Keeping kegs cool over a long weekend

I've done some searching on this subject over the past few days and I can't seem to find a good solution. Here's my situation.

A couple of weekends a year a few of my friends and I go camping over a whole weekend. I just got into kegging this year and I need to find a way to keep a couple of kegs cool over 3 days and nights in the summer. Most of the solutions I've seen can only keep a keg cold for around 24 hours. I could go the "jockey box" route but I've read that you need to keep the kegs reasonably cool (room temp). Is this true or can the kegs be around 80 deg and still work with the jockey box? I have no problem using some kind of trash can or tall bucket and buying a couple of bags of ice every day but some say that an uninsulated trash can will need way more than a couple of bags a day to keep the kegs cold.

HELP ME!!

I find it hard to believe that nobody takes kegs camping over the weekend and has cold beer on tap the whole time.

Thanks!!

Rent a generator and take your Keezer.

Or get some coolers that are large enough to contain a keg (each) and fill them up with ice as needed. You could also insulate a trash can so that the ice doesn't melt nearly as fast...

What's going to be your source for all this ice? Are you going to be out in the wild, or someplace a bit more civilized?

BendBrewer said:

Rent a generator and take your Keezer.

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Yeah, I'll get right on that, lol

We're camping in campgrounds where we aren't too far from a convenience store. We can get ice easily every day but I heard that an uninsulated trash can would use a lot of ice per day. I don't want to be buying 8 bags of ice every day. I guess I could wrap the whole thing in a blanket or old sleeping bag to help insulate it. Can anyone suggest a good trash can that can hold two kegs or maybe two smaller ones? I've looked online and can't find anything decent.

Thanks

I have a large cooler that I have to think would hold 2 cornies maybe even 3. That would keep them cold for a few days. Maybe something along those lines and a small trash can for the keg on tap. Keep the others in the cooler.

Dry ice?

Do what I am doing:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-rolling-portable-keg-dispensing-unit-237835/index1.html

Edit: Make sure you buy the 70 quart model if you want two keg capability!

BendBrewer, I am bringing two different kinds of beer and want to have them both on tap at the same time.

kpr121, I've seen your trash can unit. Very cool but I don't have the money right now or the means to transport such a big thing. I would love to find a cooler that is big enough for two cornies standing up but I'll bet it would be expensive and way too big to haul as well.

Find a relatively deep cooler like the igloo ice cube and then wrap the top of the kegs. The ice will last a lot longer if you take the simple precaution of keeping warm air away from it. Another alternative would be to find a trash can that is just big enough to hold two cornies, then find a bigger trash can that would hold the small one with 3-4 inches between and fill the space with minimally expanding foam.

I've seen the 70 quart igloo cube cooler for 40 bucks at Sams Club. You don't necessarily need to build the wooden half box to top it, just use a blanket. Like camiller said, its the warm air that you want to avoid. You get very little thermal loss through the lid since the cold heavy air sinks. In fact, most lids to coolers are not even insulated.

40 bucks plus another $20ish for a keg charger/picnic tap setup = 60 bucks. I would imagine that you could get by with two bags of ice for the whole weekend (as long as its not sitting out in the sun on a 90+ day). You'll probably make up for the cost in a few trips when you compare it to buying 9 bags of ice.

I guess it goes without saying, use light colored blankets if possible.

The igloo cube idea would work great except two kegs wouldn't fit in one. I can't justify buying and hauling two cubes.

cpt kirk on heres says the 70 qt cube will hold 2....i imagine they need to be ball locks

I'd go with a trash can in the shade wrapped in as many layers as you can manage. Keep a tight lid if you can.

I think the best I've done in my trashcan is ~2 days in in 80 F weather.

As far as a can, I would suggest something heavy duty that can be carried full of water/beer. Heavy duty wheelies get pricy quicky, so I would go with a good old fashioned Rubbermaid Brute. The 32 gallon looks to be about the right size.

1. Get some boxes and line the inside of the can with as many layers as possible until the kegs just barely squeeze in.
2. Put a heavy duty trash bag in the middle.
3. Insert Kegs
4. Insert ice
5. Notch a small hole in the lid for your lines
6. Put top on, seal up with tape (overcautious)
7. Wrap with as many tarps/towels/blankets as you can
8. ...
9. Profit

Check my sig . Worked great for our camping trip. A single infusion of 30 lb ice kept the two kegs cold for 2 days, (at which point they cashed), and kept the bottles/cans of beer we replaced them with cold for another 2 days. Cost me around $60.

kpr121 said:

cpt kirk on heres says the 70 qt cube will hold 2....i imagine they need to be ball locks

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Can someone confirm that? If so how much of the keg sticks out the top. If I can get two kegs in one of those with not much stainless sticking out the top I'll pick one up!

Also I have another related question. Eventually I would like to get a jocky box but according to Kegworks.com you have to keep your kegs cold even with one. That doesn't make sense to me. Why would you want to spend that kind of money to cool your already cold beer?

shortyjacobs said:

Check my sig . Worked great for our camping trip. A single infusion of 30 lb ice kept the two kegs cold for 2 days, (at which point they cashed), and kept the bottles/cans of beer we replaced them with cold for another 2 days. Cost me around $60.

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That's cool but I have to carry all our camping gear in the same vehicle as the beer. I don't have that kind of room.

Thought I'd share my setup that's evolved over the years, getting ever more efficient with use of ice. Pic 1 is the overall setup. Bottom is 2" XPS foam with foil facing. The foil facing is important because XPS absorbs water and loses its insulation value when waterlogged. If you can afford EPS foam, it would be better for this application, but it does take some abuse. I prefer cheap and painlessly replaceable. The jackets are Reflectix wound around into cylinders that fit loosely over the kegs. Fiver layers gives about 1 1/2" thickness. They should fit loosely so that installing and removing them is painless. Pic 2 is a closeup of the open top of the jacketed keg. I use 10 gal kegs, so my measurements won't match most other setups with 5 gal kegs. But make the jackets about 5-6" taller than your kegs. Pic 3 is the top inner seal. Its a 2" XPS foam circle with Reflectix glued to its top. It should fit snugly into the jacket top. Bev line and gas line pass out of the jacket below the inner lid. Coil the bev line around the top surface of the keg. Pic 4 is the completed setup with an outer lid, foil-faced up, dimensioned to match the jacket. Weight this lid with a dumbell weight for wind stability. An ID card for the beer style is a nice touch. The trick to using the setup is to ice only the top space over the keg. Fill it completely with ice up to the bottom of the inner lid, completely burying the bev line, keeping it cool between pours (this is key to reducing foaming). The ice melts slowly, the melt water runs down the keg sides, cooling it continously with 32 deg water. The melt water then escapes under the jacket, across the bottom foam and out to ground. One bag of ice per day per keg will keep kegs at 40 deg. I generally top up ice in morning and then again after supper. I just used them to put up a hef and an amber for a 3 day weekend. They left my house at 40 deg and returned 3 days later still at 40 deg.