Jockey Box 2.0

[microbusbrewery]

A couple years ago I posted about my first jockey box build. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?posts/7233842

I just finished up my second jockey box build so I figured I'd add a couple pics. This one uses a brand new, but vintage-style Coleman cooler in matte black. I really dig the way the matte black looks with the chrome and polished stainless steel...reminds me of a Harley.

Most of the construction is the same as the first version, but I did make a couple minor improvements. This one also uses a 7-circuit cold plate; three taps make a double pass, and one makes a single pass. The cold plate holder is sized so that it can't slide much during transport, an improvement over the first design. I changed the bulkhead setup in a way that should prevent and moisture from leaking between the metal skin and the inner liner. I liked both of these changes enough to go back and make the same updates to the first jockey box.

More info on my blog, http://www.microbusbrewery.org/2017/10/jockey-box-20.html?m=0

 

[microbusbrewery]

Here's the inside showing the cold plate and plumbing.

 

[JPBrewLI]

Nice, looks clean. Is there a certain temp the kegs need to be at for these to work well?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Ideally you want them at least partially chilled. I'd guesstimate 65F is about the max. We used my first one I built at a fest last year. All but one beer was stored cold overnight and was delivered to the fest at about 9am (fest started at noon). The warm beer was transported a couple hours the day off the fest and arrived "warm" at about 72F. The jockey box was able to drop the temps to around 50F, so it was cold, but would have benefitted from some additional chilling.

 

[microbusbrewery]

P.S. It is possible to over-chill. That happened on a different occasion. One beer, pre-chilled to about 42F, transported about 20 minutes, jockey box packed with ice. The beer came out way too cold that time. I ended up removing quite a bit of ice.