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  • Do these things exist?

    Hello all,

    I am looking for a something different here.

    Do cooling jackets for kegs exist? What I am thinking is an electric powered(or other power) cooling jacket that would wrap around a keg to keep it cool. The kegs that this would be used on are logs(1/6 bbl // 5.16gal.)

    Do these cooling jackets exist or am I out of luck on this search.

    i have seen this type of thing for carboys, but for kegs???

    Thanks in advance.

  • #2
    Hello Matthew,

    I'm not sure of your intended application, so this may or may not be of use. What we have often used for keeping a cask of real ale cool resembles sort of a skeletal rib cage made out of stainless tubing. They may have pictures on either the UK Brewing Services or Eurosource web sites. This slips around the cask and is covered by an insulating blanket. We then tie the tubes into our line chilling python. You could probably rig up a similar gizmo for a small keg. Of course, you need a beer line chiller, so outdoor or home use might not work so well. For such I have seen some amazingly tiny kegerators that might do the trick. Or build one yourself from an old "dorm" fridge?

    Or am I not understanding your needs?

    Cheers,
    Ron

    Comment


    • #3
      Ron,
      Thanks for the reply. The appilcation is actually for a ferry boat that has very little room behind it's bar/lunch counter. Though, they want draft beer. I need to keep the kegs cold(no room for a fridge) while the beer goes through the cold plate to aviod foaming. Any other options?
      I am at a loss...

      Comment


      • #4
        I've never used these, but it seems like they would fit the bill nicely. Expensive no doubt...



        Has anyone used them before? Do you have to have a special filler also? Any comments appreciated.

        As for a cooling blanket, I've seen a medical device that is used post-op, like an portable ice blanket. It has a chiller and hoses attached, perhaps you could inquire at a medical supply store, and investigate that further...and rig up a keg cooler yourself.

        Let us know what you come up with!

        b

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        • #5
          How do they.............

          Matt,

          How are they keeping the food cold at the lunch bar / counter?

          Comment


          • #6
            Hello Matthew,

            Hmmm. I'm sure there is a solution, but it's hard without seeing the installation. Is there room under the counter for a direct draw style cold box? Or could there be, by moving a few other things? How long is the ferry "ride", and how long would the beer actually need to be in service, and what is cooling the cold plate? Could a cold keg in an insulating cover do the trick? We do outdoor summer festivals in a similar manner, using a coil box instead of a cold plate (better cooling), and pour great beer all afternoon (at least eight hours!). Could a cold keg be put on the ferry, served for the afternoon, or whatever, and returned to the cooler at the end of the voyage, to chill down for the next days travels? What about a cold water bath? Or is there room under the counter for a very small line chiller (they make some real cute little ones), and then rig up the coil wrap I suggested? If not stainless, you could make one out of copper, or even flex tubing in a pinch.

            If they can make a six pack cooler you plug into the cigarette lighter in your truck there has to be something you could do!

            Maybe they make one large enough for a case, or your 1/6 BBL!

            More info...

            Cheers,
            Ron

            Comment


            • #7
              Zbrew2k,

              If you are referring to the Keggy system, I have used them for years. They work great, but they do require some specialized equipment. A specialized scale to fill an inner chamber with liquid CO2, special filling head, and dispense taps etc. But they work, and they fit in a fridge. Draft beer at home without a bulky kegerator! Who would have thought opening a bottle or twisting off a growler cap would seem like so much work?

              Cheers,
              Ron

              Comment


              • #8
                I think this is it...

                Schaefer sells a product called an "ice block keg jacket" which I think is what you are looking for. The 1/6 barrel one comes with 6 ice packs. I don't know the cost but all the information is on the page for contacts. Hope this is it...

                Keg Club Inc. provides ending and beverage dispensing backpacks for soda, juice, mortional items. We help to increase your product sales and brand awareness.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hmmm. Have I missed something here ?

                  Why is it so critical you cool the whole keg and don't merely use and in line ice pack chiller between keg and dispense. After all, you can get plenty of under counter beer chillers, sized to suit the dispense conditions. If the beer is going off in the couple of days you are dispensing a single keg, then it is too big, and you should be looking at mini keg systems such as Keggy. Cooling an entire keg thoroughly enough to dispense without in line cooling will take too long if you only start cooling it on board. You would need space for two or three kegs, one on dispense, the others cooling.
                  dick

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    dick murton...

                    You did miss the fact that 99% of American draft beer is not pastuerized and must be kept cold from the time the keg is filled until the time its consumed, hence the need for cooling the entire keg. So an in line cooler won't work.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Probably your best bet is to use 1/6 bbl kegs, keep them cold somewhere else, use a jockey box at the bar with a keg blanket around the keg - I have seen some neoprene jackets for homebrew-style cornys that would work.
                      Linus Hall
                      Yazoo Brewing
                      Nashville, TN
                      www.yazoobrew.com

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Being a low-tech kinda guy, I'd just get a tall kitchen trash can and put the keg in it, and ice it down.

                        Cheers, Tim

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: did I miss something ?

                          Thanks. I guess this is one of the problems with working in a large brewery. You get rather used to being able to pasteurise, or even have the ability to produce virtually sterile beer without sterile filtration or pasteurisation.

                          Cheers
                          dick

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Many years ago I bought some stuff from the Compleat Winemaker, then in St. Helena, CA. It is now in some other nearby town. It was a rubber sheet with integral tubing every few inches, cut to length from a roll. You wrapped this around what you wanted to cool and plumbed with the (expensive) manifold. Of course you needed a supply of cold water and pump. I have found used Haws cooled drinking faucets, ("bubblers" for the folks in Milwaukee) to be useful for replumbing to make a cheap glycol cooler for small volumes. Garage sales for $2 sort of deals coupled with hdwe store Little Giant pums work well. For the ferry, forget the electric cooler and just circulate ice water. Sorry, but I don't know if it still exists today.

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                            • #15
                              I have used a rig very similar to what Moonlight suggests. One thing to watch; if you are using one of the submersible Little Giant pumps, over time they throw quite a bit more heat than you might imagine, quickly melting your ice bath, and promptly circulating warm then hot water. After a few days of this, I broke down and tied the system into a beer line chilling unit. After that, nice cold beer.

                              Aloha,
                              Ron

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