DIY 7-Tap 3" Black Pipe Draft Tower

[philipCT]

I've been planning this for some time. I really like the tappedbeer.com towers, but just didn't want to pay their prices. Though their work is awesome, and their prices reasonable for what you get, I am just a cheap bastard and I was pretty sure I could do it myself.

I didn't underestimate the type and caliber of work required, and there was no way I was going to undertake the metalshop work. I have neither the tools or the skills. So, like most of my DIY projects, there was a portion that I subbed out.

I did all the design (to be clear - stole all the design ideas from tappedbeer) and prepared the shop drawings and, after talking to a few people, found the right metal shop with a guy who was willing to do the work cheaply, but who was obsessively fixated on precision and quality. And it shows. The work he did was crazy. Suited me perfectly.

Here's a before shot of the pieces that I assembled, followed by after shots showing the work.

 

[smithabusa]

Very nice! My father in law made me one for xmas this year

 

[cantrell00]

Your machinist did an immaculate job...

Gotta love people that take that degree of care & pride in their work..

 

[philipCT]

Did the final assembly yesterday. Fabricated foam insulation inserts. Mounted elbow shanks onto faucet panels. Ran bev lines.

Installing onto kegerator today.

 

[philipCT]

Hawthorne, my machinist, who has become a friend in the process of building this thing, came over to help install it this morning.

Things we so smoothly due to his experience and confidence marking, pilot drilling, drilling out and finally tapping the mounting holes. He fabricated special mounting bolts to maintain the real look of a full 5/8" bolt, yet carry a 1/4" by 28 threaded rod into the kegerator top. His work has been genius.

End result - well - see for yourself.

 

[WrkdbfGuy]

Man that is seriously sweet.

 

[Calfj60]

That is bad ass! Great work to you and the machinist.

 

[philipCT]

And finally, after all the kegs are connected back up an fully tested, and the tap board updated...

 

[BrewdogSC]

That is beautiful, great job!

 

[nacho2100]

Did the final assembly yesterday. Fabricated foam insulation inserts. Mounted elbow shanks onto faucet panels. Ran bev lines.

Installing onto kegerator today.

really like the shanks. Can you point me to where you got them?

 

[Weezy]

Beautiful project!

 

[philipCT]

I got the faucets and shanks at my LHBS, Maltose Express in Monroe, CT. Hope that helps.

 

[KegHead]

This looks very good. Im gonna keep this idea in mind the next time im at the machine shop. I think making a partially completed (all mill, drill and forming work) but modular kit for DIYers may be neat, and a good cost compromise as well.

 

[user 208089]

Care to post dimensions so we can replicate? Awesome setup!

 

[Tahdi]

Hawthorne, my machinist, who has become a friend in the process of building this thing, came over to help install it this morning.

Things we so smoothly due to his experience and confidence marking, pilot drilling, drilling out and finally tapping the mounting holes. He fabricated special mounting bolts to maintain the real look of a full 5/8" bolt, yet carry a 1/4" by 28 threaded rod into the kegerator top. His work has been genius.

End result - well - see for yourself.

Would your machinist be willing to make the bolts for others doing similar projects? I'm in RI. Thanks

 

[philipCT]

Would your machinist be willing to make the bolts for others doing similar projects? I'm in RI. Thanks

I'm sure he would but just keep in mind, he's a real pro with a full machine shop and gets professional machine-shop rates so don't expect the work to be free. Still, I found him quite reasonable for the quality.

PM me for contact details.

 

[philipCT]

Care to post dimensions so we can replicate? Awesome setup!

Sure. I'll look for the folder with those drawings and post. Warning - the drawings were all hand-drawn by me, so not professional, but Hawthorne didn't seem to have any problem understanding them.

 

[user 208089]

really like the shanks. Can you point me to where you got them?

Adventures in Homebrewing carry identical shanks: Krome Dispense brand.

S/S Column Shank Assembly (90 degree barb)
Item Number:40-C331

 

[Jester369]

Excellent!

 

[martianpc]

I love the look of this and it's industrial design!

A few questions, what is the height and total width. IE : how long of black pipe nipples did you buy?

What is the point of the cutout with the plate over it instead of just mounting the faucets right to the pipe?

Thanks!

 

[user 208089]

Finished this tap few weeks ago. I used a lot of the same ideas/design as philipmeese. I used the front cut out for access and future shank/line servicing. I originally planned to drill/mount the shanks directly to the black pipe, but realized that I could miss drill a hole and cause the taps not to lineup.

 

[KegHead]

Finished this tap few weeks ago. I used a lot of the same ideas/design as philipmeese. I used the front cut out for access and future shank/line servicing. I originally planned to drill/mount the shanks directly to the black pipe, but realized that I could miss drill a hole and cause the taps not to lineup.

Is the plate rolled sheet metal or scrap pipe?

 

[Resonator]

Looks solid. Nice work!

 

[philipCT]

Finished this tap few weeks ago. I used a lot of the same ideas/design as philipmeese. I used the front cut out for access and future shank/line servicing. I originally planned to drill/mount the shanks directly to the black pipe, but realized that I could miss drill a hole and cause the taps not to lineup.

Great looking tap gang. I like those end pieces. I used a "T" configuration to match with the existing through-holes in my kegerator.

 

[philipCT]

I love the look of this and it's industrial design!

A few questions, what is the height and total width. IE : how long of black pipe nipples did you buy?

What is the point of the cutout with the plate over it instead of just mounting the faucets right to the pipe?

Thanks!

As I recall, the middle nipple was 10" and the sides weren't much shorter - but maybe 9". I picked those dimensions so I could match the down-pipes to existing through-the-top-holes in my kegerator.

I looked at a million different tap gangs and finally figured that the minimum distance between faucets was about 2-1/4", then I calculated everything backwards from there.

The main reason to use the plate, instead of just mounting directly into holes the pipe, is that you can remove the plate and change out or muck with the tubing in back of the shank more easily.

 

[philipCT]

Is the plate rolled sheet metal or scrap pipe?

The plate I used was rolled sheet metal.

 

[martianpc]

Finished this tap few weeks ago. I used a lot of the same ideas/design as philipmeese. I used the front cut out for access and future shank/line servicing. I originally planned to drill/mount the shanks directly to the black pipe, but realized that I could miss drill a hole and cause the taps not to lineup.

Which shanks did you use? Elbow or just a short regular?

 

[user 208089]

Is the plate rolled sheet metal or scrap pipe?

Scrap 4 inch thin wall pipe. Cut to my needed size them reshaped radius to fit the 3 inch black pipe.

 

[user 208089]

Which shanks did you use? Elbow or just a short regular?

See link below or post #18. Those shanks worked well. I did change the plastic flange to a steel one from Micro Matic (D6P3C). The chrome plating chipped once flange nut was tightened. http://www.homebrewing.org/SS-Column-Shank-Assembly-90-degree-barb_p_4652.html

 

[abrahamcharron]

Awesome job! I'm looking to make mine almost identical. My question is would it be possible to have the removable panel on the back only(out of sight) and have only tap holes on the front?