Keg system tap set up advice

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Keg system tap set up advice

Postby Listo » Tue Aug 23, 2016 7:59 pm

Hi all,
I bought a keg system a few months ago & have it set up in a chest freezer outside on the deck. At the moment, the tap sits inside & I open the freezer to pour my beer. I've never thought much of it as, being winter, it hasn't effected the temperature. With summer coming up though, I'm going to have to mount my tap on the outside.
I was thinking of a tower out of the lid, but a mate said that with mine being outside, the tower will be hot & my beer will come out frothy. I then thought of the tap only mounted on the front to reduce the area in the heat, but my mate doesn't think that will work either given the heat we cop here in summer.
How does everyone get past these problems? Or is it even going to be a problem?
Thanks
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby The Stig » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:03 pm

A font on top will work if you run a font fan (google it) they work well (this is how Im setup)
You could also build a wooden collar and mount the taps in there, this requires a bit of messing about.
Google keezer and you will find lots of ideas.
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby EziTasting » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:06 pm

G'day Listo,
I've seen a post about this scenario. What they did is unbolted the lid of the freezer and built an insulated wooden box, bolted the box to the main body and the lid to the box. The taps were then drilled thru the wood and mounted.

I haven't done this but there's quite a few people that have done this sort of thing - it's an alternative idea anyway. Never done it so the detailed planning is up to you ...
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby The Stig » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:46 pm

EziTasting wrote:G'day Listo,
What they did is unbolted the lid of the freezer and built an insulated wooden box, bolted the box to the main body and the lid to the box. The taps were then drilled thru the wood and mounted.

This is the wooden collar I spoke of :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby Aussiedownunder01 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:06 am

Just be careful if you drill the walls of the freezer as there are refrigeration pipes in there
When I looked after the tip saw hundreds of buggered ones come in :handgestures-thumbdown:
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby sp0rk » Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:44 am

I have a wooden collar on my keezer, it's not perfectly square (cut with handsaw and I suck at measuring) but it does the job perfectly
I use Andale DA taps, which can be found used on ebay for $30-$60 each if you wait for the right one to pop up
I have Andale Lock In shanks, which can still be found in plenty of pubs, it's just a screw on fitting, makes it easy to remove and they have a built in valve to stop flow when the tap is removed
I remove the tap between sessions in Summer, give the inside of the shank a quick squirt of Starsan to rinse out the residual beer (this runs into the drip tray) and I've made some little socks out of Armaflex with one end hot glued shut
This insulates the shank, avoiding it acting as a heat sink
The tap gets rinsed in the sink, running a little water through it, then I pop it inside the keezer to keep it cold
It's a little stuffing about, but keeps the taps clean, avoids foaming from warm taps and lowers power wastage from the taps acting as a heat sink
In winter I don't bother, as it's usually colder outside of the keezer than inside... (I usually run mine at 8C in winter for stouts and UK ales)
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby 620rossco » Thu Aug 25, 2016 4:18 am

Great advice spork.
I have a keg beside the keggerator with a water sanitiser mix and a little pouring pressure.
When I am cleaning the drip tray I fill the lines from the sanitiser keg.
This avoids any after tastes in the beer and the need to clean the lines.
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby Listo » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:10 pm

Thanks for the replies guys, there's some good info & a lot of thinking to be done here. I like the font on top idea like yours Stig, but I've had a new idea thrown in. I asked a work mate (a fridge mechanic), about the technical stuff of freezers & now he wants to refurbish a mini cold room that he has for me so I can drill holes & screw stuff on it at will & still have it run efficiently. I'm a very indecisive person but I better pull my finger out before the heat gets here.
Cheers guys, thanks heaps
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Re: Keg system tap set up advice

Postby EziTasting » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:25 pm

Personally I like this idea, Beer Response Unit...
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