Kegging and serving thru a fountain machine

[lurker18]

Has anyone ever tried to serve through a soda fountain machine? I picked one up, along with a 20lb tank and 10 cornies, good deal if it works. The soda fountain has a self cooler in it, so I don't need a freezer or fridge for that. Just wondering if anyone out there has a set up like this and can give me a heads up on what to watch out for when I set it up.

 

[JesseRC]

Does the cooler keep the kegs cool or just line before serving, if so I still think the kegs need to be kept cold. Also, I dont know about the fountains used, they might serve up nothing but foam. I've never seen a soda fountain that had a smooth pour.

 

[lurker18]

There is an internal cooler, like the cold plates with a water bath and cooling tubes running through it. The guy I got it from said he actually had problems with it icing up if it was left for a few days. The cooling happens right before the taps.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I don't know about the actual taps, but the inline cooler should work fine.

You'll need to pressurize the kegs at a higher pressure to carb them at room temperature, (I think around 26 psi at 68 degrees F gives 2.4 volumes).

Other than the higher carbing pressure, it will function like a "jockey box". And since those things are meant to pour soda, (which is carbonated), it should work with beer, you'll just probably have to monkey around with tubing lengths and perhaps the restrictor plates inside the taps so you don't get a foam shower...

 

[marzsit]

There is an internal cooler, like the cold plates with a water bath and cooling tubes running through it. The guy I got it from said he actually had problems with it icing up if it was left for a few days. The cooling happens right before the taps.

waterbath-type of refrigerated soda dispensers are supposed to ice up after awhile, it's a normal condition. there is an ice bank controller that should be adjustable so you can make the frozen block of ice smaller or larger, ideally you want the ice bank to completely cover the beverage tubes but not freeze all of the water in the reservoir.

if this is a premix dispenser, it will have plastic faucets that look almost like beer faucets with paddle levers on the tops. these work great for dispensing beer and have adjustable pressure compensators to control foaming (look for an adjustment screw on the right side of the faucet near the shank end)

 

[Cheeto]

Has anyone ever tried to serve through a soda fountain machine? I picked one up, along with a 20lb tank and 10 cornies, good deal if it works. The soda fountain has a self cooler in it, so I don't need a freezer or fridge for that. Just wondering if anyone out there has a set up like this and can give me a heads up on what to watch out for when I set it up.

It would be great if you had some pictures to post,

Most soda fountains kinda diffuse as they serve
it is has standard Beer faucets you should be great, Perlics or other,
if they are the electric style of faucets you might be a bit unhappy.

 

[marzsit]

It would be great if you had some pictures to post,

Most soda fountains kinda diffuse as they serve
it is has standard Beer faucets you should be great, Perlics or other,
if they are the electric style of faucets you might be a bit unhappy.

the above machine is a post-mix dispenser, and the unit in the ice bin with the tank is the carbonator. these dispensers mix carbonated water and syrup inside the dispensing head, and really don't work for dispensing beer...

from lurker18's description of his dispenser, he has a pre-mix unit which is designed to serve pre mixed, ready-to-serve soda stored in corny kegs. this type of dispenser can serve soda, beer or wine, the faucets are similar in operation to beer faucets but are plastic. the dispensers made by cornelius have removable faucets that mount on a shank similar to a beer faucet, but the threading and seals are different so you can't swap them for actual beer faucets. but, it may be possible to swap the shanks for beer shanks?

 

[lurker18]

The machine described by marzsit it the one I have. It IS NOT a post mix, all the soda came from the cornies. The faucets are removeable, I have them off the machine right now waiting to get a good cleaning.
There is an internal ice/water bath surrounding the cooling coils with a paddle to keep the water moving so it doesn't turn into a solid block.
It is great to hear these work for beer, now I have to get it cleaned up, replace the lines, and brew a few test batches.:rockin:etc.

 

[malkore]

if it only serves up foam, just start making your own soda (ginger soda, root beer, etc) and serve em that way

 

[beernbike]

I just got two 4 tap units that sound like what you describe above.

