DIY Drip Trays - "The Fellas"

This was posted elsewhere so sorry about the dup's.

Did you make the tower too?

huh... thats um... well sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a beer tower is not a phallic symbol.
looks like you made the tower too eh? NICELY done. As I have two taps already i'm totally going to use that idea, thank you.

Short Drive said:

Did you make the tower too?

Click to expand...

Yep. 3" PVC with a basic toilet flange and a cap. The PVC pipe is cemented to the flange (bottom) but the cap is just lightly tapped on so I have access to the plumbing inside. I ran two hoses up the middle and for a quick insulator, I grabbed a half-used roll of paper towels and that fit nice and snug up the PVC with the hoses running down the middle.

I used 3" machine screws and nuts to anchor the flange to the top of the fridge.

BierMuncher said:

Yep. 3" PVC with a basic toilet flange and a cap. The PVC pipe is cemented to the flange (bottom) but the cap is just lightly tapped on so I have access to the plumbing inside. I ran two hoses up the middle and for aquic insulator, I grabbed a half-used roll of paper towels and that fit nice and snug up the PVC with the hoses running down the middle.

I used 3" machine screws and nuts to anchor the flange to the top of the fridge.

Click to expand...

Thanks. It really ingenious.

BierMuncher said:

Yep. 3" PVC with a basic toilet flange and a cap. The PVC pipe is cemented to the flange (bottom) but the cap is just lightly tapped on so I have access to the plumbing inside. I ran two hoses up the middle and for aquic insulator, I grabbed a half-used roll of paper towels and that fit nice and snug up the PVC with the hoses running down the middle.

I used 3" machine screws and nuts to anchor the flange to the top of the fridge.

Click to expand...

Can I get some more info on that?
Like the how tall it is, maybe some pics of the inside? What is the make-up of parts for the Faucets. I am very new to this stuff and I am cluless as to what all I need.

Whoa, that whole setup looks great BM.

Dude said:

Whoa, that whole setup looks great BM.

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Thanks Dude. They work out really well. Got quiet a workout this weekend with a big party and about 20-25 beer drinkers lined up at the taps all afternoon. Now if only I could figure a way to rid the world of fruit flies.

I see Perlicks or VM's in your future....

Just read the bit about the papertowels and had a bit of an idea...

What if you took two small PVC tubes and held them in the middle of the larger pipe... then sprayed foam insulation into the tube (with appropriate covering to prevent it from getting all over the place, of course). I'm thinking this might be better for insulation. Then just run the tubing for the beer inside the smaller diameter tubing.

Just a simple little idea for less energy waste... thought I'd share...

I'm trying to understand more clearly. Are those trays just cemented to the top of the fridge or do they drain somewhere?

Damn Squirrels said:

Just read the bit about the papertowels and had a bit of an idea...

What if you took two small PVC tubes and held them in the middle of the larger pipe... then sprayed foam insulation into the tube (with appropriate covering to prevent it from getting all over the place, of course). I'm thinking this might be better for insulation. Then just run the tubing for the beer inside the smaller diameter tubing.

Just a simple little idea for less energy waste... thought I'd share...

Click to expand...

That would work. I just happened to have had a half roll of paper towels laying within arm’s reach and grabbed it. The layers of paper towels provide about 1 & 1/4 inches of good compact insulation and I can remove it easily if I need to.

When you consider how incredibly little beer sits in that limited amount of narrow tubing, I didn’t see the need for any cooling fan rig.

Skrimpy…neither. They just sit on top and are deep enough that I can just empty them out and rinse them at the end of an “event”.

BierMuncher said:

Now if only I could figure a way to rid the world of fruit flies.

Click to expand...

You won't believe how well this works until you try it. Get a coffee cup and fill it about half way with soapy water and either red wine or cider vinegar. Sit back and watch the action. Better than a bug zapper.

That is a cool DIY tower and spill cups BierMuncher.

I think when I upgrade from my cobra tap I will go this route.
Few quick questions;

How tall did you make your tower...if you had to do it again would you keep it the same height?

How are the Beer Taps and beer lines connected in the tower...did you need any special fittings or Taps to get it connected?

Cheers
BeerCanuck

BeerCanuck said:

That is a cool DIY tower and spill cups BierMuncher.

I think when I upgrade from my cobra tap I will go this route.
Few quick questions;

How tall did you make your tower...if you had to do it again would you keep it the same height?

How are the Beer Taps and beer lines connected in the tower...did you need any special fittings or Taps to get it connected?

Cheers
BeerCanuck

Click to expand...

The PVC pipe itself is 15" and yes, I'd do the same thing. With those drip trays sitting about 2" high, byt the time you get a good pint glass under there, it's nice to have the extra room.

I used some elbow shanks from Micromatic (on sale now for like $20.) and regular taps. The lines just connect behind the PVC wall, where I drilled 1" holes for the shanks.

