Draft Beer Tower at the Kitchen Sink

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New member as of today but I have been reading the site for at least a year. I know a few are wondering why I would want to do this, but it all started with the sprayer at the kitchen sink. I never use it. I always thought it was a waste of space at the sink. I always wanted to replace it with something. Once I came of age to legally consume I was turned on to microbrews and craft brewing. Why not replace the sprayer with a draft beer tower!

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And so the journey begins. I have been wanting to do this project for some time and with all the research I have not been able to find someone that has done exactly as I am doing. I will have my keezer in the basement and run the insulated lines up to the kitchen sink. I picked up my chest freezer at Sears scratch and dent. I looked the freezer over real well and all that I could find was a scratch on the left hand side that didn't even indent the metal. I still need to build the collar. It is big enough to hold 2 half barrels but still not tall enough to go without a collar.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/14-8-cu-...ils.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=823&flt_shipping_length=[0 TO 100]&flt_bdn=Whirlpool&flt_shipping_width=[0 TO 100]&flt_sp=[0 TO 125000]&flt_shipping_height=[0 TO 100]&pn=1&ps=24&pid=86471&mode=seeAll&itemSelectionType=all
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I also picked up a PP50 glycol unit from Perlick to make sure I get a nice cold pour each time. This was by far the most expensive part of my kit. But, it is what I want.

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To deal with the effect of gravity I also picked up a pump panel from Perlick. Supply the panel with 40 psi of CO2 and adjust the regulators on panel for your beverage choice.

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I also picked up some insulated trunk line as well. Although the tower I have now only has 2 faucets, the line has 4 product lines in case I want to expand at a later date.

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So far the only work that I have done it drill a hole in my sink for the draft tower and a hole through the bottom of the cabinet into the floor to the basement. Easier said than done. As you can see my sink has a 0.125" lip that makes things a little difficult. To overcome the issue at hand I decided to make a spacer. This space ends up kind of looking like the Chicago Bears logo. To make it I used a 4.5" hole saw to cut out a circle from scrap stainless steel. I then used a 2.5" hole saw to remove the inner circle. The first bit of advice I would give is to use a CD to locate where on the sink you want the tower to go. The tower column is 3.5" in diameter but the base is closer to 5" in diameter. Once I found the spot that I liked I held the tower up several times to check before I drilled the sink. Once I was happy I marked the center of the hole and drilled it using a 2.5" hole saw. I then held the spacer over the hole and matched up the inner side of it with the hole in the sink. I marked where the lip was and cut it out using a cut of wheel. I left a little bit of material to grind away an angle to attept to match the angle of the sink lip. I was happy with what I did.


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Next up is to drill a hole in the cabinet bottom and subfloor. The insulated trunk line is about 3.5" in diameter. I used a 4" hole saw to drill the 2 holes.

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That is all that I have thus far. Another build day begins tomorrow after work. I hope to finish securing the draft tower to the sink and connect the lines underneath the sink. I ran into an issue with one of the four holes that secures the tower to the sink and I thought I would wait until I had a center punch from work to make sure I don't screw up the last hole. I can at least try and do it the right way...I guess. If there are any questions or comments, feel free to chime in. I have looked for some time and have not been able to find this exact project, but I have seen several similar to it on HBT.
 
Today after work I finished securing the tower to the sink, connected the lines underneath and ran the trunk down to the freezer. What sucked the most about what I did today was working under the sink. Not sure if any of you guys have ever had to for various reasons, but space is hard to come by. But, it needed to be done.

I grabbed a center punch and right angle drill to get into the spot next to the back splash in order to drill the last hole through the sink. Once all 4 holes were drilled for the #8 hardware I picked up it was time to mount the tower. I put a bead of Marine Goop down in between the spacer I made and the sink. This is a adhesive and sealant all in one. It works wonders! Actually getting the tower into the hole was easy, but getting the fender washer, washer, lock washer and nut on the other side of the bolt was challenging to say the least due to the lack of space. I forgot to snag a picture from underneath of the hardware...

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Next up it was time to prep the lines. The 4 lines sticking down from the tower need to be wrapped together so that the glycol lines actually cool the beer. Wrap the lines with packing tape as tightly as you can. Once they are wrapped with packing tape, wrap them with a clear tape to create a vapor barrier (not really sure what to call it). Now cut the lines from the trunk line to the right lengths so that they will connect to the tower lines without too much fight. Next put the solid piece of foam up and over the tower lines, so that when you tape it all up there is a solid line of foam insulation. I cut my trunk lines to where I thought they needed to be and still had to fight them. Don't forget to put the hose clamps on each of the lines, then press them onto the corresponding barbs. Once everything is connected it is time to seal it all up. I tried to get a little overlap with the foam insulation, but I don't think it ended up as I wished. Once all the foam insulation is on the lines, tape them up with duct tape. I made sure to go at least 3 inches below the cut I made on the trunk line and about the same above where the tower foam comes down to.

