Another 4 Tap Jockey Box Build

[dragonlor20]

Hi guys and gals! So I proposed in May and ever since have been hard at work planning an engagement party and wedding. Of course, I wanted to create all barley beverages for said events, and with that comes the need for new serving equipment One beer grew to two beers which grew into three beers, you know how it goes. As a result, here is your 4 tap jockey box build:

Let's start with the materials:

Here is the detailed inventory including cost:

Jockey Box Parts List
Part Vendor Cost
Faucets/Shank Combo (4) eBay (Beverage Factory) 83
Food Safe Vinyl Tubing Micromatic 31.75
Gas line 4ft (5) Micromatic 20.6
CO2 Tee Splitter (2) Micromatic 8
Cold Plate eBay 90.51
Cold Plate Fittings Micromatic 22.4
Cold Plate Rack Target 5
Ball Lock Fittings eBay 26
Cooler Target 20
Hose Clamps (25) Home Depot 17

Shipping 18
Total 342.26

When procuring the parts for this build, consider the cost of each piece. Nothing is particularly expensive besides the cold plate, but the overall cost can get really high if you aren't careful. Ebay can save you high shipping costs in some places so that is a good idea for the smaller parts. I wasn't able to price the faucets and shanks any lower than I show them up there - I worked on those for a while. You shouldn't pay any more than $110 for your cold plate, put cold plates on your watch list and wait for a good price. Set a limit for yourself on what you want to pay. I would not invest in a 2 pass or 1 pass cold plate, the difference in price is very small - I would start paying only at a 3 pass and if possible you want to get as many passes as you can so that you can pass some beers through the plate twice.

Another tip is to use chalk for your planning and measuring. The chalk will write directly on the cooler in a very non-permament way. You can rub it off with your hands when you are finished.

And drilling the holes/installing shanks and faucets...

Now we move on to installing the guts - starting with the cold plate installation...

Installing the nipples on the cold plate using teflon tape to tighten up connections...

 

[dragonlor20]

Create the holes for the beer lines to come in...

Cut and insert hoses to length. The trick on these is to use hot water to make the hose slide over the nipple easily. Boil some water in a pyrex container and keep it handy for each connection. I did 4 and a half feet of tubing on the "Beer In" side. I will be adding hose clamps after the fact, the ones I bought were too big...

That's it - finished! Just install whatever connections you would like to use!

It is actually a pretty easy project from the build side. Ensure you have a 7/8in hole saw with the correct bit and you will need a drill bit about the size of the tubing - but if you are a little low on bits, the plastic and insulation are pretty easy to clear out by rotating your drill bit in the hole.

I would recommend measuring the inside and outside of the cooler as the contour on the inside of the cooler may not be ideal for some of the shank placements permanently. You can see an error or two on mine if you look closely.

And the beer list for the party? A little something for everyone: Cascarillo IPA nicknamed "I Do IPA," Kolsch nicknamed "Cold Feet Kolsch," and Edwort's Oktoberfest Ale nicknamed "Grow Old Oktoberfest Ale!"

Here is another great thread where I got a lot of info to get started:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/4-faucet-jockey-box-build-206027/

 

[fall-line]

Great work, and congrats on the upcoming wedding! I recently was married and served several kegs through a two tap jockey box I made for the event as well, so I totally understand where you are at! People at our reception loved the beer, and the fact that it like so many other things there were home made. Your guests will really appreciate all of the work you put into it.

Here is mine:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/vintage-coleman-cooler-jockey-box-conversion-254338/

If you are new to jockey box operation (as I was), I'd definitely suggest you spend a little time with it before the big day. It took me a little experimenting to get the serving pressure right, etc. The only real mistake I made was to run a starsan solution through the cold plate after I had already added ice to the box - the beer lines froze! Since then I've learned to run hot PBW through it the night before, and then quickly rinse with starsan before use, and before adding ice.

 

[dragonlor20]

Great work, and congrats on the upcoming wedding! I recently was married and served several kegs through a two tap jockey box I made for the event as well, so I totally understand where you are at! People at our reception loved the beer, and the fact that it like so many other things there were home made. Your guests will really appreciate all of the work you put into it.

Here is mine:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/vintage-coleman-cooler-jockey-box-conversion-254338/

If you are new to jockey box operation (as I was), I'd definitely suggest you spend a little time with it before the big day. It took me a little experimenting to get the serving pressure right, etc. The only real mistake I made was to run a starsan solution through the cold plate after I had already added ice to the box - the beer lines froze! Since then I've learned to run hot PBW through it the night before, and then quickly rinse with starsan before use, and before adding ice.

OK, first, I love the paint on yours and the vintage cooler idea. Great work on those - I really considered the vintage thing but the cost was getting up there for what I wanted to do... Second, I am guessing the pictures of people with beers in their hands was part of your wedding photos? That is so cool, we are definitely doing that, thanks for the idea!

 

[fall-line]

Yep! When we received our wedding photos back from the photographer, it made me really proud to see all the shots of people enjoying my beer.

We had bottled commercial beer too (mainly for the BMC drinking uncle/cousin/neighbor crowd), but it was hardly touched with the 20 gallons of home-brew available. (not to mention the really well stocked bar.) As you no doubt know, life is about to get really crazy for you, and there may be times when you question the sanity of your decision to brew and serve your own beer. For me it may have been worse because I had to transport all the beer and equipment 350 miles to the wedding location. I can tell you though, it was such a gratifying experience, and people really appreciated the effort.

I wish you the best of luck, and hope you'll post photos of the box in action at your events!