What has your experience been in the last 7 months?

I hope it's serving up some tasty brews!

 

[Dwain]

[IThe machine described by marzsit it the one I have. It IS NOT a post mix, all the soda came from the cornies. The faucets are removeable, I have them off the machine right now waiting to get a good cleaning.
There is an internal ice/water bath surrounding the cooling coils with a paddle to keep the water moving so it doesn't turn into a solid block.
It is great to hear these work for beer, now I have to get it cleaned up, replace the lines, and brew a few test batches][/I]

I used one, a Cornelius cold serve for many years. I replaced the Tstat that controlled the water bath so it didn't freeze. The kegs were at room (back porch) temp, hot. Mine had adjustments on the faucets for the air mix. After I dialed those in, it worked perfectly. By adjusting the temp, I could serve beer from 32F to 40F with no problems. Good Luck - Dwain

 

[beernbike]

I only found a couple of other threads on here about these but most of the other talk was on serving soda, not beer.

Thanks for the tip about pressure ShortyJacobs, I will see how it goes and experiment with the pressure at 26 PSI.

Since I didn't find any pictures I will share a couple so people can see how these pre-mix fountains work.

Each tap has it's own tube, you see them surrounding the ice water tank here. After being drawn through the line they come directly out of the tap.

Obviously this was taken before I filled the tank with bleach and water. I little elbow grease and it was good as new.

Next we have the refrigeration unit that sets on top. The coils go down into the tank.

 

[beernbike]

delete this

 

[Dwain]

I don't know whio makes that one, but I called Cornelius to get a manual. They said their books went back to 1945 and my serial # was older than that. But, a manual might help. Luck - Dwain

 

[marzsit]

I only found a couple of other threads on here about these but most of the other talk was on serving soda, not beer.

Thanks for the tip about pressure ShortyJacobs, I will see how it goes and experiment with the pressure at 26 PSI.

Since I didn't find any pictures I will share a couple so people can see how these pre-mix fountains work.

Each tap has it's own tube, you see them surrounding the ice water tank here. After being drawn through the line they come directly out of the tap.

Obviously this was taken before I filled the tank with bleach and water. I little elbow grease and it was good as new.

Next we have the refrigeration unit that sets on top. The coils go down into the tank.

bleach and stainless steel is a very, very, very bad idea........ you will corrode the stainless beverage lines and corrode the copper refrigerant coils.

use plain water only, top it up weekly and change it every 3 months or so.

 

[beernbike]

bleach and stainless steel is a very, very, very bad idea........ you will corrode the stainless beverage lines and corrode the copper refrigerant coils.

use plain water only, top it up weekly and change it every 3 months or so.

Thanks Marzsit. I only used the bleach for soaking a few hours. Should I expect any trouble from that? Is there anything I need to do after draining and rinsing? I'd hate to find any issues down the road that should be addressed now.


FWIW: If anyone is interested in more info the soda fountain I've posted details on mine here: http://malttap.blogspot.com/

 

[beernbike]

I just want to thank Shorty again for posting about the high PSI for this. That really helped.

Once I plugged the dispenser in the water was icy cold in only a couple of hours. This thing is great. I could work in place of a cold plate for parties and such, although a cold plate would be easier and better if you can afford one.

The Pro -
What I think I'll like the best is not having a hassle to replace an empty keg in the back of the fridge. With everything outside I can put the keg anywhere and just connect the hoses.

The Con -
It's not as clean a look as having CO2, kegs, manifold and hoses all inside the fridge. I may move the unit so my kegs are under the stairs and only the dispenser is seen.

Thanks everyone!

 

[edmanster]

I have used one for 3 years now.. The only problem is if your keg is not kept at a constant temp and goes up and down with the temp of the house your pressure will fluctuate and have overcarb issues.. I only keep the gas on when I'm using it or just put a new one on tap for about a week.. Should post mine on here!