Portable 5 Gallon Keg Cooler

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slim chillingsworth

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So after seeing a number of portable keg dispensers using 3 gallon kegs, I couldn't help but get jealous. I can't justify the insane cost for a 3 gallon keg, and that's hardly enough beer to make it worthwhile.

Well I got to thinking and figured that if I get a cooler big enough to hold a corny and put some feet on one end, I can put a shank and faucet into the lid and just turn the whole thing it upright when it has reached its dispensing location.

cooler:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G36KEG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

feet:
mcmaster-carr 9995T91


does anyone see any flaw in this plan?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm going to be using this.

Keglove2.jpg


Keglove1.jpg


That plus the faucet adapter that connects to the ball lock connector. Clean, easy, and no mess or ice to buy.
 
A little more conspicuous but definitely a nice idea, I'm assuming you'll go with a CO2 cartridge rather than a tank?

I can go that route, but I will be using a 12 oz. Paintball tank with it. You'll probably see it at the Zealots Summer Picnic on Lake Austin next month.

For $49 for the sleeve & ice blanket, it makes pretty good sense compared to what a cooler costs plus the expense of ice. The reusable ice blanket makes to eco-friendly too.
 
I use a 2-line cold plate picnic cooler, and have two 5 gal kegs in a rubber maid rubber container alone with 5lb C02 tank. It works great and can fit it all in the back seat of a sedan, until I have the need for a third keg.
 
+1, Kahuna.

While I like EdWort's keg cozy, I'm not lugging a 5-gallon keg like a canteen. I'm gonna carry it somewhere and set the great heavy thing down where it will rest until (hopefully) empty.

2 kegs, gas, cold plate, 1 bag of ice. That's all I need. Hell, I usually don't even ice the kegs; I find the ice in the cold plate is sufficient. When it's really beastly hot, however, I have a couple of 5-gallon buckets in which the kegs go. Fill ice round the kegs and you're pretty much done. The bucket ice pre-chills the beer, especially if the taps are flowing fast.

If you don't want to buy/build a tap box, you also don't need to go drilling and cutting a perfectly good cooler. Just use a couple of your old buckets and hand taps.

Since all kegs draw from the bottom, you really don't have to worry about chilling the entire keg all the time. You can save ice and effort, and just ice down the bottom third of the keg in a 5-gallon bucket. I do this all the time and it works perfectly. Not as pretty as EdWort's keg cozy, but... ;)

Bob
 
I've been putting a corny in a 7 gallon bucket and using a keg charger. It leaves about 2 inches between the corny and bucket, so I just fill that with a bag of ice. It chills the bottom of the keg, where the dip tube is drawing from anyway, and serves cold beer all night. I've been very pleased.
 
I've been putting a corny in a 7 gallon bucket and using a keg charger. It leaves about 2 inches between the corny and bucket, so I just fill that with a bag of ice. It chills the bottom of the keg, where the dip tube is drawing from anyway, and serves cold beer all night. I've been very pleased.
I do the same thing except add water after the ice is in there...the water gets cooled by the ice and has 100% contact with the cornie unlike ice.:D
 
we always keep an ice chest for fresh ice. i bought a cooler 100qt drilled the top side oposite the drain so the co2 line and the tap line can move in and out without rubbing and since it will be the top wont loose cooling. the handle keeps it at an angle so you can open the door. so toss the keg in stand the bags of ice in. i fit 5 bags of ice and the 5 gallon keg in and kept the keg cold no problems. leaking ice bags? no problem it was outside. but i am going to figure out a better way. 20oz paintball tank looks promising
 
EdWort - thanks for sharing about the KEGlove... I absolutely love it and it's going to the top of my birthday wish list for summer parties! I too was looking at cutting a perfectly fine functioning igloo until you shared this. I got tired of the 5-gallon paint-bucket look and wanted to bring my brew to parties with a little more style, and I hate always having to pick up bags of ice.
 
In myexperience without any insulation you will go thru a lot of ice with just a trashcan. If you plan on more then a few hours you will definitely need something more. I lined a trashcan with a few of those large freezer bags from walmart filled with ice nits amazing what that little insulation makes n
 
it dose, we had 3 kegs, helped that two were all ready cold. filled with ice twice on Friday on the way up. it was cold until we went home today around noon. defiantly not a portable solution though.
 
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