Home bar help

[Richie20121]

Hello, help needed

I've just purchased a second hand angram beer pump. Now it has dawned on me maybe it is more complicated than I first thought.

As usual I did no research until after buying the pump, the way I thought I would run it was as I like room temp beer, I was not gonna use a cooler but just pump the beer straight from barrel but from looking at pictures on Internet they all use coolers.

Is it possible to have a simple set up.
Barrel hose hand pump? Plus all fittings

Thanks
Richie

 

[Dads_Ale]

You can have a simple set up.

Barrel to hand pump. same as a pub you will need to let air into the barrel as you pull the pints so you would need to finish the barrel in a couple of days. Also the beer will be at ambient temp where the barrel is kept, so may be too warm.

So it becomes more complicated. You would need to keep the barrel cool.
If yo cannot drink the whole barrel in a couple of days then you need to set up a cask breather or other low pressure gas system, you will need a cO2 cylinder for this. You may get a week out of the beer with this set up.

Other also use polypins, you don't need CO2 but you may need to keep them cool. Drinking time will depend on your definition of flat beer :smile:

Also if it is second hand it may need a thorough clean as they can get pretty grubby. Check for leaks as well as the seals can degrade over time.

I am still not convinced Hand Pumps are the right tool for home brewers simply because I can't drink the beer quick enough :lol:

 

[Richie20121]

Thank you very much with the in depth reply, it's a birthday present to my brother so if I can get a simple rig set up next week and then he can set it up properly or to how he likes
Once again thank you

 

[Dads_Ale]

Hopefully yours is in better nick than mine was

 

[MyQul]

Hopefully yours is in better nick than mine was

How on earth did you clean that mess up?

 

[Dads_Ale]

How on earth did you clean that mess up?

I got it to this state:

But found the shaft and seals were shot so had to buy a new unit

Work didn't end there though as the gold bit on the new one was only paineted so had to swap over the original brass one.

 

[MyQul]

Amazing! It looks newly bought.

 

[Dads_Ale]

Amazing! It looks newly bought.

Thanks. I enjoy the tinkering as well as the brewing.

This also extends to motorbikes:

rescued from my dads garage:)

 

[Bigjas]

I built myself a home bar a few months ago. I bought a second hand angram pump and use it with my King Kegs. I have a demand valve between the keg and pump to stop the pressure forcing beer through the pump. I just use 12mm hose and jubilee hose clamps to connect it all together. It works really well, just have to keep an eye on the pressure in the keg. I have pressure guages on my legs so that makes it easier. My friends love pulling their own pint :thumb:

Jas

 

[Chiplover]

I built myself a home bar a few months ago. I bought a second hand angram pump and use it with my King Kegs. I have a demand valve between the keg and pump to stop the pressure forcing beer through the pump. I just use 12mm hose and jubilee hose clamps to connect it all together. It works really well, just have to keep an eye on the pressure in the keg. I have pressure guages on my legs so that makes it easier. My friends love pulling their own pint :thumb:

Jas

Hi Jas, do you just top up with co2 when required from looking at the pressure or do you need co2 connected all the time?
Or have you found a better way? Only just noticed the date of the post!

 

[Bigjas]

Hi Jas, do you just top up with co2 when required from looking at the pressure or do you need co2 connected all the time?
Or have you found a better way? Only just noticed the date of the post!

Hi

I just top up when needed. I can pull quite a few pints before I need to top up.