Dual Beer Engine Keezer using Valterra Rocket hand pumps

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racin_ny

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Here are some pictures of the dual beer engine keezer I built recently using ideas I got from this forum. I wanted a beer engine keezer that would look decent in my kitchen and be somewhat realistic. But I didn't want to pay $400.00 for a beer engine. I used Valterra Rocket hand pumps. My local camping world keeps these in stock. I bought the Freezer at Home Depot it is the 5 cubic foot GE unit. I also used the Johnson controls digital temperature controller. My big stumbling block was that I wanted the handle to be inline with the gooseneck. With the Rocket hand pump in it's original form it is impossible to do. You can see the linkage system that I devised to accomplish this. I then bent stainless steel tube to make the gooseneck and I cut the spigot off the hand pump so I had a small stub sticking out the top. I then connected the gooseneck to this stub with plastic tubing that is routed around the handle and mechanism. I had some questions on the building of the goosenecks I bought this stainless steel tubing here I used a cheap brakeline bender that you can buy at autozone or advanced auto or someplace like that. It is a plastic arch with a matching metal shoe on a screw assembly.

Beer Engine Internals.jpg


Dual Beer Engine.jpg


beerengineconst1.jpg
 
Here it is completed. I used a faux wood grain finish using[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHwAOKO-2IQ"] this method.[/ame]

GEDC0571.jpg


GEDC0572.jpg


GEDC0575.jpg
 
It's an Edgar Allen Poe Quote that a good friend of mine sent me a few weeks back. Her fiancé works in a decal shop and made me that decal. It says

"Filled with mingled cream and amber;

I will drain that glass again;

Such hilarious visions clamber;

Through the chamber of my brain;

Quaintest thoughts, queerest fancies;

Come to life and fade away.

What care I how time advances?

I am drinking ale today."

~ Edgar Allan Poe
 
Here is some information I dug up about the cask breather made from a propane regulator. I used one I bought locally from Lowes. Here are all the dimensions. Just take off the threaded ends and replace them with a 3/8 mip x 1/4 hose barb for the outlet and 1/4 mip x 1/4 hose barb on the inlet.Fit it between your co2 regulator and your cask.
 
Here is some information I dug up about the cask breather made from a propane regulator. I used one I bought locally from Lowes. Here are all the dimensions. Just take off the threaded ends and replace them with a 3/8 mip x 1/4 hose barb for the outlet and 1/4 mip x 1/4 hose barb on the inlet.Fit it between your co2 regulator and your cask.

Pics?
 
Ok, what does that do exactly? Couldn't you set the CO2 Regulator really low?

Just trying to understand the process there.
 
I think you would have problems trying to set the regulator down low enough to equal the few inches of water column that this is keeping on the cask.
 
Go for it Mack25 and thanks for the compliments! I looked around for a long time before I built this one. I have a single pull that I built about a year ago it is quite a bit different without the linkages. Here is a pic of the first one also using the Valterra Rocket Hand Pump.

Beer Engine 09.jpg
 
That is freakin fantastic Racin NY... I'm in the process of building my keezer and want to add a "Rocket" beer engine to mine as well. Was wondering if you wanted to sell your old one? If so IM a price. Cheers
 
Was wondering if you wanted to sell your old one? If so IM a price.
I still use this to take to picnics and the like it is designed with a chiller made out of a large Thermos bottle with a copper line running through it.. I have another thought though. I'll be in contact.
Of course, I have to buy a new house first...
Been there! LOL Good Luck!
 
I absolutely love your build. I have been wanting to do a "real ale" brew in a corny keg with a beer engine for the longest time and after seeing your setup I'm convinced that this is my next project. Great idea using the propane regulator as a breather as well!

My question is did you buy the swan necks or make them yourself? I saw that you cut off the factory spout, how did you attach/connect the swan neck?
 
Bearsmith,

From the OP:

I then bent stainless steel tube to make the gooseneck and I cut the spigot off the hand pump so I had a small stub sticking out the top. I then connected the gooseneck to this stub with plastic tubing that is routed around the handle and mechanism.
 
I absolutely love your build. I have been wanting to do a "real ale" brew in a corny keg with a beer engine for the longest time and after seeing your setup I'm convinced that this is my next project. Great idea using the propane regulator as a breather as well!

I can't take credit for the propane regulator idea I saw it on a home brew club website somewhere. Really my only novel idea was to make the valterra pump appear somewhat similar to a genuine hand pump and then combine the beer engine with a keezer and real ale in cornies. :rockin:

Here is a post that I owe a debt of gratitude to. It got me thinking that I can have a beer engine in my own home for less than $100.00.Thanks sonvolt!
 
It takes a bunch of pulls. To reduce this amount I would reccomend eliminating the linkages and putting the handle directly on the handle of the pump. I think that would take the pumps down to 6 - 8 or so to fill a pint. This is what I did on the earlier beer engine that I made. There is one picture of that beer engine in this thread.
 
It takes a bunch of pulls. To reduce this amount I would reccomend eliminating the linkages and putting the handle directly on the handle of the pump. I think that would take the pumps down to 6 - 8 or so to fill a pint. This is what I did on the earlier beer engine that I made. There is one picture of that beer engine in this thread.

Just got my Veltera hand pump today, hope to start working on building my beer engine setup (have the cooling unit and pump, just need to get some wood and insulation). I noticed that the spout has a strong metallic smell - do you get any off flavors? Also the package had the disclaimer about causing cancer and birth defects - I assume that's from the lead in the brass? I was thinking of replacing the spout with a corny dip tube that I could also bend into a swan neck, but it doesn't quite fit as snugly.
 
Also the package had the disclaimer about causing cancer and birth defects - I assume that's from the lead in the brass? I was thinking of replacing the spout with a corny dip tube that I could also bend into a swan neck, but it doesn't quite fit as snugly.

Just cut the original one off short and connect the two with a piece of plastic tubing. If you do the pasivation treatment on the short piece I don't think you have much to worry about.
 
okay... i gotta bump this thread... how are you connecting the the diy breather to your cask? or are you using cornies? i cant figure out how to attach it to the shive bung
 
okay... i gotta bump this thread... how are you connecting the the diy breather to your cask? or are you using cornies? i cant figure out how to attach it to the shive bung
 
I'm slowly but surely making progress on my corny "cask" Valtera pump beer engine setup. I have a couple more questions if you don't mind.

How often do you clean out the line/swan neck?

To attach the handle on the original unit did you just drill a hole and jam them over the existing handle (with the rubber knob removed)?

What temp do you keep your freezer at and how long does the beer stay good at the warmer storage temperature?

Thanks
 
How often do you clean out the line/swan neck?
If I haven't drawn any beers off in a while I'll pull enough beer to clear and flush the lines.
I usually clean it between keg changes

To attach the handle on the original unit did you just drill a hole and jam them over the existing handle (with the rubber knob removed)?
Yes that is exactly what I did. :)

What temp do you keep your freezer at and how long does the beer stay good at the warmer storage temperature?
It should be kept at 55 Deg F. All my friends complained that it was warm so I compromised with them and I serve at 42 Deg F I have had a cask on for 6 months and it was still good. The trick is to use the cask breather and only allow in a measured amount of oxygen when first tapping.
 
Great setup. How's the system working now 4 or 5 years later? Are there any other modifications to the "breather" other than installing barbed fittings to mount inline on CO2 line? Also, what pressure do you keep your regulator set to feeding into the breather?
 
Thanks for the question. Its still working. I think I have 10 psi feeding the breather. Some of the things that have changed are the linkages are gone and the handles are hooked up direct to the pump shafts. And I have shortened the suction tube so that very little is out in room temperature air.
 
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