Nitro Setup

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IvanTheTerribrew

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Hey everyone. I started a thread a little while ago asking questions about nitro pours and setups. I searched there forums and found extremely little information and even on my thread only a few people really knew their stuff about the nitro stuff.

So I'm starting this thread because I just ordered a nitro setup from adventures in homebrewing and want to post pictures of what I got, how I'm setting it up, how it fits on a pre made tower, how the pour goes, and most importantly how it tastes/looks/etc.

I'll post more when I get the package.


- ISM NRP
 
subscribed. looking forward to seeing your process. I'm hoping to get a nitro upgrade for the office keggerator before my Guinness clone is ready for St. Patty's.


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So the first thing i wanted to do in prep for this new faucet was modify my existing tower which I built. I'm going to post my progress with that since I won't have the nitro equipment until Wednesday.
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392415977.444150.jpg
This is my current tower. When I built it I didn't intend on needing too much vertical room but from what I've gathered the nitro faucet will not fit with my setup by just about one inch(bummer)

The way I currently have it setup is so I can open up the top and also remove the front plate for any reason like reducing this to a one faucet system or anything else. I used to have both attached just by wood pegs
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392416135.138638.jpg
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That's the spray foam for insulation
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The pegs worked great for a few months but then they started to loosen up and the front plate ended up coming off slightly.

First I'm going to remove the tower which is just held by 4 screws underneath.
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392416362.873008.jpg


- ISM NRP
 
Now the new tower. So I bought a pone board and had the folks at Dome Hepot cut them to the sizes I needed. 4x 16" pieces and 1x 9.25" piece.
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Put them loosely together just to see how it would come out
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First drilled the holes on the back piece for the side pieces
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Then I placed the sides against the back, drilled through so it makes where I needed to drill the holes on the sides.
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Once the sides were attached, placed it on the base to see if it still fit.
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- ISM NRP
 

Attachments

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Now is where I made some upgrades. Instead of pegs I decided to use 1" hinges for the top
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And these latches to hold the front face securely but also be easily removable.
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Measuring where the latches will be placed inside of the front plate.
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Done
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- ISM NRP
 
Everything together. The latches and hinges work perfectly
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392420830.646873.jpgImageUploadedByHome Brew1392420837.526283.jpg

I will be staining this the same cord as my old one and then drilling the holes for the shanks. I'll keep you posted.


- ISM NRP
 
You're not adding more horizontal space for the third faucet? Or are you only going with two?


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You're not adding more horizontal space for the third faucet? Or are you only going with two?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew


Sorry for the late update.

I'm adding horizontal space because the stout faucet output would end up being too low on my old tower and I literally wouldn't be able to fit a pint glass underneath it.

I'm still going to only have 2 faucets on my tower total.

The package came in yesterday and here is what I got:

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Micromatic SS stout faucet. From the center of where it hooks up to the shank to the tip where the beer comes out, it is almost exactly 3".

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Nitro tank and nitro regulator.

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I bought a gauge guard for both of my regulators.

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- ISM NRP
 
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Here is the nozzle removed showing the o ring. This is my first time taking one of these apart.

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This shows the restrictor plate that causes the cascade effect, there is another o ring ontop of the plate.

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392948542.081497.jpg


- ISM NRP
 
This is it as broken down as I can get it without some diagrams. A bit more plastic than id like but there doesn't seem to be a more stainless version. ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392949236.832956.jpg

Here is an update of the towerImageUploadedByHome Brew1392949280.491078.jpg

And comparing the heights to the old one. ImageUploadedByHome Brew1392949317.571334.jpg


- ISM NRP
 
I installed my Nitro system yesterday. Drilled a 1 1/8" hole for the stout faucet and another 1/2" hole for the separate gas hose. Both cylinders are outside of the fridge so I can fit 3 cornys or sixtels. My CO2 side has 2 secondary knock down regulators inside so I can dial in each beer separately. I am picking up my Guinness 20L keg tomorrow. I'll advise on the pour. Let me know if you have any questions, my install went fairly smooth. How are you cooling that new tower???.
 
I added a nitro tap to mine a month or so ago. Quite simple, and worked great. Drilled a new hole for the shank and installed, and a new hole for a second gas line. Set up my tank behind my kegerator and hooked up all the lines. I already had the beer carbed to about 1.25 vols and chilling while I was waiting for my parts to show up. Set the nitrogen to 35 PSI, and was rewarded with this:
02EE6339-5B36-47FC-9DFF-8DE7A50F452B-5855-00000421328FE1A5_zpsfa579f7c.jpg


In all of it's beauty:
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ETA: Also, try to remember to take the spout off and give it a rinse after a night of drinking. If I forget and go a couple of days without, I come back to a big sticky blob in the bottom of it. Stout faucets do not like to drain everything out after you've stopped pouring.
 
