Anybody ever seen one of these?

[mac_1103]

I bought it to get the six used kegs for about ten bucks each, but thought maybe someone would have thoughts about turning this into a real jockey box or something else more useful. Or at least get a kick out of the pics.




Not sure I will ever trust that chiller thing no matter how much I clean it (wonder when was the last time those cleaning instructions were followed?). But two 1.6 gallon minikegs fit inside with room to spare, so if nothing else I'll use it for that. Any thoughts on using soda taps for beer?

The kegs are going to be a project in their own right - four are pin locks and two are Firestones with race track lids, but even if I put $40 into rebuilding each one they're still a pretty good deal.

 

[day_trippr]

maybe someone would have thoughts about turning this into a real jockey box

Admittedly, I've never owned one, but if asked I would point at that tap-equipped cooler and cold plate as the epitome of jockey box elements.
Just add ice...and kegged beer.

Cheers!

 

[mac_1103]

Admittedly, I've never owned one, but if asked I would point at that tap-equipped cooler and cold plate as the epitome of jockey box elements.
Just add ice...and kegged beer.

Well sure. Except that I have no idea what material the lines inside that cold pate are made of, and I'm pretty sure those short fat lines and soda taps will pour pure foam (assuming that I can get them cleaned and sanitized). Obviously the first thing I need to do is try to push some water through to find out if the thing is hopelessly clogged (or hopelessly leaky) and see what kind of gunk comes out if it isn't. The posts on the pin lock kegs that came with it are in pretty rough shape, but I should be able to get at least one of them to work well enough for cleaning.

 

[OleBrewing]

i will take it off your hands. got to be stainless as soda pop is corrosive. and made in the usa. i would trust it. i took kegs out of the scrap yard the coke plant tossed.

 

[Deadalus]

Do you have a pump? Run warm PBW through it for about 20-30 minutes even an hour the first time. There is tubing inside the block. I pump PBW through my jockey box coils after using it, then rinse, and sanitize with starsan.

Cold plates are an alternative to coils for a jockey box. When I was building mine, I didn't understand the way the plates were specified (goes by the number of ports) so I didn't investigate them much and used coils instead. However, there is some stipulation about the way the cold plate gets positioned in the ice that is important. They are used fairly frequently by craft brewers at festivals and events. I've seen a few for sale used. I think there may be situations where they are competitive or even preferred.

 

[mac_1103]

Do you have a pump? Run warm PBW through it for about 20-30 minutes even an hour the first time.

I do not have a pump. Was planning to just fill a keg with PBW to flush it out and see what happens. Still not optimistic about getting the tubing clean though.

there is some stipulation about the way the cold plate gets positioned in the ice that is important.

The plastic tray that the cold plate sits in has feet that keep it off the bottom of the cooler.

 

[Deadalus]

I used to clean my jockey box coils out using a keg like you are saying. I did try to get it done as soon as possible though. It being of unknown age maybe let it soak overnight. You might be able to use BLC too but not sure about materials or contact time. I bought this packet of somewhat more caustic cleaner once for beer lines that had some sort of indicator in it that was supposed to change color or something to indicate whether it was done or not. I never used it though as I didn't know exactly what was in it. (Sorry vague description on my part too.)*

Yes supposed to be elevated but I don't know if that was just to get the ice under it or to keep it out of ice water.

*The product was for beer lines but I was thinking of using it on my plate chiller and so I wasn't sure if I might damage the PC.

 

[mac_1103]

Just pushed some water through the lines, cold plate and taps. Not too bad. Just some soda residue for about a minute and then it ran clean. Think I'm going to see about finding or making adapters to get it to work with ball locks before I worry too much about doing a full-blown cleaning and sanitizing.

 

[hotbeer]

Just curious. Are the mini kegs intended to stay in the chest when in use? Or are the kegs supposed to be taken out and the lines run through the chest somewhere and the chest be filled with ice?

 

[mac_1103]

It's intended use is as a soft drink jockey box. Kegs outside; liquid lines into the plate chiller and out to the taps. To actually run it that way for four kegs I would need to rig up a gas manifold (it came with a beat up old regulator and one gas line with a threaded connector on one end and a pin lock QD on the other).

Can't close the cooler with minikegs sitting on top of the chiller, so my thought is to remove it and run lines straight from the kegs to two of the taps. Would either use mini-CO2 cartridges or a soda stream CO2 cylinder with a splitter. There would be plenty of room to coil beer line around the minikegs.

Eventually I would like to convert it to use with ball lock kegs outside and lines run through the chiller, but I kinda doubt that I'd ever do four beers at a time. Maybe two beers, one soft drink and one cocktail if my daughter ever decides to marry the guy she's been with for the past ten years.

 

[MR BEER]

I had a similar cold plate years ago that I purchased brand new for a home made jockey box. That cold plate has an unreal amount [can't remember the amount] of small diameter stainless lines running thru it. You should be able to clean it with a good beer cleaner. When you go to use it, you have to remember, that because of the really long length of very small diameter tubing running thru it, you have to run high pressure thru it. I always set my co2 regulator at 38 lbs. Anything less and you will get lots of foam. Keep in mind that this setup is for chilling beer that is not refrigerated. If your beer is cold the cold plate is not needed.

 

[mac_1103]

Keep in mind that this setup is for chilling beer that is not refrigerated. If your beer is cold the cold plate is not needed.

I was wondering about that. The thing looks (and weighs) like it's made of lead. I imagine that it has a tremendous amount of thermal mass.