bar advice and chiller

[darrenwest1]

well i am getting in to this cheap ,tastier beer lark in quite a nice way
so my next questions are really about dispensing it really
ill set the scene down the bottom of my garden i have a 6x6meter workshop/games room (mainly all games room but i can move pool table over when i need to )
i woild like to make a small bar but i dont want to have to buy a beer chiller or to pay to keep a fridge going all the time so my poss plan is
could i dig a hole in the earth about 1 meter down and keep a couple of cornies in there with my beer in ,i drink beer not lager .
would this keep it chilled if the lid is insulated out of the sun light
if so what do i need other than a couple of cornies ,ie gas taps and things
sorry for the long question but as i say i am new at this
and also can i buy any beer taps from ebay or do i need a ale / bitter tap
thanks in advance
darren

 

[tubthumper]

I think you would have to go down a lot more than 1meter, if you look at underground heating it will give you an idea that its better for heating than cooling. You would need a very deep cellar for it to be anyway cool .
a jockybox might be more to your liking a coolbox with acoil of copper or stainless pipe that you fill with ice and run your beer though the pipe . Just need to fill with ice as and when you want to serve.

 

[darrenwest1]

mmmmm
i was thinking of somthing with no preperation needed just pull a pint when ever i want it
i have seen a lot of beer chillers on e buy gum and was wondering if i could use 1 of these located out side the room but what do they cost to run and what do they need to run but reading up you need to have them running for 2 1/2 hrs first so ill keep looking i suppose

 

[Parva]

I don't know where this figure of 2.5 hours comes from but I have heard it mentioned before. My single line with recirc. Maxi 110 (it isn't but near enough) is good to go within 20 minutes of switch on. I turn it on just prior to a session then knock it off when done.

 

[darrenwest1]

thats just what i have read online about times

 

[Vossy1]

The longer time is the time taken to form an ice bath. The shorter time is the time taken to get the water in the ice bath cold enough so you can pull a cold pint.
A full ice bath means you can pour continuous pints of cold beer, whereas if you were pulling a load of pints through a semi chilled ice bath, it would quickly warm up.
If your only having a few pints at a time you could probably turn on and be good to go in 20 mins as Parva says.

 

[darrenwest1]

ok so its a chiller that i want and are cornies best or could i use my plastic kegs for now as funds are a bit tight
and what sort of tap do i need are larger and bitter taps different
thanks guys you are great

 

[Parva]

ok so its a chiller that i want and are cornies best or could i use my plastic kegs for now as funds are a bit tight
and what sort of tap do i need are larger and bitter taps different
thanks guys you are great

That question alone opens up a whole can of worms! I dare say it's possible to pipe up a plastic keg to chiller to glass setup but the effort required far outstrips the expense needed to do it properly. I would either stick with the plastic keg in a cool place and dispense from that or budget ~£200 for the cornie keg, gas and chiller route. There's no middle ground on this, you go for it or you don't.

Here's the cornie / chiller / tap route that I have.... (And apologies, not trying to brag with that setup, just be sure you want to go this way first as it costs a lot of money )

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Looks well those Parva, are they all topped up with fine ale?? :drink:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

well i am getting in to this cheap ,tastier beer lark in quite a nice way
so my next questions are really about dispensing it really
ill set the scene down the bottom of my garden i have a 6x6meter workshop/games room (mainly all games room but i can move pool table over when i need to )
i woild like to make a small bar but i dont want to have to buy a beer chiller or to pay to keep a fridge going all the time so my poss plan is
could i dig a hole in the earth about 1 meter down and keep a couple of cornies in there with my beer in ,i drink beer not lager .
would this keep it chilled if the lid is insulated out of the sun light
if so what do i need other than a couple of cornies ,ie gas taps and things
sorry for the long question but as i say i am new at this
and also can i buy any beer taps from ebay or do i need a ale / bitter tap
thanks in advance
darren

build a keggerator tight wad, the money you save on beer will pay for the small amount of electric used! :P

 

[darrenwest1]

that does look good
poss stupid question but i am full of them so here goes
whats the advantage over kegerator or beer chiller
cheers

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

that does look good
poss stupid question but i am full of them so here goes
whats the advantage over kegerator or beer chiller
cheers

Keggerator is like having a cellar, beer is always the right temp when using a temp controller, mine holds 2.

 

[darrenwest1]

so whats better kegerator or beer cooler

and does anyone have cornie dimensions please
cheers

 

[EskiBrew]

Keggerator is like having a cellar, beer is always the right temp when using a temp controller, mine holds 2.

BB - what are the grommets you have to let the pipes in/out?

 

[Sean_Mc]

Keggerator is like having a cellar, beer is always the right temp when using a temp controller, mine holds 2.

BB - what are the grommets you have to let the pipes in/out?

Was going to ask the same question and are they 3/16 lines

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Keggerator is like having a cellar, beer is always the right temp when using a temp controller, mine holds 2.

BB - what are the grommets you have to let the pipes in/out?

Hi eskimobob/sean
The grommets are a 22mm electrical instalation type, they start as blanks, they're that shape so you can trim done to size...

The beer and co2 line is 3/16 from Paul at BarleyBottom, I've now got everything on 3/16, it's easier to work with than 3/8, it also slows the beer flow down too ("alemans" idea that) :thumb:

 

[Sean_Mc]

Cheers BB :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

Or you could put your regulator IN the kegerator :P **

If you get a large chest freezer you could get 12 cornies/cornii in there

** but that needs a high pressure hose to regulator.

 

[Wez]

oooh, I remember that baby

 

[Vossy1]

:lol: ...I've never forgiven you :whistle: :lol: