DIY Beer Faucet Lock

I need some help, fast. I finished my keezer, have a beer carbing up but my GF is freaking out about our cat hitting the faucet handle and dumping 5 gallons of beer on the floor. The beer faucet locks you can be are $35+ and I do not want to spend that much money on them. Do any of you have ideas on how to prevent the cat from using the faucet? I suggested just unscrewing the handles but that is a no-go. As it is, I need to push the freezer out, reconnect the liquid out line, pour a beer, disconnect, and push it back against the wall and the idea behind getting a draft system is to reduce work...

Lose the cat and / or GF... j/k bungee or zip tie?

I recommend having a 2x2 board cut to the length of your collar. On either end, have a mount so that the board can be attached in front of the tap handles and also be removed easily. Maybe a hinge on one side and a gate lock of sorts on the other?

Depending on how big your tower is you could make a plywood box to set over the tower when not in use or even a heavy duty cardboard box.

If you could take a pic of your draft setup, it might be easier to come up with idea's.

I have a few ideas now so I will try them out and report back what worked best. I do not have a tower but a freezer with a collar. If it was just a tower that would be really simple!

Put a glass terrarium on top with a 10ft burmeese python in it. Maybe the cat will get the hint.

Not sure exactly what your set up is like but I was thinking of some DIY tap handles where I might add a hole or loop off the back side so as to allow me to thread a cable lock through Then one pull gets them all.

Not exactly your situation but I'm looking to battle a teenage population...

I've thought about having a hook or loop welded to my tower to hook the taps onto.

Lose the cat.

I was worried about this when I first built my kegerator, but my cat actually doesn't go anywhere near it. It seems to be the only thing in the house he has no interest in jumping on top of.

For cat concerns, my approach would be to use something like 1x4 to block all of the tap handles from coming forwards, with clips or bungee cords to hold it in place.

For teenager concerns, step one is education, step two is punishment, and step three would be to use a padlock and twisted steel cable. If you can lock the keezer top shut, you could put inline shutoffs in the beer line.

For all of the people who seriously post "Lose the cat", shut the hell up and contribute.

I have a cat... he loves to climb on top of my keezer (can't keep him off of anything really). The top of my short plastic tap handles are below the level of the keezer, so I doubt he would easily open up the valve.

I think a 2x4 resting on the back of the taps would pretty much keep it from happening at all.

As for teenagers, I have 2 running around.. they both get to taste if they want, but both are also diabetic so education is essential. I do not worry about either of them really.

Someone on another homebrew forum suggested these:

Amazon.com: American Red Cross Cabinet Safety Slide Lock - 3 Pack: Baby

For my purposes they do the same exact thing as an expensive lock at a fraction of the cost. I will just cut the posts down so they fit better and problem solved!

just open the keezer and pop off the disconnect when you're not drinking.

B

How about rigging up some quick disconnect tap handles. When you're done drinking all that is left is the stubbies. Or you can just unscrew the handles you already have when not in use.

-OCD

Found this pic in another thread Here

Would be a little harded to do on a keezer but you could pull it off

Hotspur said:

...For teenager concerns, step one is education, step two is punishment, and step three would be to use a padlock and twisted steel cable. ...

Click to expand...

I've yet to find a teenager that can consistently escape simple rope, I think steel cable is overkill

As far as the OP, I agree with OMJ.

OMJ said:

Found this pic in another thread Here

Would be a little harded to do on a keezer but you could pull it off

Click to expand...

Removable zip ties should be plenty to keep the cat from opening the tap.

McMaster-Carr

That, or velcro strips.

Inspired by the zip-tie ideas - Perhaps velcro tie wraps? Easy to undo and reusable.

Amazon.com: Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Cable Ties, 0.5 Inches x 8 Inches Long, Black, 100 Ties per Pack (91140): Office Products

beerocd said:

How about rigging up some quick disconnect tap handles. When you're done drinking all that is left is the stubbies. Or you can just unscrew the handles you already have when not in use.

-OCD

Click to expand...

Not an option as posted by OP..

I suggested just unscrewing the handles but that is a no-go. As it is, I need to push the freezer out, reconnect the liquid out line, pour a beer, disconnect, and push it back against the wall and the idea behind getting a draft system is to reduce work...

Click to expand...

Well without an eye hook it is tough to say, but how about

1) small eye hook in the back of your tap handle
2) small eye hook right behind the tap on the keezer coller
3) rubber band, bungee, small tension spring between them.

Personal Add in paper for free cat
Smack the cat off the keezer if it gets up there
Velcro on top of keezer..Don't they hate that or something??
Or the dowel rod lock pictured.

We chose option 1 for our cat problems took 2 days.

I will eventually get a cable lock so that I can keep my child out of the beer. I think I have more to worry about from a loose ball bouncing around in the garage or accidently bumping into a tap handle that may make cleaning up the beer aggravating. I've been considering using cable locks to pin the tap handle back to the faucet.

This one looks the most promising. I would cut the excess wire back. The downside is that it is key driven, which means I have to ensure that it never gets stumbled upon: Cable Lock

This lock deserves consideration. However, I would need to ensure that it does keep the wire taut and will not loosen with a push of a button. I like the combination lock: Cable Lock

This is just another idea. You could use a small luggage lock and have a wire with loops pre-cut to the correct lenth: Cable Lock

evanmars said:

Not an option as posted by OP..

Click to expand...

I meant the actual handles being made easy to pull off when done, so some type of QD to hook the tap handles on.. Not disconnecting the liquid lines.

-OCD

How about hideaway tap handles like racer-x license plates?

Just popped into my head: What about those big plastic bubbles that go over the thermostats? There's some pretty big ones out there that might work if you are using the standard little black tap handles.

I used a few rubber bands rigged up tight around the base of the tap handle and the tap itself so it would "snap" back to closed when you let go. It didn't make it that much harder to open the tap and pour but worked great since it would always pull the handle back to the closed position when you took your hand off. cost as much as my $.02!

This post is 6+ years old, you know.

The_Bishop said:

This post is 6+ years old, you know.

Click to expand...

Some things never go out of style

The_Bishop said:

This post is 6+ years old, you know.

Click to expand...

Some people still search old posts and appreciate new input!

davidst said:

Some people still search old posts and appreciate new input!

Click to expand...

As a newbie, that is 95% of my time on HBT!