building a jockey box

[peedi]

i was looking into building a jockey box, and i was wondering is it necessary for a stainless steel coil? could i use a clear coil to put into the cooler? is there a difference?

 

[beninan]

You don't have to use stainless, but when you say "clear coil", I'm assuming you are talking about vinyl tubing. The vinyl tubing will not work, because it's too much of an insulator, so the cold will not penetrate enough to cool the beer. I just built mine using copper tubing. Copper is a better heat conductor than stainless I believe, and I think it may be cheaper. You will want some sort of metal tubing to allow for a good heat transfer.

Also, Welcome to the forums!

 

[peedi]

couldn't you just ice the keg then? because i saw a jockey box for sale on craigslist but it didn't come with a steel/cooper coil

 

[beninan]

you can definitely ice the keg, but keeping an entire keg cold can be a pain sometimes. I use to place my kegs in a large plastic tub with ice water, but like I said, it was a pain to babysit the ice bath, especially on a several day camping trip.

 

[Bossbrew]

Just because it's on Craigs List or Ebay doesn't mean it's a good design. But, it may have used a cold plate instead of coils. Also, stay away from copper if possible, as it's not good to use copper with fermented beer, and the copper will tend to corrode.

With any set up, you should start with a cold keg and wrap it with reflectix or neoprene. No need for ice for the keg unless it's really, really hot out.

Dave