Jockey Box Build - Vintage Thermos Ice Chest

Putting this here since it is a serving device...

This weekend I followed through on a threat and actually built this Jockey Box I've been planning for a while. TONS of credit goes out to my buddy Jimmy Big Ears! He is a stainless coiling machine!
The stainless coils well but is certainly in need of backing by a "mandrel" and in this case, a few diameters of PVC are a perfect match. The first mandrel that formed the inner core was a 4" pvc. The notch in the end is to secure a hook and make the coiling process much easier.

Photo 1 - wrapping the coil around a 4" PVC mandrel.


Photo 2 - Inside view (notice the hook)


Photo 3 - After about 20 coils, we made a small bend to catch the opening on the larger mandrel.


Photo 4 - More bending...

Photo 5 - The small coil inside the large mandrel with the hook engaged


Photo 6 - Another shot of the larger coil bend starting to take shape.


Photo 7 - Both coils in the ice chest with the 3/8 compression x 1/4" Barb fittings installed.


Photo 8 - Drilling holes in the back for the 1/4" Flare x 1/4" Flare bulkhead.

Photo 9 - Drilling the shank holes in the front.


Photo 10 - Shanks and taps installed



Photo 11 - Lid opened up to show inside



Photo 12 - Starting to get this thing Stickered up! Front side...

Photo 13 - Side 1 stickers


Photo 14 - Back side stickers


Photo 15 - Side 2 stickers


Photo 16 - Top view...

Last but not least... by far the coolest sticker on the Jockey Box! Smokin' Sam!

Great build. Love the old cooler.

Hopefully not zombifying this much but just wondering but why stainless and not copper?

It's bad to mix copper with alcohol... There are some with much more chemical knowledge than myself, maybe they'll speak up. Apparently, it can, and will produce a compound that is poison. I don't like poison...

Plus... all that Stainless tubing was FREE!

Interesting, did not know about that! Which is good for me cause I've been debating doing something similar after by counterflow chiller build went so well. Also Free is always nice, especially when it comes to stainless

Edit: Not that I know THAT much about it but lots of people build stills out of copper and that is usually pretty near pure ethanol...

Edit of the Edit: For anyone else wondering: it is the acidity not the alcohol that is the issue, copper gets leached by the low PH of fermented and carbonated beer. For anyone wondering why this isn't an issue for counter-flow chillers, apparently yeast metabolize copper.

About to build my own nostalgic jockey box so this is a cool thread to find.
I was wondering why you chose to install the 1/4"x1/4" flare fittings instead of just connecting your beer tubing directly to your coils and running them out the back through drilled holes?

That makes a firm bulkhead. Though I need to add some washers to firm that up. It also give a chaff-proof pass thorugh the drilled metal wall of the cooler. Without it, eventually that metal edge would cut your serving line. Look around, there are shorter versions of that flare x flare fitting out there.

Huaco said:

It's bad to mix copper with alcohol... There are some with much more chemical knowledge than myself, maybe they'll speak up. Apparently, it can, and will produce a compound that is poison. I don't like poison...

Plus... all that Stainless tubing was FREE!

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This isn't exactly true. Copper is relatively inert, and will do nothing to wort or beer. When it is heavily oxidized, it can produce verdigris (greenish blue compound, what gives the Statue of Liberty it's color). Verdigris is soluble in beer, and poisonous. However, as long as you clean your jockey box coil properly, it would be fine to use copper.

I can't believe you coiled that by hand. You must be "strong like bull". It looks good

What size (diameter) and length of tubing did you use ?

Thedutchtouch said:

This isn't exactly true. Copper is relatively inert, and will do nothing to wort or beer. When it is heavily oxidized, it can produce verdigris (greenish blue compound, what gives the Statue of Liberty it's color). Verdigris is soluble in beer, and poisonous. However, as long as you clean your jockey box coil properly, it would be fine to use copper.

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Do what you want man... I won't recommend anyone use copper in contact with alcohol. Of course it doesn't hurt to use it in wort... that's pretty apparent by this point in brewing history... There's a LOT of old copper brew houses still in use.

mikescooling said:

I can't believe you coiled that by hand. You must be "strong like bull". It looks good

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Mine and my buddies arms felt like Jelly afterwards, but it was manageable.

canvasback said:

What size (diameter) and length of tubing did you use ?

Click to expand...

The tubing was all 3/8" OD (outside diameter). Each coil has about 50 feet in it. Maybe even up to 75 feet. He had a large coil of the stuff and we split it in half and started coiling. He gets remnant coils of this Stainless tubing from his work that has no use for "such short remnants"... haha!