Is there such as thing as a shank chiller/cooler?

Has anyone ever seen a product that screws onto a standard 7/8" diameter shank that is has a couple of barbed connects so that you can pump cold water or glycol through to keep a shank/tap combo chilled?

Was going to wrap some thin copper pipe around (if I can do that without it breaking), but if an actual product exists, so much the better!

Thanks!

Kal

<--- confused


What are you trying to do here?

I think he's tring to chill his keg tower correct?

If so just make your hole for the beer line largerso cold air will leak to the tower, This will chill the shanks, If thats not enough, just create a homemade PVC pipe that has the shanke cutout and holes for hot and cold sides for a coolant.

Nope - I'm wanting to chill the 4' between my freezer and taps which includes both the lines and the shanks.

Here's the back side:



Here's the front:



There are more pictures here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=389102&postcount=26

Kal

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

Check out page 28.

Assuming you drilled holes through the sidewall of the fridge, it might be easier to box in the shanks and lines with insulation and blow cold air from the kegger into the box.

Damn, thats a pretty sweet setup......

<----jealous

I guess Ill just sit here in my trailer watching peoples court with my not as cool looking setup... Ahhh, when I am finaly making money again, how the tables will turn... oh yeah, they will turn...

(putting my glass down now.. too early to be this buzzed, damn you Edwort and your apfelwine)

david_42 said:

Assuming you drilled holes through the sidewall of the fridge, it might be easier to box in the shanks and lines with insulation and blow cold air from the kegger into the box.

Click to expand...

I thought about that and that was my original idea but I just couldn't figure out a good way to box in the shanks and lines without lots of complications, so decided to go with the water cooled route.

mr x said:

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

Check out page 28.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I found the "BB700218: Square Brass Cold Block - Fits 7/ 8 inch Shanks" on page 27:



Interesting idea. I'm surprised that there's enough heat transfer using something like that, but they must know.

After a few days of searching for these shank coolers I just I ended up using 1/4" OD copper piping wrapped around the shanks as follows:



I'll also run the two copper lines inline with the 4-5' of beer hose outside the freezer. With so may wraps around the shanks I'm hoping it cools pretty well.

Problem I'm having now is finding a small pump that has enough pressure to push water through the 15' of copper line. I bought a tiny (and I mean TINY!) $15 pump with the perfect fittings but it just doesn't have any pressure to move water through more than a few feet of hose:



It's not the Gallons per Hour (GPH) that's the problem (they're all adequate), it's just that the smaller ones don't push enough. I need something with *LOW* GPH but that actually pushes water (ie: static pressure).

Any recommendations? What brand is everyone else using? Searches around here haven't proved too successful.

Kal

you could either go with a more powerful submersible pump, or you could try a peristaltic pump - that will cost you quite a bit though.

i would first try a more powerful submersible pump. don't worry about the GPH being too high, because with the restriction, it won't be an issue.

honestly though, it seems like any setup like this won't be very efficient. i don't know if that is a concern for you though.

after you have this setup, i would also setup some thermometers, one submersed in the cooling liquid in the keg, and one touching a shank or so. wait a couple days for things to equalize, and see the temps.

something else you probably will need to be careful of is condensation, and when you have an excess of condensation, you also need to be careful of mold. always keep an eye on it, especially if you don't have a way to drain it out.

gnef said:

you could either go with a more powerful submersible pump, or you could try a peristaltic pump - that will cost you quite a bit though.

i would first try a more powerful submersible pump. don't worry about the GPH being too high, because with the restriction, it won't be an issue.

Click to expand...

Thanks gnef. You've given me a lot more to think about. I think a more powerful 'regular' pump is the way to go. The pet store I was at didn't have much in stock but checking some of the larger stores (like petsmart.com) shows me that there are quite a few submersible versions available. I'll just keep buying a larger version until it works.

honestly though, it seems like any setup like this won't be very efficient. i don't know if that is a concern for you though.

Click to expand...

Efficient in which way? Losing heat? In other words running the freezer harder? I was hoping this wouldn't be the case if I wrapped everything in aluminum tape and then insulated.

Is there are more efficient way to cool the lines and shanks that you can recommend? I was going to do forced air but couldn't find a good way to seal up the 4 shanks in a box of some sort without air leaks.

after you have this setup, i would also setup some thermometers, one submersed in the cooling liquid in the keg, and one touching a shank or so. wait a couple days for things to equalize, and see the temps.

Click to expand...

Will do!

something else you probably will need to be careful of is condensation, and when you have an excess of condensation, you also need to be careful of mold. always keep an eye on it, especially if you don't have a way to drain it out.

Click to expand...

Good point. I'll keep an eye on things.

Kal

well, by efficient, i meant energy-wise. you will be cooling it exposed to the room.

i was thinking of a way to work this out, but it seems to be too much work and extravagent, for something so small. i'll just say it, and you can decide what to do with it.

you could get a smaller intercooler or radiator. you create a box that has a main compartment housing the shanks, then also a secondary compartment (the two compartments are linked at the 'front' and 'end') used to circulate air. the intercooler will have the cold water pumped through it, and a fan would blow across it into the main compartment, pulling air from the end with the second compartment. you insulate the lines, and have a small hole with a tube for any condensation.

i really think it is too much for this though.

as far as submersible pumps, you may want to check at harbor freight, as they have a decent selection, and are fairly cheap.

i don't mean to find problems in your setup. i really like your setup, i just want to try to help you identify any issues before they become issues for you.

Thanks gnef. I managed to find an inexpensive submersible pump today that works great so I'm going to set that up. With the copper cooling pipes I think it'll work fairly well.

I'll post some info once I've had it running for a few days. My beer line's 3/16" ID and fairly thick vinyl stuff so hopefully it'll still be able to cooled.

Kal

If you isulate and tape really well, you won't have much condensation, as it takes air (with moisture in it) in contact with the colder surface of the piping to condense.

Deffinately put some kind of control on the pump with a sensor at the shanks so the pump doesn't run all the time. Even a 1/2 amp draw will add up (about $40/year at the cheapest electrical rates in US), and that doesn't include the extra juice the frige will draw.

Sea said:

If you isulate and tape really well, you won't have much condensation, as it takes air (with moisture in it) in contact with the colder surface of the piping to condense.

Click to expand...

Well it's been a few days now since I wrapped the shanks and copper piping in the above picture with aluminum tape and 2-3 layers of foam pipe isulation. Zero condensation/dripping so I'm happy about that. I ran it for a few hours without the pipe insulation and there was considerable condensation.

Sea said:

Deffinately put some kind of control on the pump with a sensor at the shanks so the pump doesn't run all the time. Even a 1/2 amp draw will add up (about $40/year at the cheapest electrical rates in US), and that doesn't include the extra juice the frige will draw.

Click to expand...

The pump draws 16W (0.13A) so about $10/year to run all the time using your rates.

The cooling water I'm using is a full 5 gal corny keg with the pump at the bottom (coldest water). The return water trickles into the top of the corny at a fairly slow rate.

Problem is that after 3-4 days the 5 gals of water rose from my serving temp of 40F to 59F. It just seems that the freezer can't chill the 5 gals of water fast enough so I'm not sure what to do. I may try an extra 20 feet or so of coiled up copper piping in line placed at the bottom of the freezer. The extra contact of the water with copper should hopefully chill it a bit more (?), but I have my doubts that the pump will be able to handle the extra length/line friction....

Anyone have any hints or suggestions? I figured 5 gals would be plenty but I suppose having MORE coolant just delays how long it takes to reach the stable operating temp.

I have a recessed bar fridge right beside this freezer and may put the coiled copper pipe in the freezer compartment of the fridge instead. (?)

You can see the fridge on the left:



The picture above is old: I also changed the position of the 4 beer lines - They don't come out of the lid anymore as copper cooling lines (which run in parallel) aren't flexible so the whole set of lines comes out the side of the freezer now.

Even at 59F the taps are noticeable colder to the touch but it's not as cold as I'd like to see.

Kal

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...ustomizable_Fittings.html?tl=g30c95s159#blank

you can throw a small radiator in the fridge to cool the return water before if goes back into the keg.
I would get the radbox and a 120mm fan as well.

JavaBeans said:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...ustomizable_Fittings.html?tl=g30c95s159#blank

you can throw a small radiator in the fridge to cool the return water before if goes back into the keg.
I would get the radbox and a 120mm fan as well.

Click to expand...

Now *that's* a very interesting idea! I'll look into it.

Kal