How to cool kegs???

[oxonbrew]

Hi,

I currently keg my beer and store it in our outhouse. It gets pretty hot in there during the day and so I'd like some way of cooling my kegs.

My only problem is that I have no power in there.

I've thought about solar and TEC cooling or evaporation using a water bath, t-shirt as a wick and then a solar fan.

Does anyone have any experience of trying this? Or even better does anyone know of a better/easier way to cool my kegs?

Cheers!

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Out of curiosity, why do you store it in the outhouse? Do you mean an out building, not the traditional "out house" aka latrine?

A water bath and fan (swamp cooler) will help quite a bit.
Or if it has a dirt floor, you can dig a pit to put the keg in so that it stays closer to 55F (soil temp).

 

[oxonbrew]

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, yes, I mean an out building (shed). Unfortunately I can't dig up the floor, but its a good idea! The swamp cooler sounds like the easiest and maybe cheapest option. I'm hoping to get from about 80-84F down to about 50F is that possible?

Cheers!

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I'm pretty sure the lowest you'll ever get is related to the dewpoint on that day. Once you hit the dewpoint the driving force for evaporation is gone because the water absorbs heat from the surrounding air. And that's a theoretical limit, so you'd likely be measurably above dewpoint (5-10deg?).
Where are you located? If it's a dry climate it would be more effective than a humid one.

 

[oxonbrew]

I'm located in the UK. Current humidity is 67%, I think the dew point is about 50F and current temperature is about 70F.
I'm guessing that the high humidity would make a swamp cooler impractical?

Cheers!

 

[Komocabo]

50s sound impractical. Temp controlled freezer powered by a long extension cord? Not sure is that's really practical either, but you would be able to set it to any temp.

 

[acidrain]

Can you dig a hole and put a little cover over it?

 

[johngaltsmotor]

The 50F dewpoint means you're unlikely to get below 60 (purely an educated guess) without extensive work.

The swamp cooler would still help, but on an 80F with a 60F dewpoint day you won't keep 50F beer.
It would keep it cool enough that a spot chiller (cooler of ice with a coil of beer tube inside) might keep it drinkable, but that requires filling the cooler when you want a beer.
I'm not sure if a solar powered Peltier cooler would be enough, it all depends on how well you insulate the keg and how large of a panel you're willing to use.

Can you dig a hole outside the shed?

 

[Rivenin]

50s sound impractical. Temp controlled freezer powered by a long extension cord? Not sure is that's really practical either, but you would be able to set it to any temp.

Thats how i have my fermentation chamber... it's about a 20 foot run from the deck plug to the shed... it actually works out extremely well.

 

[atli126]

:rockin:

Thats how i have my fermentation chamber... it's about a 20 foot run from the deck plug to the shed... it actually works out extremely well.

heck yea run a cord and call it a day!

 

[oakbarn]

You can get a normal AC and a CoolBot. It can chill down to the high 30's if you have enough insulation. I have a "Cold Room" that is 12 x 13 cooled by a 5000 btu AC with a Coolbot that I can get to 50 mid summer in Texas. I have not tried lower but it might even do better. Most AC will not go below 60 without the Coolbot.

 

[Komocabo]

Exactly.