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Now it was time to finish routing the trunk line in the basement. I used some wood screws I had laying around and some pipe hanger tape. Every few floor joists I would hang the trunk line with some hanger tape. I routed the trunk line over to where I want my keezer to be. Be aware of all the other lines in the floor joists. There is a cold water line and a drain I come in contact with. As long as you do not apply a lot of pressure to them you should be in the clear. Hot water and gas lines are another story, that I did not have to deal with.

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That is the location that I intend to put my keezer at. For some odd reason my basement has a half wall and I intend to put the cooler on that and run the lines across/above where the sump pump is. No my basement does not flood, I have 2 French drains that drain to the sump pump. If the power goes out, the generator picks up. As you can see in the last pic, I have a lot of trunk line left over. Better to have enough than to come up short.

I won't be able to work on the project tomorrow as I have other plans for the evening but I am going to figure out my collar so that I can have that finished this weekend, I hope. After that all that is left is the electrical aspect. I need to run a line over and make a new outlet so that the sump pump is still on its own dedicated circuit and I can have the keezer, chiller nd my water softner/conditioner on another outlet.
 
That is seriously cool man. Definitely not messing around!

What's the deal with the pump though? Why do you supply it with 40psi? Are they like CO2 powered pumps?
 
DustyTheBrewer said:
That is seriously cool man. Definitely not messing around!

What's the deal with the pump though? Why do you supply it with 40psi? Are they like CO2 powered pumps?

From what I understand they are CO2 powered pumps. There is one for sale on the classifieds section for $40!

I am curious to see if the beer will warm up in the lines from the keezer to the sink.

OP, question for you: can you explain the use of the glycol unit and how/what exactly that will be cooling? Thanks
 
The glycol unit chills the beer in the trunk line from the keezer to the tap.
 
That's some serious moolah for only having two taps! Go big or go home I guess

I suppose in this case its more "If its your home, go big" lol, even then i wouldnt dare dream drilling holes in my subfloor to route beer...

Interested to see how it turns out.
 
Awesome ...when I was in college we had a keg hooked up to the actual sprayer...run the line from the basement ...looks awesome with the tower!
 
I didn't get as much done over the weekend as I had hoped. Taking in football with friends at some of the local watering holes put a damper on progress. I did get everything plumped in except the CO2 tank because I forgot to grab a line for it. But all that needs to be done for that is to slip the line on past the barbs and tighten down the pipe clamp.

I built the collar very similar to what many people have done. I used pieces of wood that I had laying around from previous projects, hence why I used presure treated 2x6's for the section that sits on top of the freezer. I used 2.5" wood screws to screw all the pieces together and 1.25" wood screws on the corner gussets. I cannot stress enough to use a square and level to make sure what you are building is indeed square and flush. Once I had the inner part of the collar assembled I attached small 0.25" shims to 3 of the sides so that I could attach the 2x10 boards on those three sides. Once I had that done I put down two layers of 1.25" wide x 0.4375" thick weather stripping on the inner collar side that would be resting on the freezer. I then flipped the collar right side up and placed it on the freezer so I could attach the lid. Before I removed the lid I put a screw through each hinge. I did not have to create my own hole for the screw because there was already a hole there for this purpose. This helps to take some pressure off the spring so you do not have to fight it. Once I had the collar assembled and right side up I put the door back on making sure it was square and flush.

Now it was time to build a wall to hold in the spray foam. I used all the scrap wood I had left over to make the other sides of the form. Once I had that done, I sprayed the foam insulation in all the cracks and even a bead n the inside where the collar sits. I am trying my best to keep it air tight to prevent moisture issues. I let the foam set up for almost a whole 24 hours before I resumed work. Next up I trimmed the insulation and removed the form. Starting to take shape now. I then mounted the CO2 pump panel and drilled holes for all the hoses - CO2, trunk line and both glycol lines. I used a 3" hole saw for the trunk line and a 1" drill for the other holes. I did this to keep the holes as small and snug as possible to help prevent moisture issues, and this made fishing hoses with insulation on them a pain. After playing around with each hose for more than I would have liked to, they all were fed in and cut to the appropriate length. This doesn't even come close to how much of a pain working under the kitchen sink was. All of the lines inside/outside of the keezer are secured on the barb with hose clamps and insulated all the way into the keezer. The only thing I did not do was tape the glycol lines outside of the keezer...I really didn't feel like looking around for duct tape. Anyhow, here are pics to match all that I said for an update.

Screw holding the spring back on the hinge:
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It's hip to use a square!
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Collar assembled with weather stripping on:
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Collsr right side up:
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Note the spacer:
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Bead of silicon to help keep moisure out:
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Hinges attached using the paint stirring from a 5 gallon bucket as an offset (needed to help lineup the lid with the collar):
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One layer of foam board insulation installed:
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Spray foam after the form has been completed:
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Trunk line fed through:
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CO2 pump panel mounted:
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Trunk line insulation stripped away to expose the lines, with 2 product lines hooked up, secured to the wall with pipe hanger strap:
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Glycol lines hooked up:
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All closed up with the CO2 tank waiting for its line....
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Tomorrow I hope to tackle the CO2 tanks line and run the electrical. The glycol unit needs its own dedicated 20 amp service and I need to run power for another out that powers the freezer and my water softner/conditioner. I am close. Once I do that I plan to use the temp control on the freezer to take care of the kegs. I will have to adjust the coarse temp setting on the compressor to get above freezing and then use the fine adjustment to tweek it. I guess I will be borrowing a thermocouple reader from work...
 
