I have a 3 line cold plate. They don't work so great with warm kegs (85-95 degrees in shade). I only need one line, and have though about running all the cold plate lines in series to maximize the heat exchange. Anyone have experience with this / thoughts on if it would work on a hot summer day? Thx. Plate is approx. 10" x 15" x 2"
Running cold plate lines in series with warm keg?
- Thread starter NoCornOrRice
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You may be on your own island with this - I have not seen many threads on cold plate usage in my time here.
You should cobble some jumper lines together and see what happens with two and three loops in series using just plain water.
Then try running a pair or even all three in parallel. All kinds of possibilities
Cheers!
You should cobble some jumper lines together and see what happens with two and three loops in series using just plain water.
Then try running a pair or even all three in parallel. All kinds of possibilities
Cheers!
I now see cold plate fittings are not NPT, but they are available, at least.
Yes, you can run them in series to increase chilling. Just make little U-bridges from short pieces of beer line. You may have to increase the serving pressure a little to overcome the extra restriction.
With cold plates it's essential they have good contact with the ice. Adding a little water often helps to get that started.
With cold plates it's essential they have good contact with the ice. Adding a little water often helps to get that started.
BTW, is the cold plate inside a cooler? That helps with chilling too.
I'll put it in a cooler with ice and a bit of water. I'll add the fittings to my next order and will post the results, but it will be a few weeks.
Are they 1/4" flare?
Many plates I've seen don't have threaded stubs, just barbs or smooth nipples.
If you need the plate in a pinch, I'm sure a good layer of teflon tape on the threads then sliding the vinyl tubing over them, together with a worm clamp will make a positive seal.
At our (club) events brewers always bring cold kegs. They go inside buckets or larger 19-23 gallon storage totes (3-4 kegs in each) with ice. Or better yet, inside a cooler with ice, covered up with some sort of insulation to make it last longer. Yes, in the shade or under the serving tables upon which the jockey box(es) are placed.
It's most advantageous to keep the bottom 4-6 inches of the kegs cold, that's where the dip tubes draw from. If you dispense faster, raise the ice level.
When serving by myself I use a 5 gallon insulated water gott per keg. Smashed ice cubes around the keg in the narrow space between the keg and gott. A few turns of Reflectix around the exposed top of the keg. I can easily keep an already cold keg cold for at least 4-6 hours.
Or use a larger cooler with 2 or 3 kegs in it. Again, using Reflectix around the top half of the kegs and filling up the open spaces between with lots of bubble wrap. Insulation is key.
