BrewDoc_Md
Well-Known Member
I'm getting a 7.2 cuft chest freezer later today and plan on building a collar for it to hold 4 cornys and a CO2 tank (picking up a 20 # tank tomorrow dirt cheap). I've read a bunch of articles on here and elsewhere about how to construct it and have a few last minute questions:
1) Proper spacing between faucets? I've read where most people install them 4" apart from center to center. Anything magical about that number? Is there "optimal" spacing for some reason? I made a 14" wide drip trough, so 4" spacing would be ok. Just curious.
2) A couple guys remarked that if they could do it all over again, they'd put the CO2 tank on the hump and drill the faucets+shanks and secondary CO2 manifold near the hump, too. Is the thinking that doing this would allow for easier, less obstructed corny access in the deeper part of the freezer?
3) I know the beer lines have to be a certian length to prevent foaming. Do the CO2 lines need to be a certain length as well for any reason? Or can they be as short as possible (say, from regulator to manifold)? And do I need to sanitize (like with StarSan) the CO2 lines/manifold before usage?
4) When installing the shanks, do I NEED anything else in the drilled hole besides the shank? A couple guys put PVC piping in theirs...but I wasn't sure if this is "clever", or just to compensate for drilling their hole too large initially. Does there need to be extra foam/styrophoam insullation around the shank?
Thanks for the advice!
1) Proper spacing between faucets? I've read where most people install them 4" apart from center to center. Anything magical about that number? Is there "optimal" spacing for some reason? I made a 14" wide drip trough, so 4" spacing would be ok. Just curious.
2) A couple guys remarked that if they could do it all over again, they'd put the CO2 tank on the hump and drill the faucets+shanks and secondary CO2 manifold near the hump, too. Is the thinking that doing this would allow for easier, less obstructed corny access in the deeper part of the freezer?
3) I know the beer lines have to be a certian length to prevent foaming. Do the CO2 lines need to be a certain length as well for any reason? Or can they be as short as possible (say, from regulator to manifold)? And do I need to sanitize (like with StarSan) the CO2 lines/manifold before usage?
4) When installing the shanks, do I NEED anything else in the drilled hole besides the shank? A couple guys put PVC piping in theirs...but I wasn't sure if this is "clever", or just to compensate for drilling their hole too large initially. Does there need to be extra foam/styrophoam insullation around the shank?
Thanks for the advice!