do the math and you'll find that the beer must be chilled as it flows. No reasonable amount of tubing will hold an entire pint and plastic will not allow enough heat transfer for flow cooling.
 
Cant use copper. I havent poisoned anyone yet and hope not to :p


What's wrong with using copper? Entire brewing systems have been constructed from copper. It is more expensive than it use to be but is cheaper than SS. If you're worried about the oxidized copper leeching into your beer, run some starsan through it before serving. The acidity of the starsan will make it look shinny and new.
 
What's wrong with using copper? Entire brewing systems have been constructed from copper. It is more expensive than it use to be but is cheaper than SS. If you're worried about the oxidized copper leeching into your beer, run some starsan through it before serving. The acidity of the starsan will make it look shinny and new.

Copper is fine for beer PRE-fermentation. But not after fermentation. And as far as rinsing off the "gross" layer to leave it shiny, that is actually backwards. The shiny service is more harmful, you want the oxidized layer on the copper. I don't remember the science behind it, but it's here on the forums.
 
I have seen at least 3 of my club members built jockey boxes with the copper coils. I have not noticed any flavor issues with beer coming through the copper.

I have also seen them at brewing events. I guess plastic is not viable for heat transfer by the numbers.
 
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