Long Draw Salt Water Chilled Beer Tower

[subliminalurge]

Gotcha. Makes sense.

 

[runningweird]

I made sure the water had reached the highest salinity I could get it to to avoid freezing, plus having the water in motion keeps the temperature above whatever temperature it would freeze at.

I managed to put two pounds of salt into the water solution, I am sure some will evaporate over time requiring topping off

 

[runningweird]

so I had an accident and learned a lesson. I had the bucket pictured above uncovered in the freezer and the water had reduced by about 1/3 through evaporation. I refilled the bucket but in the process knocked the return hose out of the bucket(which i did not notice) return an hour later and the pump is running dry and the floor is wet.

so I learned that salt water will just empty out of the fridge and dry up on the floor - unlike some pre dyed glycol mixture which I would have had to scrub off of things. I also learned that I have to secure the lines in the bucket in the future.

(I turned the pump off, mixed a batch of new salt water, and refilled the bucket. The pump works fine- no burn out or anything and the system is still going strong. Also I got my remaining 3 perlick taps from farmhousebrewing supply and just got a drip tray in the mail today. Will post pics when I get a working camera.

 

[bwomp313]

that's pretty friggin sweet man. nice job on the ghetto ingenious setup

 

[conpewter]

Awesome build! I am planning on doing something similar if I ever get the time, running a couple taps upstairs from the basement.

I bought 1/4" bev-seal a long time ago for this project (3/16" was not available anywhere, I called). Do you think that will give me too fast of a flow?

 

[subliminalurge]

I bought 1/4" bev-seal a long time ago for this project (3/16" was not available anywhere, I called). Do you think that will give me too fast of a flow?

Actually, my understanding is that for longer runs it's actually better to use the larger ID tubing. Otherwise you end up with too much restriction and you're back to having foaming issues again.

 

[runningweird]

I have no idea, someone with more knowledge than me can tell you about the effects of tubing diameter on resistance and foaming , I know I have seen it on here somewhere. I believe it is also a function of temperature - perhaps my chiller is why mine works. dunno. I am still stoked every time I pull a pint because everything just worked on the first try - something that rarely happens with (my) projects.

A quick search turned up this gem: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/beer-line-length-pressure-calculator-35369/

sounds like it might help.

 

[conpewter]

Cool, ty. I just know this bev-seal has less friction. I'd be going up one floor as well, so the height difference would be probably 10' I was not sure what your height difference is. Also I'd probably try to keep mine at around 40-45 degrees as I don't like my beer super cold.

 

[runningweird]

I haven't measured but I suspect the distance from center of keg to the taps is under 9 feet.

 

[runningweird]

so I still don't have all the taps with beer on them yet but they all work. I made the remaining tap handles and epoxied the threaded inserts in the bases, they turned out better than I expected since I have about 15 dollars invested in all of them. None of my faucets leak and the chiller is still working very well.

My only problem is the drip tray, I don't have the metal working skills to cut it down to size without fear of screwing it up majorly so it sits on top and goes past the edges of the cabinet by about 1 inch on each side.

overall I am pretty happy with this project, its so nice to be able to go into the living room and pull a glass on demand.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]My only problem is the drip tray, I don't have the metal working skills to cut it down to size without fear of screwing it up majorly so it sits on top and goes past the edges of the cabinet by about 1 inch on each side. [...]

How are your woodworking skills? You could trim out the top to "grow" it enough to encompass the tray ends...

Cheers!

 

[runningweird]

not a bad idea!

 

[Flomaster]

awesome, I'm glad I left my glycol copper chilling lines in my towers when I did my install. I was going to forgo them because I didn't think I needed them because I was doing a tower on keezer setup. but now in the future should I have to run a trunk line I can keep it chilled this way.

:rockin:

-=Jason=-

 

[runningweird]

I looked at pulling them out when I got my tower, but the amount of work to dig out the foam and cut the lines out was way beyond my laziness ethic.

The chilling lines are so nice, no overfoamed beer, unless I mess up and overcarb....

 

[Flomaster]

I looked at pulling them out when I got my tower, but the amount of work to dig out the foam and cut the lines out was way beyond my laziness ethic.

The chilling lines are so nice, no overfoamed beer, unless I mess up and overcarb....

I had to gut my towers. the foam smelled of old wet boat and once I got into the demolition I found there was a lot of liquid in that foam.

