Changing beer lines in SS draft tower

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

So I have this draft tower: http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/towers/doublefaucet/D4743DT___6844.shtml

I haven't done a great job at cleaning the beer lines in the past and I would now like to replace them. I opened the top of the tower to get at the lines and noticed that I cannot get at the clamps holding the beer line onto the piece of SS tubing that angles down (I can post a pic tomorrow).

So does anyone have any tips or tricks for changing these lines?

Thanks

 

[philrose]

I took the faucets off mine at one point to replace them with perlicks. thats also when I replaced the lines. If all else fails. just take them off. Its not hard to reassemble.

 

[philrose]

just be careful not to twist the cheap metal straight off of the shank like I did. Rookie mistake.

 

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

just take them off. Its not hard to reassemble.

How do you take it all apart? On the inside it looks somewhat like a typical shank which the large nut holding it on the tower. Did you get a wrench in there? Anything I had was too large to get in there and actually turn.

This is what I am looking at...

 

[bendavanza]

There are special wrenches for the towers, they are like a closed end wrench but with a side cut out. I made my own because I had a spare wrench handy and because I like DIY over $$$
They look like this:

But those are over $40.
Mine looks like this:

which Micromatic also sells for $36.75
It's still a pain in the arse but without the tool you will just F things up. What is fun is when the nut or spacer to the assembly drops down and you have to go chase it. It really is challenging to hold all the parts together and in the right order when you reassemble, esp. if you add a 3rd shank to your towers like i did.
The nuts are either 1" or 1 1/16" both are used so make sure you get/make the right one.

 

[Bobby_M]

The faucet locking ring is the one that is smooth but has a few small holes in it. However, it might be easier to loosen the locknuts inside the tower if you hold on to the faucets for leverage.

 

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

I took the faucets off and it still seemed like I needed to loosen the locknuts on the inside.

I guess I need to try and get the correct sized wrench and try to cut it. Correct me if I am wrong but the cut in the wrench just needs to be big enough to get the SS tube through?

 

[Bobby_M]

You definitely need to remove the large locknuts from the shanks. I bet you could get it started with just the open ended wrench.

 

[philrose]

The faucet locking ring is the one that is smooth but has a few small holes in it. However, it might be easier to loosen the locknuts inside the tower if you hold on to the faucets for leverage.

Totally. I also pulled out the insulation to make it easier although that's probably a no brainer.

Just be careful, twisting motion on my faucet was the thing that led to my cheap stock shank twisting off.

 

[MgMt_Home_Brew]

Cool thanks guys. I went out and bought a 1" and a 1 1/16" wrench and it looks like the 1" is the ticket. Im probably gona cut the wrench and go at it tonight so I can have clean lines for the game tomorrow.

 

[samc]

Just for the record - a more reasonable source

http://www.homebrewing.org/1-combination-Tower-Nut-Wrench_p_958.html

 

[bendavanza]

Yes, cutting the slot allows you to get the wrench past the tubing, and gives a little more clearance. I leave the faucets on like Bobby suggests because they give you something to hold onto for the other end of the shank.

 

[Mayday99]

Alright, I am feeling a little slow here. I was able to get the locknuts off the shank inside the tower, but I really don't know what to do now. The shank is still pretty firmly in the tower hole and I don't want to force it to much.

My tower of course didn't come with any kind of directions so I am not sure quite what to do.

Ah, never mind. Had to use my brand new perlick faucet as a handle to pull the shank out. Managed to not cause any major damage. The modified wrench from homebrewing adventures was helpful in getting the nuts off.

Edit 2: Wow, I never thought taking the shanks out would be easier than putting them back in, holy crap. Might be something easy for you if your a microsurgeon, but that was rough! Ended up not using any clamps on the line (no room at all for the screw on clamps), hopefully it won't be a problem.

Dual tower came with 5 foot lines, I wanted to start with 10 feet and work my way down if I needed. I will make sure to keep these lines nice and clean so I won't have to change them again for awhile.

 

[zman]

There are special wrenches for the towers, they are like a closed end wrench but with a side cut out. I made my own because I had a spare wrench handy and because I like DIY over $$$
They look like this:

But those are over $40.
Mine looks like this:

which Micromatic also sells for $36.75
It's still a pain in the arse but without the tool you will just F things up. What is fun is when the nut or spacer to the assembly drops down and you have to go chase it. It really is challenging to hold all the parts together and in the right order when you reassemble, esp. if you add a 3rd shank to your towers like i did.
The nuts are either 1" or 1 1/16" both are used so make sure you get/make the right one.

What did you use to cut the wrench? Thing a Dremel would work?

 

[Flomaster]

What did you use to cut the wrench? Thing a Dremel would work?

dremel would work, but I used a 4.5" hand held angle grinder. faster, easier, and the flapper disk I have made quick work of the sharp corners.

-=Jason=-

 

[zman]

dremel would work, but I used a 4.5" hand held angle grinder. faster, easier, and the flapper disk I have made quick work of the sharp corners.

-=Jason=-

Thanks for the info. I do not have an angle grinder so the dremel will have to do. It is outrageous that this wrench is $40. These are the cut off wheels that i have http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=EZ406

 

[zman]

dremel would work, but I used a 4.5" hand held angle grinder. faster, easier, and the flapper disk I have made quick work of the sharp corners.

-=Jason=-

About how big of a section do you cut off the wrench?

 

[Flomaster]

About how big of a section do you cut off the wrench?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cu...rench-dremel-all-you-need-176265/#post2491675

you can see I have two exposed edges so that the wrench doesn't touch the right shank nut

I guess where you make your cut in the wrench is pretty important so take note of which shank you want to remove first and what material needs to be eliminated. im sure you could modify it so that its grabbing 4 points of the nut and it would work just fine as well leaving 3 sides exposed on the nut

-=Jason=-

-=Jason=-

 

[Tropidolaemus]

In recently bought a used kegerator and feel the need to replace the line and was having a hard time trying to get the tower apart. Now I see clearly how I have to go about it. Thanks people, once again you've saved the day!

 

[TxBigHops]

Great thread! I too just bought a used kegerator and will be needing this information this weekend. Thanks!

 

[logdrum]

Just for the record - a more reasonable source

http://www.homebrewing.org/1-combination-Tower-Nut-Wrench_p_958.html

"Also features a bottle opener."

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Just for the record - a more reasonable source

http://www.homebrewing.org/1-combination-Tower-Nut-Wrench_p_958.html

Beware though. I bought that and neither end would fit my Danby kegerator. I ended up buying a box end wrench and cutting it myself.

I'm planning to buy a SS dual faucet tower soon, so I'll eventually get to play with the even more limited space of two shanks (plus my cooling hose) in the tower.

 

[TxBigHops]

Alright, I am cursing the name of the person who created this two tower setup!!! Didn't pay that much attention to how everything fit in there when I took it apart. I'm now reassembling, and can't see any way to get the two shanks in there! The two shank holes in the tower are directly lined up with each other, so the tubes both want to occupy the same bit of space. I assume there's a trick, but can't seem to figure it out. I've tried angling them both toward the outside of the tower, but no luck. Any tricks y'all could share would be greatly appreciated.