^ straight awesome. But dumb question, don't you have to carb with nitro? You said you had it carbonated already before you got your stuff. I thought you had to pump it with nitro even to carb.
 
Carbing is done with straight CO2, then it's served on the 75/25 gas. ^^^That's a VERY impressive setup! Well done, looking forward to my Nitro-Stout tomorrow.
 
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393098327.847113.jpg Very first pint of Guinness from the new system . Reg set at 34 PSI. One of the best pints I've had in the US.


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Oh man. That's it, I am so doing this.

When I built my new 6-tap/7 keg keezer I installed a second gas bulkhead and ran the tubing inside to a QD. Didn't have an immediate use for it but figured if nothing else it'd be an extra keg carbonation drop (though I have a whole separate 5-keg carbonation fridge just for that).

Now I know what I'm going to use that for: put my stout on beer gas.

I always keep a big arse stout on tap and have longed for a nitro dispensing setup, and I'm pulling the trigger right now! I'm ordering the faucet and reg and will probably pick up a tank locally.

Cheers! (And thanks for the shove :D )
 
^ straight awesome. But dumb question, don't you have to carb with nitro? You said you had it carbonated already before you got your stuff. I thought you had to pump it with nitro even to carb.


And yeah, like above, you carbonate your beer to a low carbonation (about 1.5 volumes) and then connect it to your beer gas (75% CO2 25% nitrogen) and use that at a high pressure like 30+ psi to pour it.


- ISM NRP
 
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/40-20-co2-tanks-415193/

That's where I got my 80cf nitrogen tank for my beergas. Scott was awesome to deal with and cheaper than anything I could find locally.

It's a common misconception that it's the nitrogen that creates the cascade effect. In reality nitrogen doesn't easily dissolve into the beer, it's just there to push the beer at a high enough pressure to overcome the resistance of the pressure plate without over carbonating the beer. The holes in the pressure plate and a high pressure are what break the co2 out of solution and into the tiny bubbles that rise in the middle of your beer glass creating a cascade of falling beer on the sides. It's a beautiful thing! Also, don't be afraid to put other styles on beergas. I decided to buy my nitro rig after tasting how amazing Victory's Hop Devil was on nitro, wow!
 
I see your arm has been twisted. I think you'll find the money well spent. I love the hissing sound as I pour the Guinness. I never heard it before because it was always in a noisy bar. It is helpful to unscrew and rinse out the nozzle after you're done pouring for the night.


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I'm about to get going on an Oatmeal stout for the next beer on the Nitro side.


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This is actually from a couple of years ago...my first pour from my then new nitro setup - a Breakfast Stout. This years batch got moved to Secondary yesterday so it'll be ready for St. Patrick's Day.

MilkStout.jpg
 
Micromatic stout faucet and Yet Another CGA-580 Regulator shipped today, so things are moving apace. My local cylinder source didn't have a 40cf steel tank with a good hydro stamp so I'm giving the HBT-famous Scotty a try.

Between this and the Digital Taplist thing this is going to be an extra fun week!

I love me some special projects! :D

Cheers!
 
Here's the faucet on my new tower. ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393336700.133075.jpg
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Now for this I'm getting myself something nice to put for tap handles which should be here this week.

I filled my tank with 75/25 and it cost me about 22$ and took them a day to fill it. The next beer I will have kegged is a India Pale Lager so that will be interesting to try out on nitro.




- ISM NRP
 
Thanks so much for posting this! I myself am picking up a 60CF tank filled with 75%N and 25% C02 on Thursday and have all the other equipment and a keg of stout ready to go (or at least I hope I do). I have soooo many questions though. Do you plan to share details on the beer/gas lines (length, material etc.) that you are using? Apparently that's pretty important for getting the perfect pour.
 
Line length is much less important with a nitro set up because of the higher pressure and necessary turbulence. The restrictor plate balances the pressure somewhat and the flow straightener helps redirect the chaos into an orderly stream into your glass. I think my serving line is about 2-3 feet.
 
Thanks so much for posting this! I myself am picking up a 60CF tank filled with 75%N and 25% C02 on Thursday and have all the other equipment and a keg of stout ready to go (or at least I hope I do). I have soooo many questions though. Do you plan to share details on the beer/gas lines (length, material etc.) that you are using? Apparently that's pretty important for getting the perfect pour.


You're very welcome :) and yeah I'm not sure about the line length honestly. Like the above post, it may not need to be so long. Just in case, when I bought my nitro stuff I also bought 20' of 3/16"ID tubing because currently my lines are 12' each. So, if it seems like too much I will maybe cut off a few feet of the 20' and try it out but I'm hoping it works fine with my 12'. What other questions can we help you with?


