Picnic Taps. Am i A Bad person?

[bracconiere]

so, i've often thought some fancy SS taps would be cool.. but then i think how great it is to just yank my picnic taps out of the 1/4" hole i drilled in the fridge door move it around and get all loose with it... and after 17 years i still love my picnic taps! i guess this is like someone crazy enough to say they love bottling, but......

 

[Jayjay1976]

Well if you're not at a picnic...

 

[Coookies58]

I didn’t even drill a hole. Still gotta open the fridge door to grab my picnic tap.

 

[bracconiere]

I didn’t even drill a hole. Still gotta open the fridge door to grab my picnic tap.

i don't want to let the cold air out....lol

 

[DuncB]

I don't find them very durable and seem to get a bad pour. But I'm using one of those flow control ball locks ( don't believe the hype ) and about 18 inches of 4 mm id hose. I only use this for my walk about beers that I'm drinking from the cellar. Have taps ( only this year ) on the keg fridge which work fine.

 

[bkboiler]

Benefit to the picnics is they don't grow stuff since they're fully inside the cold zone.
I have a couple SS...but am thinking of switching back...
maybe I'll get a third keg and finally use that picnic tap I've had all these years to make biermunchers bottle filler...

 

[DuncB]

The lever will probably have gone brittle and snap off when you use it. Then you'll redrill the lever to make a new hole to put a small bolt in and find you have put it just in the wrong place and it was held open so beer poured out non stop. Oh no that was me when one failed.

 

[Bramling Cross]

Benefit to the picnics is they don't grow stuff since they're fully inside the cold zone.

Oh, they grow stuff. Unscrew the top and take a gander at the rubber valve. Ghastly things live there. Fortunately, they're a snap to clean and cheap as chips to replace. That's why I've stuck with them.

 

[DuncB]

I second the growing stuff, mine was not so good on the inside when I disassembled to repair it. Although easy to flush through with line cleaner and starsan which cleaned it up well. Always surprises me how clean starsan can be when run through a tap and line and how dirty the fluid coming out is if line cleaner is used.

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

The kegging setup that I bought to use with my mini fridge has a picnic tap. Later on I might get fancy and drill out a spot for a tap on the wood collar I'm currently in the middle of building for the fridge.

 

[Toxxyc]

I bought a starter kegging setup. Before it arrived I already started looking for other taps and stuff and then when it arrived I figured to just check how the picnic tap works.

I love it. It works really, really well. I'm considering sticking to it, actually.

 

[madscientist451]

Got lazy and never finished my keezer, been using the picnic taps for years, yeah sometimes they break, but not often and they're pretty cheap.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I didn’t even drill a hole. Still gotta open the fridge door to grab my picnic tap.

ZZZIPP!
Whoah, watch where you're swinging that thing!

 

[Genuine]

I replaced all 5 of my taps with the Nukatap's and it's made pouring experience so much better than traditional faucets. I usually don't drink during the week so from Monday-Thursday my taps sit....however Friday afternoon, it pours wonderfully and they don't stick. Couldn't be happier.

 

[Barbarossa]

Well, if it works for you, why change? You could even install a super long beer line and never have to get up to get another beer again!

Me, I do like my picnic tap for when I want to cheat and tap a keg that is still in the lagering keezer.

 

[bracconiere]

You could even install a super long beer line and never have to get up to get another beer again!

unfortanetly not, tried that for when i was laying in bed watching TV. Beer gets too warm. i'd need a glycol chiller for the line.

 

[Brooothru]

I replaced all 5 of my taps with the Nukatap's and it's made pouring experience so much better than traditional faucets. I usually don't drink during the week so from Monday-Thursday my taps sit....however Friday afternoon, it pours wonderfully and they don't stick. Couldn't be happier.

I'll upvote Nukatap as well. I was in the process of rebuilding 6 Perlick SS Flow Control taps and needed an interim replacement while going through the disassemble, deep clean, repair, rebuild process, so I picked up a Nukatap. The thing is really amazing. It's become a semi- permanent fixture on the beer tower.

I told myself I'd wait until the Flow Control Nukatap came out before buying more, but now that it's out and somewhat available I'm thinking that the non-FC is good enough that I don't need the Flow Control.

Very impressed with the faucet. Now I'm just waiting to see how well it holds up over time.

