My super lame jockeyator

[cookieman]

(sorry for the name likeness ron):)
Ok my goal for this build was to have 5 to 7 beers on tap cheaper and with less space taken up than a kreezer. i didn't take pics of the build but here are some after pics.
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2051
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2052
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2053
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2054
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2055
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2056
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=249&pictureid=2057
This project is a half fail. The cold plate is 7 channel for soda. It has 1 water and 6 soda. The water channel is about 5 feet while the other six are only about 3 feet. With my kegs around 72deg. the cold plate will only pull the beer down to 55deg.

[cookieman]

I forgot to note above, I was plannig on putting the kegs in the closet behind my minifridge. I plan on changing the lines to use 2 channels per beer to cool it down more. I am hoping the water channel would cool to 45-50deg so i could use that channel for stout. If that works then i will have 4 taps.

[Ó Cairealláin]

No need to tap the Rockies, man. Stouts should be served at cellar temperature (55-60).

[cookieman]

No need to tap the Rockies, man. Stouts should be served at cellar temperature (55-60).
Zing! :D
I'm werid i like my stout poured cold (40-45) and let it sit for a few minutes then start in on it. I tend to sip on a glass of beer for about a half hour before its gone. If they start out at 55 they end up at room temp by the end of the glass.

[rdwj]

pretty interesting concept. Do you have to have it set at a high carb setting to make up for the beer being stored warm?

Just curious - why do you think it takes up less room than a keezer? The footprint of the kegs pretty much covers the whole freezer.

[Ronthered]

No problems man, If it wasn't for the placement of my garage behind my kitchen, I would still have my little one tap job in the dinning room. Its all about innovation, so keep at it until it works for you and makes people want it.

[sanders5x]

Turn the fridge colder? Run it off a ranco to get it say 32-34 degrees?

[mr x]

What about using longer beverage lines inside the fridge, and connect them to proper shanks and taps (I know, $$$$) so that you aren't opening the fridge all the time? Those little fridges have a hard time trying to get really cold in a room temperature setting. A small circulation fan also helped me get my temps down where I wanted them.


That is one wicked cold plate, love to have one of those...

[rdwj]

What about using longer beverage lines inside the fridge, and connect them to proper shanks and taps (I know, $$$$) so that you aren't opening the fridge all the time? Those little fridges have a hard time trying to get really cold in a room temperature setting. A small circulation fan also helped me get my temps down where I wanted them.


That is one wicked cold plate, love to have one of those...

And if that's out of the budget, you could put up a piece of foam that creates a cold box within the fridge. At least you wouldn't be losing all your cold air ever time you want a fresh beer.

[Diver Down]

The pic. looks like your cold plate is sitting on the floor of the fridge.If it is try getting it up off the floor to get some cold air circulation under it. As mr.x added "A small circulation fan"
will help.

[mr x]

I think long lines inside the fridge might help too. It will give you enough cold volume in the fridge for the better part of a glass, and enable you to keep the carb pressure high without blowing foam (although that may not be optimal for low carb beers). Plus, it's a cheapo experiment. The best kind.

[cookieman]

wow lots of responses.
Rdwj: I have the reg set at 24. My plan was to put the kegs in the closet right behind the mini fridge that way the only thing out in the room would be this little 3.CF fridge. My wife won't let me put a kreezer anywhere in the house so this mini fridge is in my 12' x 12' office/brew room/guitar storage room.

sander5x:this fridge stays 34 deg or colder all the time, even on the lowest setting.

Mr x: i have thought about trying that as well. This fridge stays really cold i have a thermometer sittin on top of the cold plate and every time i checked it for the last two days its at 34deg. if i can make this thing work i will be buying a tap tower. According to this formula Regulator Pressure = (Length of Beer Line in Feet x Resistance of beer line) + (Heights of tap above kegs x 0.5)
I need about 34-35 feet of 1/4 in line. I have about 13 feet of 1/4in right now including cold plate. the pour right now is super fast and would shoot beer 2 feet across the room if i wanted to. Also about half the glass is foam. Would longer line slow the flow? I have thought about putting the kegs in the basement to give me 8 feet of tap height but that would only save me about 5 feet of beer line. Plus that would be a real PITA to clean the lines. oh yeah, i got the cold plate off of ebay.

Diver down: i do plan on getting the cold plate off the floor so air can circulate.

[cookieman]

Btw the reason the door looks like shit and the yellow cup exiting the back of the fridge is crooked (yes that was one of my son's drinking cups) is i was really sick and just didn't feel like going out to my building and getting the proper tools so i used a pocket knife, screwdriver, and 1 tube of tub and tile caulk.:D

[rdwj]

Are you really a Pabst fan? I think that's probably my favorite cheap beer

[cookieman]

Are you really a Pabst fan? I think that's probably my favorite cheap beer
I was. Still like it every so often. I used to buy a 12 pack every week but got burn out on it. before i started homebrewing i would rotate between pasbt, southpaw light, and miller highlife. I had pretty low standards. :cool: I just thought that pic was really funny.:)

[Vonstigler]

Cool concept cookieman. I think if you were to raise the coldplate off the floor and closer to the freezer coil, like others have said, might help. Hell you might want to try putting it against the coil and see what happens. I would also put a few jugs of water in there to take up some of the space, you know that a full fridge is always colder than an empty fridge, less air space to cool. Once you get the bugs ironed out this could be a really nice unit in my opinion.

[Big_John]

Are you really a Pabst fan? I think that's probably my favorite cheap beer

Me too! Pabst is actually a well made Pilsner and there is really nothing inferior about it. I prefer it over the BMC offerings always. Good stuff on a hot summer day now and then.

[JXLT]

Did you ever get the bugs worked out with the cooling situation? I was thinking about doing something similar in an under-bar setup.

[cookieman]

Did you ever get the bugs worked out with the cooling situation? I was thinking about doing something similar in an under-bar setup.

Yes and no. I ended up using two channels of the cold plate per beer. With this set up it pour 2 beers back to back at 40deg or less. Keep in mind the kegs are stored at room temp(70-75). And that brings me to the major problem this system. carbing the kegs at room temp. They do carb up (if you run the reg up to almost 30 psi) but the beer dose not taste the same as if were carb and stored cold. The carbination is there but its thin and disapates(SP?) fast. If you were planning on storing you kegs cold say 10 or 15 feet away and used the cold plate in conjuction i think you could use all 7 channels and it work just fine. Over all project superlame jockeator= fail. Did i mention i might be selling my cold plate? :)