Pretty simple, but you need to have good dexterity in your hands to work inside that tube.

Oh...and don't cement the cap on. Mine is just sitting on and it makes getting into that thing to adjust and clean a lot easier.

Just looking at the shank you linked
Looks like the base of the shank is curved the wrong way to seat correctly against the outside face of the tower. I assume that your flipping the black spacer in the opposite orientaion as shown in the link in order for it to seat correctly?

BeerCanuck

BeerCanuck said:

Just looking at the shank you linked
Looks like the base of the shank is curved the wrong way to seat correctly against the outside face of the tower. I assume that your flipping the black spacer in the opposite orientaion as shown in the link in order for it to seat correctly?

BeerCanuck

Click to expand...

It does look decieving, I had the same thought.
It is fine though. You're not looking at a birds-eye view. Focus on the shape of the top part. The black piece goes on the inside and the chrome on the outside. Look careful at the very top of the black piece and you can see as the object comes toward you on the top, it is shaped right.

Trust me...

Decided to put together a part list and went shopping at the local hardware stores.

I got the toilet flange, 3" PVC Cap and 2 feet of 3" PVC pipe (the one hardware store only sells pieces cut in one foot increments so I got 2')

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1337/1463471741_282c0467f1_m.jpg

and here are the pieces dry fitted together

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1119/1464360146_67af8e98c0_m.jpg

I was looking at the base of your tower BierMuncher. Did you trim the toilet flange back so it doesnt take up so much space at the base?

I also think I found a Canadain source that sells the shank you mentioned as well as taps

http://www.cdnbev.com/downloads/CBSCatalog_Links.pdf

Probably put the order in tomorrow and see how much a chrome 2 tap tower goes for aswell

Thanks for the advice BierMuncher

BeerCanuck

BeerCanuck said:

...I was looking at the base of your tower BierMuncher. Did you trim the toilet flange back so it doesnt take up so much space at the base?
...Thanks for the advice BierMuncher

BeerCanuck

Click to expand...

No, I didn't trim it. Once it's mounted onto the top of a mini fridge (or whatever you're mounting it on), it'll look good.

Did you cut your tower down from 24"? Looks a bit on the tall side. Mines like 14-15 inches, plus the cap.

Looks like you're on your way.

Keep us posted.

The flange on mine is about 2" from outside face of the tower which I feel will be in the way of the taps and drip cups above it .. it also has a lip and that will make it hard to clean

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1042/1463746581_1e23fde327_m.jpg

I looked for a toilet flange similiar to yours that mounts on the top of your fridge but was unsuccessful.

I think I will install this flange from underneath my plastic fridge top so that it will have a cleaner look once completed

Cheers
BeerCanuck

Just got some hardware for the tower and co2


Looks like it will fit together nicely...sorry to doubt BeirMuncher.
I priced out a predone chrome dual tap system ~ $150 Can
I havent checked my Visa bill but I think this DIY will be half the price and in alot of ways better.

I looked at three different hardware stores for a smaller profile 3" toilet flange that is mountable on top of my fridge ...ughh....sometimes I wish I was American

Mounting under the counter top with a smaller stickey out bit might be better.

Hehe
Beer is Good

BeerCanuck

Man, those dip trays got me thinking about DIY drip trays for a door tap.... muahaha, the gears are rollin' in the noggin.... Thanks for the idea, now i gotta get some money for a keg system lol...

DeadYetiBrew said:

Man, those dip trays got me thinking about DIY drip trays for a door tap.... muahaha, the gears are rollin' in the noggin.... Thanks for the idea, now i gotta get some money for a keg system lol...

Click to expand...

Don't forget to share.

My "Front Loader" on my Keezer is functional, but could use some tweaking.

I mounted the toilet flange underneath the plastic counter top. I had to cut out a 1/8" gasket that I glued to the flange so that it seated flush.



Temperature from my remote weather station sensor in kegerator seems to be holding at around 10 degrees C.

Thanks for the good idea BierMuncher

BeerCanuck

I noticed after installing the tower on my fridge that the temperature inside the fridge raised from ~8C to ~11C. I was already was using the dish towel insulator in the stack...(I like the kiss principal) I was thinking of spraying foam insulation but opted for pink fiberglass and tyvec tape to insulate/vapour barrier the uninsulated interior areas of the flange and top....... the fridge is back down to ~ 8 C

I had an idea of running the main C02 line into the fridge through the cap of the tower to cool my beer lines but I feel that this might lead into condensation issues.

I also want to get a blowback valve to protect my regulator.
Being new to kegging I decide to pressure seal/ purge a newly racked cornie at 30 psi
After a week of conditioning I conected the keg into the kegerator....DOH...beer sprays out the blow back on the C02 regulator...I had the pressure on the regulator at a serving pressure of 12 psi....lesson learned.

BeerCanuck