Kegs and my Future bar

[mgortel]

hey guys...I have been Homebrewing for about 3 months now...have done 4 batches and doing my fifth this weekend....love it. I have been bottling my brew up to now, however, I am in the process of clubbing out my unfinihsed basement....and of course I will be adding a wet bar.

The end of the wet bar will butt up against an enclosed room (closet if you will) that will be big enough to hold a beer meister or converted refrigerator for (3) 5 gallon homebrew kegs. My plan is to install the tap handles on a mock end of a barrel on the wall just above the bar top....so the hoses from the kegs will need to run from the fridge/beer meister to the wall and thru it.

my question is this.....what about the beer setting in the hose between where it leaves the cold refrigerator and to the tap handles? It will obviously get warm.....so the first bit of the pour will have to be tossed...etc. Will it sour in the line, etc.

Im sure some of you guys have installed "remote" coolers/refrigerators for you kegs withe the location of the pour handle a distance away....any advice? Issues with this?

Thanks!

 

[vincemash]

a couple threads to get ya started:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/kegerator-basement-taps-kitchen-98577/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/running-beer-line-kegerator-basement-kitchen-main-floor-51520/#post517370

 

[HalfPint]

Will it sour?

Nah, but it will not be cold and depending on how long your line is, you could be wasting a good bit of beer and would probably be better off building a cooling system for your lines.

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

Lack of funds has had me stuck in the planning phase of my bar build, but I will be building a DIY pond pump chiller to circulate cold water (stored in keezer) the 12' length of my line run from my basement.

I've been looking at pond pumps in the 8-900 gph range that retail for around $100. I need to go that big because I've got about a 10' vertical to push. If you're running horizontal, you could easily get away with a 200 gph pump in the $40 range.

Do a google search for beer trunk lines and take a look at how the pros package the lines. I'm going to wrap mine the same way and replace the plastic cooling out line with copper for better conductivity.

Total cost for a 10-15 horizontal run shouldn't be prohibitive:

- pump $40
- fittings $5-10
- copper line $20
- plastic return line $5
- bucket of cold water for pump $5

If you have space in a freezer, you could actually run antifreeze/glycol...

 

[rictanica]

I had my Kezzer in the basement of my house for years. Had the lines run up through the wall next to the heater duct into taps in my kitchen. I didn't notice any difference in the temp of the beer and had 15 foot lines. Quarter inch ID hose doesn't hold alot of beer. I would be more concerned with the pressure it takes to get the beer vertically that high and overcarbonating the beer. I ran beer gas through the lines at about 12 psi so I wouldn't over carbonate. But I work in the compressed gas industry so the Beer gas was not much more money than the Co2.

 

[HalfPint]

I had my Kezzer in the basement of my house for years. Had the lines run up through the wall next to the heater duct into taps in my kitchen. I didn't notice any difference in the temp of the beer and had 15 foot lines. Quarter inch ID hose doesn't hold alot of beer. I would be more concerned with the pressure it takes to get the beer vertically that high and overcarbonating the beer. I ran beer gas through the lines at about 12 psi so I wouldn't over carbonate. But I work in the compressed gas industry so the Beer gas was not much more money than the Co2.

Good points.

Hmm, I like a lot of others use 10' lines inside of my kegerator and it's no problem to push the brew with Co2 @ 12 psi. I know you're saying it had to defy gravity going from the basement to you kitchen, but in this mans case, it doesn't sound that way. Also, if he used 3/16" hose instead of 3/4", he may have no problem at all.

So, why not just try it and see what happens. If it's a no go, then worry about a cooling system for the lines.

 

[rictanica]

I know you're saying it had to defy gravity going from the basement to you kitchen, but in this mans case, it doesn't sound that way.

oops got the two post's mixed up.

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

oops got the two post's mixed up.

Glad you did, your info helps me with some tough decisions. I'm still on the fence about going with smaller diameter lines, but leaning towards them more now...

 

[HalfPint]

Glad you did, your info helps me with some tough decisions. I'm still on the fence about going with smaller diameter lines, but leaning towards them more now...

I use 3/16" and so do a lot of others. other than a little bit slower of a pour, you won't have a difference than if you had shorter lines.

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

I use 3/16" and so do a lot of others. other than a little bit slower of a pour, you won't have a difference than if you had shorter lines.

I prefer a slower pour....

 

[jay4e]

for cooling i would try just run the lines through a pvc pipe, with some cheap pipe insulation. shouldnt cost more than $10-15 for 10-12 feet.

if that doesnt work well enough for you could invest in a plate chiller and cheap/free mini fridge or something along those lines.