It was my understanding besides the chiller plate hiccup we also had a problem keeping beer in the lines cool if it was not being continuously served, with the beer getting warm if it sat. My suggestion for a solution, or really just to get the solution discussion started, comes from my research in keezer building and not my own experience with it, so there may be better ways, but one method that folks use to keep lines cool that may work for us is to stuff them all in a large PVC pipe which would then split to smaller pipes going to each tap and then filling that full of expanding foam. It's a rather permanent solution and a problem with one line means replacing and rebuilding the whole thing. Flexible pipe insulation might help too which would be a removable way to do it, I don't know if it's insulative enough though to do the job.
Tue, Aug 12, 2014 - 4:04am
#1
Improving the octobarrel
It would have helped immensely if the kegs had been kept on ice as they were being served. The CO2 will not stay in solution in a warm liquid, so when you open the tap it tries to rush out before the liquid and you get nothing but foam. The plate chiller should have been used to compensate for the temp loss in the line, not as the primary chiller for all of the kegs.
Agree with you idea though, the beer lines are pretty long so figuring out a way of keeping them cool should also help.
The kegs not being on ice was solely my fault.
There are other issues that need to be discussed and probably best if Chuck, Dave and myself find time once Dave is settled into his new home to work out the draft lines.
The jockey box that holds the chiller was removed from the barrel and clean throughly by Rich and myself on Sunday and is next to the stairs and barrels.
The barrel itself needs some TLC getting the staves in their original positions. The barrel hoops need to be cleaned up and painted to stop the rusting...I'm thinking chalk board paint so we can write directly on the hoops.
The new barrel stand needs to be stained and clear coated.
The barrel drips onto the jockey box and barrel stand as it is being used...we may want to have something that goes around the base of the barrel (http://www.google.com/patents/US163360).
It would be nice to get the kegs in a circle under the barrell so it acts as a table for the octo. That would greatley reduce the line length. If we put 8 homer buckets in a circle around the barrell and kegs in each one with ice then built a form around that we could have two purposes., table to support the octo, and closer kegs. Basically what I'm suggesting is a round keezer enclousre. I don't understand why the lines are so long and the purpose of the chiller if we have additional 4 to 5 ft. extensions coming off of it that aren't insulated.
I'll draw something on a napkin later of the idea.Doesn't have to look gorgeous, but it needs to work.
I'm just guessing here as I did not have anything to do with the design, but my guess is the line length may have been determined by the pressure needed to prevent the beer from foaming when being dispensed.
Some clarification...
The cold plate is not designed to cool down warm beer. All kegs should be iced and cool prior to serving. The cold plate is in place to maintain cold beer in a long draw system - such as we have with the barrel. The cold plate compensates for any tempature gains that might occur in the lines. It is not a means for taking warm beer and making it ice cold. The plate is an 8-pass plate...not a single 150' coil.
The shroud/base was built with open slats in the top. Beverage hose coming out of the cold plate should be run through these openings with the barrel mounted dirrectly above it. This will both hide the lines and provide enough lenght to connect the lines. I measured each line to leave 6 inches of slack if they are run in this configuration.
I realize that connecting and reconnecting the lines to the barrel is a pain in the ass...we had to go to a smaller diameter hose because of limited cold plate fitting sizes. With the smaller hose, the beer nut peice does not fit over the built in barb on the shank. Therefore, it must be attached dirrectly to the barb on the shank. In Grand Rapids, we used the larger hose diameter which allowed the beer nut to fit over the barb on the shank. I've heard that quick disconnects for beverage side are not common and do not work well. If anyone can find one that works well, this would be the route to make cleaning the barrel and moving the barrel easier.
On a seperate note...I ran out of time and didnt label the lines. Its pretty easy to figure out by looking at the numbering on the cold plate....but it would be nice if someone took a sharpie or label maker and put numbers on each end (1-8....because there are 8 lines...)
The shroud/stand has one side open. This should be where the lines from the kegs come in. These lines can be hidden using the bench. This long draw will help with foaming and provides a nice place for your drunk ass to rest. The setup should be configured so that the bench covers up the open end of the shroud/stand.
Again, kegs need to be iced and cool prior to serving.
Prior to every use (and more importantly after), the cold plate, faucets, and lines should all be cleaned out with star san (or PBW followed by Star San). This cleaning is two-fold in purpose. First and most importatnly it cleans all surfaces coming in contact with beer. Second, it allows you to check for any leaks. Leaking StarSan is not the end of the world. Leaking barrel aged high-abv homebrew....well that might be worth crying over.
And in closing, please ice and cool kegs prior to serving.
Dave, the above info would have been great before the party not after, just saying... We should have also done a dry run before the party as well and asked you questions on set up. Lessons learned and all that.
If we end up using the barrel system for Harvest Fest, Conrad and I plan to test it at least a few days before.