Tower vs collar: pros and cons

[devils4ever]

I have 4 kegs in a keezer in my garage that use picnic taps to dispense beer. I've used picnic taps for various reasons, but mainly because I don't drink every night and I want to make sure the beer, lines, and taps all stay cold.

Unfortunately, I've had two instances where a guest has poured a glass of beer and inadvertently left the tap on top of the Cornie keg and closed the lid to have it pinch the tap open and drained my entire keg! I need to change this.

So, my two options are to install a tower with 4 faucets or to build a wood collar with the 4 faucets on the front or side of the keezer.

Here are my thoughts on pros and cons of each setup.
Tower Pros
front of keezer is unobstructed--good because keezer is in garage and wife parks close to it
less likelihood of accidently opening taps
lower lift to place in kegs

Tower Cons
cost is higher to buy tower than build collar
beer is not kept cold in tower--main reason I'm thinking of going with collar
can't open top all the way--must use prop stick
must keep CO2 tank inside unless drilling through freezer wall is viable

Collar Pros
cheaper to build since I'm an avid woodworker
beer, lines, and faucets should be kept colder--main reason I'm thinking of going with collar
can open top all the way
can keep CO2 tank outside without drilling through freezer walls

Collar Cons
front of keezer has taps where wife's car is parked making opening tap possible by squeezing through
higher lift to place in kegs

 

[SEndorf]

You don't say where you live, but right now it's been consistently in the high 80's to high 90's here the past few weeks. A tower system in the garage would be a big problem.
The only "con" you list for the keezer is the tight fit between your taps and your wifes car.
A possible solution is a [URL='https://www.amazon.com/Auto-Laser-Guided-Parking-System/dp/B005LJDMIM/ref=asc_df_B005LJDMIM/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198065480126&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3539888931859827985&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019649&hvtargid=pla-391617691089&psc=1'] lazer guided parking assist [/url]. Where your wife can park with a couple inch gap between the rear of the vehicle and the garage door. Many varieties to choose from.

 

[Nagorg]

Lots of pros for the collar on the keezer.

 

[devils4ever]

You don't say where you live, but right now it's been consistently in the high 80's to high 90's here the past few weeks. A tower system in the garage would be a big problem.
The only "con" you list for the keezer is the tight fit between your taps and your wifes car.
A possible solution is a lazer guided parking assist . Where your wife can park with a couple inch gap between the rear of the vehicle and the garage door. Many varieties to choose from.

I live in NJ and its been in the 90's for days! HOT.

Sounds like a collar may be the winner. Did I miss any pros and cons for either?

 

[Sailingeric]

I have a collar on mine and if I wanted to add an extra tap or two I have room. I have a 4 keg freezer like you do but I have been tinkering with adding a nitro tap for stouts and have room where I could do a gallon or two keg for kambucha or maybe even a wine or cider.

 

[mcgimpkins]

I never used a laser guided parking assist, however I have a tennis ball hanging from a string in my garage. When it hits your windshield the rear bumper is about 2" inside the garage and you can shut the door, leaving plenty of room in front of the car.

 

[satph]

Why not build your collar with a 'nook' for the taps and a drip tray. That way the taps don't protrude beyond the side of the freezer. You could even add a door if you're concerned with the taps getting bumped.

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

Why not put the taps on the short side of the collar?

 

[devils4ever]

View attachment 578852 Why not put the taps on the short side of the collar?

Hmmm. That's an option.

 

[day_trippr]

tbh I would recommend a collar plus a coffin. Gets the faucets out of harms way and it's not hard to cool the coffin.

I did want to address a couple of assumptions in the initial post wrt towers on chest freezers. If you don't need the height that a collar provides you can actually do everything you'd ever want to do through the lid.

I have a 6 faucet insulated t-tower mounted to my chest freezer lid (with a big thick load spreader inside the lid) with two CO2 lines, a beer gas line, power for fans and lights, and a crap ton of signal wires to a half dozen flow meters and as many temperature sensors - all run through the back edge of the original lid.

There's a tower cooler that works well enough to get through the dog days of summer here, and a surface mounted drip tray that drains into a catch vessel inside the keezer. There's a RaspberryPi-based system on a slide-out in the dolly that runs my tap list and controls the keezer and three other fridges via multiple Bluetooth BrewPi "minions" - and plays my tunes - plus a back-up controller in the front lid edge.

Not something I'd be crazy enough to actually recommend, but it shows what can be done...

Cheers!

 

[devils4ever]

Wow! Quite impressive!

But, you do bring up a pro and con I missed on my list. Collars require no modifications to the freezer. They can be put back to their original state after the collar is removed. The tower requires drilling and modifying the freezer which can't be reversed.

In any case, there's a lot here to think about.

 

[Nagorg]

They can be put back to their original state after the collar is removed.

... Who ever does that?!? Once a keezer, always a keezer!

