I remember when I first heard about jockey boxes thinking that I wanted one, but then when I actually saw one I thought, "wait, what the hell is that?". What I had pictured in my head was very different from what I was seeing, and what I was seeing was not going to work for me so I decided to build what I thought a jockey box was in the first place.
Let me point out that although I have never seen one built like this, I am not saying that I am some kind of innovator here. I am pretty sure that as people read this that a great number of you are going to say, "Oh yeah, I've got one of those in the garage, built it in 1963". I am just documenting this for others that may not have considered such a build.
The upside to my version is portability, and a simple way to get your kegged beer to a party or picnic. The downside is the cost (if you have to buy everything it's around, oh i don't know add it up, $200 maybe?) and the relatively low amount of beer you can dispense. You probably also want to already have a setup at home for kegging, to carb your keg. Anyhow, on to the build. The first thing that you need is a cooler tall enough. I went with this monster:
Which can be found here, although it turns out I could have (should have) gone for the smaller version.
Make sure your cooler has a drain hole that doesn't leak (duh). I needed approx. 16" clearance for my keg, and both of these easily covered it. You will also need a nipple shank and a faucet:
I didn't spend a lot on mine, you can go as nice or as cheap as you like here. One drawback to a cheap faucet as opposed to a perlick is they don't tend to "snap" closed so you run the risk of some bozo not closing the tap and all your beer running out. A one inch spade bit cuts a clean hole:
5 feet of tubing and a quick disconnect:
and the heart of the system.
I used a standard 3 gallon keg, but there are options. here is a 2.5 gallon keg, and if you want to go real real small a 1.5 gallon keg that is only 11" tall!
If you went this small I could see two kegs side by side with a gas splitter in a lower profile rectangular cooler giving you two brews on tap. As for CO2, I used this paintball setup.
You MIGHT be able to squeeze a 2.5 lb/5 lb. CO2 tank into this cooler (MAYBE - measure carefully), but it would get pretty heavy quick and the idea is portability, remember? The paintball tanks can be filled for just a few dollars at a bunch of places like Dick's sporting goods does it around here. Here it is loaded with ice:
Works great!
Do you have a project you'd like to see featured on our front page? Contact us for details!
Let me point out that although I have never seen one built like this, I am not saying that I am some kind of innovator here. I am pretty sure that as people read this that a great number of you are going to say, "Oh yeah, I've got one of those in the garage, built it in 1963". I am just documenting this for others that may not have considered such a build.
The upside to my version is portability, and a simple way to get your kegged beer to a party or picnic. The downside is the cost (if you have to buy everything it's around, oh i don't know add it up, $200 maybe?) and the relatively low amount of beer you can dispense. You probably also want to already have a setup at home for kegging, to carb your keg. Anyhow, on to the build. The first thing that you need is a cooler tall enough. I went with this monster:
Which can be found here, although it turns out I could have (should have) gone for the smaller version.
Make sure your cooler has a drain hole that doesn't leak (duh). I needed approx. 16" clearance for my keg, and both of these easily covered it. You will also need a nipple shank and a faucet:
I didn't spend a lot on mine, you can go as nice or as cheap as you like here. One drawback to a cheap faucet as opposed to a perlick is they don't tend to "snap" closed so you run the risk of some bozo not closing the tap and all your beer running out. A one inch spade bit cuts a clean hole:
5 feet of tubing and a quick disconnect:
and the heart of the system.
I used a standard 3 gallon keg, but there are options. here is a 2.5 gallon keg, and if you want to go real real small a 1.5 gallon keg that is only 11" tall!
If you went this small I could see two kegs side by side with a gas splitter in a lower profile rectangular cooler giving you two brews on tap. As for CO2, I used this paintball setup.
You MIGHT be able to squeeze a 2.5 lb/5 lb. CO2 tank into this cooler (MAYBE - measure carefully), but it would get pretty heavy quick and the idea is portability, remember? The paintball tanks can be filled for just a few dollars at a bunch of places like Dick's sporting goods does it around here. Here it is loaded with ice:
Works great!
Do you have a project you'd like to see featured on our front page? Contact us for details!
