Got Ahead Of Myself With Corny Kegs

[SouthernPassage]

I am about to leave on a long cruise in the Bahamas and made 15 gallons of beer which we primed and put into corny kegs. My plan was to have a custom kegerator made and installed on our boat. That plan was overcome by events and now I've got three kegs that I can't refrigerate and need to be able to draw from periodically into smaller containers that CAN fit into refrigerators on the boat. I have 12 small 16g CO2 cylinders, a Tap-a-draft tap, a CMB ball lock adapter to a male thead, and a BSG Keg Charger. What's my best way forward? Do I just get more CO2 cylinders to push the beer out to PET bottles that fit in the refrigerator? Should I spring for a big CO2 bottle or one of those paint ball bottle adapters? I'm trying to anticipate finding CO2 sources in remote places as well. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[kristiismean]

a 20oz paintball tank should be able to push those three kegs. (not carbonate them, but push them out) easily, because finding fill stations in the Bahamas may be difficult. (They do have welding supply stores). if you can still get the fridge, just do picnic taps. or a jockey box if not. a cooler with a large ice block would work great and last a few days if using plate style coolers instead of coils.

 

[SouthernPassage]

a 20oz paintball tank should be able to push those three kegs. (not carbonate them, but push them out) easily, because finding fill stations in the Bahamas may be difficult. (They do have welding supply stores). if you can still get the fridge, just do picnic taps. or a jockey box if not. a cooler with a large ice block would work great and last a few days if using plate style coolers instead of coils.

Thanks Kristismean, I will try to get a paintball tank before we depart. I ordered pigtails today so I have the picnic tap covered. I'm going to be building the cold box to fit Southern Passage. I have not researched the best cooling technology to use (Plate vs Coil) given I've got solar panels and going directly from 12 VDC is more efficient than going through an inverter or having to run the generator. I can do fiberglass and woodwork no problem at all. An efficient cooling system is something I need to learn about. As I educate myself I'll post up on the Kegerator forum. Thanks again.

 

[Chanoc]

Check Sailing Uma channel on YouTube.

In one of the Last episodes they reinstalled a cooling device that may suit your needs

 

[Sailingeric]

Good call on bringing your own beer to the Bahamas. Beer there is more expensive than rum! What kind of boat are you sailing on? And if in Bimini, be careful of the traffic on the Queen's Highway.

 

[SouthernPassage]

We have a 56' Fountaine Pajot Marquises Catamaran. Thanks for the heads up. We may clear customs in Bimini. We intend to do occasional crewed charters with her in the Abacos and Exumas.

 

[kristiismean]

that's a really nice boat. you should have room for a smaller freezer, and it should have a generator, worse case run it on shore power and dry ice it when not on shore.

i'm into boats, but being on a smaller lake, have to stick with much smaller boats (think hydrostreams, etc)

 

[Sailingeric]

We have a 56' Fountaine Pajot Marquises Catamaran. Thanks for the heads up. We may clear customs in Bimini. We intend to do occasional crewed charters with her in the Abacos and Exumas.

The Berries are nice too, a nice overnight sail from Bimini. Not too much there, I think Chub Cay is about most civilization you will see but they are nice for being off the grid for a few days.

 

[SouthernPassage]

Yes I've been to the Berries and to Eluthra, Cat, Spanish Wells. We are going to the Abacos to do some charters. It's easier for folks to fly in and out of. One of the things we want to do is cater to people who like home brew and try to have the beer of their choice aboard when they cruise. To that end, and for my own selfish interests:rockin:, we are going to design a custom built in cooler with taps and CO2 under the helm seat and put in some kind of 12 volt refrideration system like the Danfoss systems on all our other units.

 

[ericbw]

The cooling system mentioned above is for a jockey box - a cooler full of ice that has either a plate chiller or a bunch of coiled metal tube. The warm beer runs into the tube/chiller that's surrounded by ice, then comes out a tap on the other side of the cooler. They are very expensive to buy premade for some reason, but are very low tech.

If money is not an issue, I would get a 10 or 20lb tank of CO2 and buy a jockey box already made. Then all you need is ice periodically.

 

[SouthernPassage]

The cooling system mentioned above is for a jockey box - a cooler full of ice that has either a plate chiller or a bunch of coiled metal tube. The warm beer runs into the tube/chiller that's surrounded by ice, then comes out a tap on the other side of the cooler. They are very expensive to buy premade for some reason, but are very low tech.

If money is not an issue, I would get a 10 or 20lb tank of CO2 and buy a jockey box already made. Then all you need is ice periodically.

Money is an object to a degree. Availability of ice is as well. I'm trying to be "off grid" and independant. Efficiency is what I'm striving for. I have solar panels now that produce excess energy during the day so I can cool using 12v. I can also make Ice in our little ice maker when we run the generator so I may incorporate the jockey box into my design. Hopefully I can have drinkably cold beer whether I have access to ice or not.