If I had a setup like that I think I would ENJOY washing the dishes. But, I'm too lazy so paper plates and the keezer in the cellar works!
 
I have everything done and a 1/2 keg of Yuengling and a 1/6 keg of Arrogant Bastard on tap. Still playing the pressure game with the CO2 to get a good pour. I think I was too anxious last night and wanted a perfect pour as soon as I got the kegs out of my truck and into the basement, even if they were a little shook up from the ride and dolly ride to the basement. I started with the pressure at ~12 psi. Too low. I let the kegs settle some but kept incresing the pressure. Not sure exactly where I stand right now, but I would bet it is just under 20 psi. The supply regulator is at ~45 psi. The reason the supply regulator is so high is because the CO2 pumps use CO2 to power the pumps. Once the gas is inside the box it is split and that is why there are two regulators, one each for the respective lines. Onwards to info!

To adjust the temperature of the freezer I used the coarse setting screw.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/gu...mostat-32f-eliminate-external-control-249612/
I had to work at it for about a day before I got the temperature in the upper 30s.

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This is the layout provided by Perlick. It didn't work for me because I was not attaching to a flat surface. I used a ruler and compass to translate the dimensions to my sink top.

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This is what is going on in the tower. Awesome diagram that captures it all. The line on the left hand side has the trunk line coming up to connect to the tower. What I did not know about are the restrictors that go in a piece of tubing between the tower and trunk line. I used 12 in each of my lines and then used a clamp to hold them in place so that they don't move too far with the flow of beer and do not settle too much without the flow of beer. Once again, good document that shows you what the hell is going on.

Now for the CO2 pumps:
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ANy questions, feel free to ask. All that they do is pump the beer up the 10 feet or so of vertical distance. Do I use more CO2 in the process, yes. I am OK with that though. It was either use pumps or beer gas. I figured I would try these out.

On to the glycol chiller and boy does it keep the beer cold. When I checked the tower last night it was chilly! It is set to 34 degrees F and when the temperature of the glycol raises 4 degrees the compressor kicks on and chills the glycol back down to 34.
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Perlick also provides a test sheet of the glycol chiller showing the current draw and temperature.
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After golf today, I hope to work out any kinks with the system as the guys run it through more beer than I can by myself. I am sure that the pressure will need to be tweaked a little more but other than that it is up and running. Waiting to get a good picture of a good pour. I did not feel like showing my first pour of 95% foam....
 
Well...power is equal to current times voltage. So to give you a rough stimste at 120 volts over one hour is a half hour if running. So I would guesstimate over an hour to be 960 watts. To figure how much it costs for a month multiply the 960 watts by the kw hour.
 
Any idea what that chiller will cost to run for an average month?

Well at 960 watts x 6hrs run time per day x 365 days per year=2,102,400 total watts divide by 1000 =2102.40 x what you pay per Kw will say 12 cents would be $252.59 per year divide by 12 = $21.02 per month. And about $4.20 for the kezzer. Or 12 bucks per tap a month. :cross:
 
So are you venting the co2 powered pumps exhaust from the basement?

No, it is not vented. The gas stays in the "sealed" keezer. Not ideal but as long as you don't stick your head in the keezer and huff away you are OK. I have put my head in to get a correct reading on the regulators and I am still here.
 
leatherfacegoon said:
Single and loving not fighting/arguing over simple things like having a draft beer tower at the kitchen sink!

Enjoy it. Once you find your true love, you will be replacing it so hope you didn't throw it out :)
 
rgarry said:
Enjoy it. Once you find your true love, you will be replacing it so hope you didn't throw it out :)

Unless he marries the woman of his dreams. You know, the kind of woman that encourages him to spend lots of money on brewing equipment, to brew twice a week and has a cold home brew waiting for him in hand wearing a negligee he walks in from brewing in the garage.

Umm...yeah, enjoy it while you can because it's a pretty sweet setup.
 
Haha! This will be my test to see what the response is. If she freaks out, not the right one. If she asks what's on tap and suggests a craft brew, we have a winner! Ha
^^^^ words of wisdom right there...

I've got a similar space problem in my house and a similar need to get beer from the basement to the main floor. I started a thread about it here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/1-2-keezer-1-2-freezer-458747/

Thanks for posting all this.

What do you think of using a pond pump to circulate glycol in the feeder line ?

How much does the freezer run ?

Ironic, but I have the very same freezer.
 
I realize this is an old thread, but I am impressed. I've floated the idea of a remote tap and the WAF was higher than anticipated. My glycol line would be REALLY long to my kitchen, but not my theater room . . .

Anybody have an estimation of costs of this setup? I didn't see one but kinda skimmed the text.
 
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