Your trunk line is a job well done

-=Jason=-
Sent from my HTC Incredible using Home Brew Talk

 

[joftinac]

Excellent setup! I just started brewing a couple months ago and am still in the early stages of research for my kegging setup. This tap rig with the chilled lines is awesome. Thanks for the idea.

 

[runningweird]

Excellent setup! I just started brewing a couple months ago and am still in the early stages of research for my kegging setup. This tap rig with the chilled lines is awesome. Thanks for the idea.

This forum is full of good ideas. Hope to see your build soon!

 

[dynobyte]

My only problem is the drip tray, I don't have the metal working skills to cut it down to size without fear of screwing it up majorly so it sits on top and goes past the edges of the cabinet by about 1 inch on each side.

You could always build a wooden frame to go around the drip tray and secure the frame to the table top. That should keep it from moving if it is accidentally knocked around a bit by the kids.

 

[ftlstrings]

Are your beers flat for the first pour?

 

[runningweird]

Are your beers flat for the first pour?

no, never. why would they be?

the faucets hold their seal well, the chiller keeps the lines cold, and there is always positive pressure.

given a few months of time without pulling a beer the co2 might come out of solution and fill the top of the lines but I haven't seen it happen. then again I haven't gone longer than a week without pulling a draft.

 

[ftlstrings]

Hrrm. My first pours out of my ten foot lines often seem to have lost much of their pressure after a week or two. Don't really know how, given gas law constants, but tell that to my first few ounces of draught beer!

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

My only problem is the drip tray, I don't have the metal working skills to cut it down to size without fear of screwing it up majorly so it sits on top and goes past the edges of the cabinet by about 1 inch on each side.

This is awesome, I love this.
Have you considered making a shelf that is larger and would fit inside the vertical wood parts of the unit and on top of your cabinet? You could cut out for the tower so you would not have to take it apart. You could also get some stick on formica or tile to make clean up easier.
I give this project two thumbs up!

 

[milldoggy]

RunningWeird,
I will be moving to a new house in a few months and I need to do the same thing. How is it working? Still keeping everything cold? What is the evaporation rate? Have you thought about sealing the salt water bucket to reduce the evaporation? Do you remember which pump you are using.

Think I found it
http://www.lowes.com/pd_248380-4865...7087_?Ns=p_product_quantity_sold|1&facetInfo=

 

[runningweird]

RunningWeird,
I will be moving to a new house in a few months and I need to do the same thing. How is it working? Still keeping everything cold? What is the evaporation rate? Have you thought about sealing the salt water bucket to reduce the evaporation?

The system works well, in the winter the freezer works too well and I had to dial the freezer compartment way down because I had some frozen beer lines.

The evaporation rate is minimal(I probably add a half gallon every other month or so) - I have placed a lid on my bucket which really helps.

If I had to do it again I would be tempted to use glycol but the salt water is still working just great.

getting the trunk line made properly is key to doing this successfully I think, please post pictures when you make the system I would love to see it!

 

[milldoggy]

I thought about buying the trunk line 11.95 a ft though. Will post pictures when I do it. Few months away, just starting to research my options.

 

[djii]

I'd just put some crown molding around the top of the cabinet, maybe add a piece of nice (treated) plywood to make a bigger top. way easier to build out than cut down the size of the tray.

 

[JonnyJumpUp]

So is the salt water bucket inside of the keezer as an easy way to keep it cool or are you adding ice to it? I ask because the picture looks like it is just a bucket with saltwater and ice in it.

Why wouldn't you just add a bucket/keg filled with plain old water in the keezer and recirc that? The keezer will keep it cold and you don't have to worry about ice, glycol, salt water or any bs like that. FYI, glycol actually has a lower heat transfer capacity than plain water, the benifit is a lower freezing point. I don't think you really need the lower temps to do what you need. However I could be wrong as I haven't actually done the calculations or thought about it too hard.

 

[divi2323]

Ever consider using a keg instead of a bucket? Seems it would fit the uniform space and would be a sealed system with no evaporation.

 

[runningweird]

The salt water bucket is in the freezer compartment of the upright fridge, I had considered putting it in the lower refrigerator compartment but I can just barely fit 6 kegs in there as it is , and since my tap tower has 6 taps it seems a waste to have one tap empty all the time.

 

[divi2323]

That does male sense. I'm planning.something similar to your rig. I've got the space for a spare keg so ill probably go that route. I was thinking of using a 2.5 or 3 gallon corny so it will sit on the compressor hump of my chest freezer.

I dig the post and its a much cheaper alternative to trunk lines at a million bucks a foot.