 

[tennesseean_87]

You don't say where you live, but right now it's been consistently in the high 80's to high 90's here the past few weeks. A tower system in the garage would be a big problem.
The only "con" you list for the keezer is the tight fit between your taps and your wifes car.
A possible solution is a lazer guided parking assist . Where your wife can park with a couple inch gap between the rear of the vehicle and the garage door. Many varieties to choose from.

I never used a laser guided parking assist, however I have a tennis ball hanging from a string in my garage. When it hits your windshield the rear bumper is about 2" inside the garage and you can shut the door, leaving plenty of room in front of the car.

You can also lay a board on the floor and when the tires hit it, you're just in. I'm going to have to do this because swmbo pulls in about 2 ft farther than necessary and you have to walk behind the van to get to the other side.

I found in cursory looking that the tower may be the cheaper option. I'm open to correction if I'm wrong, but I got a tower with 3 Intertap FC faucets and shanks installed with a 15% off eBay coupon for a total of $144.50. 4" shanks look to run about $30 each, so you have to look at that expense when calculating the cost of a collar.

I went with a collar because it'll keep the taps higher and allow me to bring the whole thing inside. From what I've read, you may get foamy pours from a tower if it's in a hot garage. I have heard conflicting things about this, the need for a fan, etc.

 

[devils4ever]

I decided to go with the collar with the faucets mounted on the side of the freezer to keep them out of harms way.

I think I'm going with the Perlick 630SS faucets and this http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/faucets/stainless-steel-shanks/KCSHANK3-ASC.html nipple shank. I'll use 1-1/2" wood for the collar and 3/4" rigid insulation everywhere except where the faucets are mounted.

Question on how to bring in the CO2 line. Other than just drilling a hole the size of the tubing, is there a better alternative? Something like a SS nipple with some way to connect the low-pressure tubing?

 

[SEndorf]

I have those taps and really like them.
An alternative to the nippled shank, would be the flat end shank with a 1/4" MFL tail piece . Then both ends of the beer line have the swivel nut. Much easier to remove lines for cleaning.
For the CO2 line, you could use a CO2 bulkhead through the collar.

 

[Nagorg]

The CO2 bulkhead seems like it could introduce more opportunities for leaks... Maybe not but that's what I'd be concerned about. It would make for a cleaner and more "switchable" setup but gas line isnt really swapped that often.

 

[day_trippr]

I have six 1/4" mfl bulkheads in service and none of them have ever leaked as they incorporate standard 1/4" nylon flare gaskets which makes them nearly idiot-proof...

Cheers!

 

[S-Met]

Othet option is trading picnic for the pluto beer gun.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/pluto-beverage-gun-stainless-abs.html

 

[SEndorf]

I have six 1/4" mfl bulkheads in service and none of them have ever leaked as they incorporate standard 1/4" nylon flare gaskets which makes them nearly idiot-proof...

+1
I have the same setup - Six bulkheads to a six regulator taprite outside the keezer.
Never had an issue with leaking bulkheads.
Keg lids on the other hand……...

 

[Nagorg]

+1
I have the same setup - Six bulkheads to a six regulator taprite outside the keezer.
Never had an issue with leaking bulkheads.

Well there ya have it! Sadly I have to keep my CO2 inside the keezer; but it is in the house instead of the garage though which is a good SWMBO compromise I'd say!

 

[devils4ever]

I did consider the extra connections could be a cause for concern, but I have many connections now and they seem fine.

SEndorf, thanks for links. I think those will work!

 

[devils4ever]

So, I have 4 of the Perlick 630SS faucets and I'm ready to mount them to the side of the collar. Is 4" a good spacing between them?

 

[b-boy]

So, I have 4 of the Perlick 630SS faucets and I'm ready to mount them to the side of the collar. Is 4" a good spacing between them?

I'd use your drip tray to decide that. What's the width? Back into your spacing based on that.

If it's 18" and you have 4 taps, subtract an 2 inches from each side and divide by 4. In this case, (18-4)/4=3.5. That'll put each tap 2" in from the edge of the drip tray.

If you don't plan on a drip tray, I'd get one. Pouring beer is messy.

 

[devils4ever]

Well, I wasn't planning on getting a drip tray, at least not right away. It's in my garage and I figure I'd just let some beer drip on the floor, but that might change after some use.

However, I think your equation is wrong. I think you divide by the number of taps-1. To use your example: (18-2-2)/(4-1) = (14)/(3) = 4.666"

 

[LittleRiver]

beer drip on the floor = insect magnet

 

[devils4ever]

I've got my system partially completed. Here's a few pics.

I DID have problems with CO2 leaks on the connectors through the collar wall. I eventually just removed it and ran the line directly through the collar wall.

I still need to add insulation and add the beer lines, but I'm getting close!

 

[devils4ever]

Finally, got this thing completely done. Insulated and mounted my manifold.