Single Tap for Multiple Kegs...Dispenser Idea (Thoughts?)

[hafmpty]

Alright...let me preface this with my reason for looking into this idea in the first place...FUN first and COST second. For the prices of 6 taps, I'm looking at over $400 plus shipping. This method I'm looking at would cost me around $180 plus shipping. So give me your thoughts about the design.

Everything is stainless steel & designed for both gas & liquid dispensing. The idea is to have a single dispenser (a nice, stainless beer gun or a single stainless tap).

Each keg will have a stainless needle valve attached to the ball lock out that will control the dispensing. Basically...when I want a beer, I'll turn the needle valve on for the beer I want. The others will have their valves turned off. Here's the design. Keep in mind that, I can install the needle valves on the stainless manifold as well to keep things easy and to decrease the amount of "mixed" beer that I'll need to dispense until I get the beer I want when I'm changing beers.

 

[schatzke]

If I was you I would just pick up 6 picnic taps and enough line for each. You don't NEED a SS beer faucet to serve.
I have 5 on tap currently, 2 SS faucets, stout faucet, and 2 picnic taps. Upgrade as funds become available.

 

[BNolt17]

If I was you I would just pick up 6 picnic taps and enough line for each. You don't NEED a SS beer faucet to serve.
I have 5 on tap currently, 2 SS faucets, stout faucet, and 2 picnic taps. Upgrade as funds become available.

+1. If you are opening your fridge anyway to change which keg you are drawing from, you might as well just use cheap picnic taps and not have to worry about mixing beer in the line and the manifold. Start with 1 SS tap and 5 picnic taps and add SS taps as you are able.

 

[broadbill]

To me, the reason to have a faucet is so you can go and pull a pint without having to reach in and fiddle with taps, valves gas, etc. It is just there ready to go. If you have to reach in to actuate the needle valve you may as well grab a picnic tap and save yourself a few bucks. (my opinion)

That being said, if the project will give you joy, then go for it!

NOW...if you had a way to actuate those valves without reaching in (wifi-enabled???)...THAT would be something!

 

[cegan09]

I'm sure it could work. But why. You're introducing a ton of things that need to be cleaned. And you'd have to clean every single line at once since they're all connected. Sounds like a headache. I'd echo the above and say just get some picnic taps until you can build out a multi-tap setup.

 

[mongoose33]

I think this is overcomplicating things. You can do it for FAR less cost. Here's how:

Just move the QD from keg to keg as you decide you want to draw from it.

I have a 4-tap keezer but 5 kegs in it. I just swap the QD from one keg to the other. I have a small spray bottle of Star-San which I use to spray the post on the keg as well as inside the QD. Just a little insurance.

What you might do with the savings is get a second tap.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Just move the QD from keg to keg as you decide you want to draw from it. [...]

That right there provides the best bang for the buck.

KISS

Cheers!

 

[hafmpty]

Just move the QD from keg to keg as you decide you want to draw from it.

I had honestly NEVER thought of that. Kind of a DUH though. I think I may just go this route in combination with adding taps as I go. I think in the end it makes more sense. Afterall...I can resell taps down the road if I ever want to get rid of them. My design would end up scrapped or sitting in the garage.

I've kegged for 6+ years now and have used picnic taps. For a long time I've said I don't want a full tap system. Well...my mind is changing.

One benefit I did think of with those needle valves is the ability to throttle the flow of beer to the tap. You could still do very short keg lines and then use the valve to adjust the flow to where you want it. The price difference between the flow control taps and non-flow control taps is less than the price of these valves (plus it's one more thing to clean). But for guys who already have the non-flow control valves...maybe something to consider.

 

[beernutz]

I think this is overcomplicating things. You can do it for FAR less cost. Here's how:

Just move the QD from keg to keg as you decide you want to draw from it.

I have a 4-tap keezer but 5 kegs in it. I just swap the QD from one keg to the other. I have a small spray bottle of Star-San which I use to spray the post on the keg as well as inside the QD. Just a little insurance.

What you might do with the savings is get a second tap.

+1 I have done exactly this for the last 3 years whenever I have 5 different kegs in my 4 tap keezer. Takes seconds to complete, though I confess that don't always spray with Starsan when moving a QD.

The same principle should work with only a single tap though I think you'll eventually wish you would have accumulated the funds to get more taps.

With OPs proposed method there's always going to be a different type beer in the line before you switch which will either be thrown away or mixed with a different beer. Neither option sounds good to me.

 

[beernutz]

I had honestly NEVER thought of that. Kind of a DUH though. I think I may just go this route in combination with adding taps as I go. I think in the end it makes more sense. Afterall...I can resell taps down the road if I ever want to get rid of them. My design would end up scrapped or sitting in the garage.

I've kegged for 6+ years now and have used picnic taps. For a long time I've said I don't want a full tap system. Well...my mind is changing.

One benefit I did think of with those needle valves is the ability to throttle the flow of beer to the tap. You could still do very short keg lines and then use the valve to adjust the flow to where you want it. The price difference between the flow control taps and non-flow control taps is less than the price of these valves (plus it's one more thing to clean). But for guys who already have the non-flow control valves...maybe something to consider.

I kegged for over 20 years and served with only a DIY jockey box or a cobra tap before I finally built a 4 tap keezer 3 years ago. I don't kick myself for waiting so long but I do wish I'd built it sooner.

I am not sure the point of wanting to throttle the flow of beer. Just turn off the tap when you've poured the amount you want. My taps are the Perlick 575 type which have the creamer option. If you push the tap backwards instead of pulling it restricts the flow to add a creamy head. Honestly I rarely use the creamer function and I can achieve more or less the same effect by partially opening the tap by pulling it forward just a bit.

 

[Newsman]

My first thought when I saw that was "you're gonna waste a LOT of beer clearing out the lines when switching styles."

 

[hafmpty]

My first thought when I saw that was "you're gonna waste a LOT of beer clearing out the lines when switching styles."

I thought about that, but...I could also put the valves on the manifold directly. Then it's just the manifold that will need cleared out. This is only a little bit more than clearing the line of beer in the dispensing tubing. That stuff isn't all that great anyway.

But again...I'm thinking a different route now.