- ISM NRP
 
Just to share what I was thinking... I made my serving line on my nitro tap short because with the high pressure needed to push through the faucet increased line resistance works against you, as opposed to a low pressure CO2 set up where line resistance is how you balance and regulate the carbonation and flow rate. With shorter lines serving a nitro pour, the faucet works perfectly at any pressure over 20 psi or so, possibly using a little less gas because at the end of a keg I'll only have 20 psi in there to waste rather than 30-35 psi. It won't save a ton, but since the longer lines aren't needed and it's less line to get in the way, I made them short and it works very well.
 
Just to share what I was thinking... I made my serving line on my nitro tap short because with the high pressure needed to push through the faucet increased line resistance works against you, as opposed to a low pressure CO2 set up where line resistance is how you balance and regulate the carbonation and flow rate. With shorter lines serving a nitro pour, the faucet works perfectly at any pressure over 20 psi or so, possibly using a little less gas because at the end of a keg I'll only have 20 psi in there to waste rather than 30-35 psi. It won't save a ton, but since the longer lines aren't needed and it's less line to get in the way, I made them short and it works very well.


Thanks for explaining maybe I'll try it out and cut a 2 ft piece off and give it a try. That way I'll still have 18 left


- ISM NRP
 
Sounds like new nitro systems are in the air this month (okay that was horrible). This is the second pour from mine. It's a porter that I carbed to about 1.7 vol, serving on 75/25 mix at 38 psi 41 degrees. I was worried about my lines being too long. I wanted to keep everything at 10 ft lines so I could swap out the stout faucet for a regular faucet when needed. So far so good. Wondering why the he** I didn't do this sooner.
:ban:

nitro.jpg
 
This...

In reality nitrogen doesn't easily dissolve into the beer, it's just there to push the beer at a high enough pressure to overcome the resistance of the pressure plate without over carbonating the beer. The holes in the pressure plate and a high pressure are what break the co2 out of solution and into the tiny bubbles that rise in the middle of your beer glass creating a cascade of falling beer on the sides. It's a beautiful thing! Also, don't be afraid to put other styles on beergas. I decided to buy my nitro rig after tasting how amazing Victory's Hop Devil was on nitro, wow!

and this...

Line length is much less important with a nitro set up because of the higher pressure and necessary turbulence. The restrictor plate balances the pressure somewhat and the flow straightener helps redirect the chaos into an orderly stream into your glass. I think my serving line is about 2-3 feet.

Nitrogen is really just there to push the beer at a high PSI without over carbing. I haven't done it myself, but understand it to be true that you can get the same effect from CO2 alone, if you carb low (<2 PSI) then push it up to 30 right at serving through a stout faucet. Because high PSI is the name of the game with nitro, as others have said, longer lines work against you.

Also, "stout" faucets aren't just for stout. A local restaurant here has teamed up with a local brewery to serve a pale ale brewed just for the restaurant and served on nitro. It's sooo good, and easy to down pint after pint. I just got my nitro setup a month or so ago and have yoopers oatmeal stout on it. That's about to kick, and my next brew day will be an ordinary bitter to take its place on nitro. Yum!
 
I got my beer gas, regulator, and lightly carbonated keg of stout ready to go. So, just wondering, do you take extra care or use some type of product (i.e. plumbing tape) to make sure that gas connections are sealed since its at higher pressure than CO2. I'd hate to have any of the precious beer gas leak.
 
If you want a trap that is all metal and not plastic morebeer has them, I just put mine together last week and am waiting on a chocolate hazelnut porter to finish in the secondary

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If you want a trap that is all metal and not plastic morebeer has them[...]

"trap"?

If you mean stout faucet, the only model Morebeer sells is chrome plated brass.
I've seen too many pics of plated shanks and faucets missing all the internal plating to sully my half dozen SS Perls with a plated sibling ;)

I like the look of this stainless steel w/plastic spout model and am going with that...
JESF-4.jpg


Cheers!
 
Here's what I got myself to go with the new tower. Sam Adams Seasonal tap handles
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1393716409.724822.jpg

I like these because they both have inserts that I can replace to put whatever beer I have on tap.



- ISM NRP
 
I got my beer gas, regulator, and lightly carbonated keg of stout ready to go. So, just wondering, do you take extra care or use some type of product (i.e. plumbing tape) to make sure that gas connections are sealed since its at higher pressure than CO2. I'd hate to have any of the precious beer gas leak.



You still want to use Teflon tape to ensure you don't have leaks. Since it is higher pressure it will actually be easy to find leaks. Same as CO2, use soap water in a spray bottle and hit all the connections while the tank is on and connected.




- ISM NRP
 
For what it's worth, with o-ring sealed connections or angled/flare connections, it is completely unnecessary to tape the threads. The threads do not seal anything, it's the compression of the o-ring or the compression of the flare that seals. The threads merely provide the clamping force.
 
Awesome thread! I have all the stuff for a nitro setup and the tap mounted, just need a tank and the beer to be ready. One question I have is what is your methods for under carbing your beers? Do you test the carb level with something?
 
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