 

[Redpappy]

I thought about getting taps, instead of my picnic taps. But can't find a reason other than It looks cool. I don't have any holes in my fridge, I open my door, poor a nice pint, put the tap back on the keg (between the post and the handle holds the tap very well). When the keg kicks, I take my tap hose off, take my disconnect off, run some water through my line(of course run cleaner though it from time to time), hang it up to dry, and then it is ready for its next use. no pumps, or more equipment needed.

 

[bracconiere]

But can't find a reason other than It looks cool.

yep, and i'm not sure if i have a drill big enough for the shanks...

and @Genuine the term "Nuke-a-tap" reminds me of seeing documentaries where their filling budweiser cans, lol

 

[DuncB]

I just used a wood spade bit on the drill, 25mm from memory was just right. Easily coped with the 7 holes I drilled thru the fridge side for shanks and gas bulkhead fittings.
Much cheaper than a fancy hole saw or large metal drill bit. Easy to get started as well with those spikes on the end.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I started with the picnics, and was pretty happy. Never got around to changing. When the keg kicks I just grab the whole line and take it to the sink to wash, no need for a complicated tear out or CIP. And if they break, it's under $2.

 

[Garfield43]

I'm planning to copy some other gentleman's rig.
2.5 gallon keg in the fridge with a Perlick 690 hooked to the keg.
My beer line will consist of a disconnect, an adapter and a faucet.
Should not be too hard to clean and with it being refrigerated I am hoping it wont need cleaned all that often.
I plan to rig up a spring hooked to the tap handle to keep the tap from getting bumped and pumping out 2.5 gallons of cider into the bottom of the fridge.
I don't remember who has that set up but he also has a nice collection of classic beer like Hamm's Rainer, Pabst and Miller High Life.
Maybe he will chime in.

 

[bracconiere]

classic beer like Hamm's Rainer, Pabst and Miller High Life.

brings me back to my early twenties!

 

[soccerdad]

Folks - it was not a question about picnic taps. And the answer is a simple "yes".

 

[Redpappy]

Folks - it was not a question about picnic taps. And the answer is a simple "yes".

Are you saying bracconiere is a bad person?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Are you saying bracconiere is a bad person?

Yeah wtf, you better be ready to throw down bruh, established practice is just that. If it works it works, nothing more to say. Bracco sets trends he don't follow them. Damn.

 

[Bramling Cross]

The only thing bad about Brac is his liver.

 

[Redpappy]

it does sound like his liver is about to give way...the jolly Alcholic.....

 

[Barbarossa]

unfortanetly not, tried that for when i was laying in bed watching TV. Beer gets too warm. i'd need a glycol chiller for the line.

Have you tried drinking faster?

 

[bracconiere]

Have you tried drinking faster?

i even tried keeping alco-pop on tap for it, but i'm affraid the 16' or so of line just wouldn't handle it.....

edit: it was actually probablt closer to 20 or 30'.....one side of the room to the side of the bed on the other.....

 

[Jayjay1976]

The only thing bad about Brac is his liver.

If his liver ever gives out I'd give him one of mine! We got three, right?

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

If his liver ever gives out I'd give him one of mine! We got three, right?

 

[Bramling Cross]

I'm fond of this thread.

It has Brac, frugality, laziness, ghastly things that grow in bad places, organ failure, and, now, Firefly.

All we're missing is a six cylinder engine and we've got all the good stuff covered.

 

[marc1]

i even tried keeping alco-pop on tap for it, but i'm affraid the 16' or so of line just wouldn't handle it.....

edit: it was actually probablt closer to 20 or 30'.....one side of the room to the side of the bed on the other.....

You're not thinking outside the box enough - move your fridge next to your bed! Or your bed next to the fridge.

 

[bracconiere]

You're not thinking outside the box enough - move your fridge next to your bed! Or your bed next to the fridge.

huh, dude? lol you don't think i already have my 4th fridge, short throw projector, and 2 extra kegs for it? just waiting to save up for the extra reg and cylinder!

 

[TheBluePhantom]

If his liver ever gives out I'd give him one of mine! We got three, right?

No, I got three kidneys, but only one liver. Those are harder to come by. You almost never see them on eBay.

 

[bracconiere]

No, I got three kidneys, but only one liver. Those are harder to come by. You almost never see them on eBay.

i hear their easy to refurbish.....