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  • Dispensing System Advice

    Hi all!
    This is a fairly wide reaching question and I welcome any and all tips/advice.
    We are in the build- out phase of our tap-room and will soon be building our serving cooler. Along with that we will soon be putting together our tap system and I'm looking for any recommendations or caveats on what to buy (and what not to buy).
    Couple details - we will be doing a "straight through the cooler wall" system so no need for glycol. We will be tapping from kegs (would love to do serving tanks but the cooler is going to be too far from the brew-house). We are planning on starting off with 8 taps but want to have the option to easily expand that later.
    So any advice on faucets, tailpieces, couplers, manifolds, tubing, etc. is appreciated!

    PS - I should note that I'm a notorious tightwad and always looking to do things on the cheap BUT we are planning on doing 95%-100% of our sales through our tap room so I appreciate the importance of not skimping on this system.
    Last edited by somenerve; 06-10-2017, 12:01 PM.

  • #2
    Even with a "straight through the wall" system, you need to be sure the lines stay cold all the way to the faucets. Either an air-cooled tower and conduit or a shadow-box with the faucets mounted to the outside of the shadowbox. Either will require a small circulation blower.

    Don't over-load your CO2 or mixed gas regulators. The little secondary regs most use can push up to four kegs at once, and beyond that, you'll have serious foaming issues. Push no more than 4 kegs from a single secondary regulator. The primary reg, which goes on your gas source, should be set around 100 psi, with a large enough line to the secondaries to ensure sufficient flow. I used 1/2" ID O2-barrier PEX when I rebuilt our cooler. Works great, easy to run, and the multiple colors help keep the confusion to a minimum.

    When you set-up your kegs stations, keep the lines as short as possible, and keep them well organized. This makes for a "right and tight" cooler, and much easier to keep clean and organized.

    Go to the third result on this page and DL the Draught Beer Quality Manual. It's your Bible for setting up a proper draft system, and getting good pours consistently.

    Use corresponding numbers on your keg stations and you faucets. This insures you have the right keg attached to the right faucet.

    If at all possible, have a cooler dedicated solely to kegs. The kitchen will rapidly take over all available space, making keeping the cooler clean and tidy and replacing kegs a PITA.

    Use ONLY beer-line components in your system. I had to splice in some extra choker lines on one of our towers, and used barb-type hose splices I picked up at the local hdwre store. They were ever so slightly too small on the ID, and caused the beer to foam from a venturi effect. This took me forever to diagnose, and the fix was simply hose splices sized to fit the beer lines.

    This is what a well-set-up cooler looks like:

    Click image for larger version

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    This is what most look like:

    Click image for larger version

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    Don't be that guy!
    Last edited by TGTimm; 06-12-2017, 10:49 AM.
    Timm Turrentine

    Brewerywright,
    Terminal Gravity Brewing,
    Enterprise. Oregon.

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    • #3
      Thanks for the input Timm!
      Yeah - I've spent the better part of my life trying to avoid being "That Guy".

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      • #4
        Hi! I'm a brewer who also owns a draft system design and installation company in MI. A few recommendations:

        1) Use 6-8" stainless shanks when going through the wall. The longer shank will stick out farther in the cooler and the more exposed metal will help keep your faucet cooler.
        2) Use locking shank nuts to ensure your shanks do not spin when installed.
        3) If kegs will be close to the back of the shanks, use 3/16 vinyl beverage line at about 6-6.5 ft in length (assuming 38 degree cooler, 11 psi for desired 2.5 volumes of CO2). If longer runs are required, use 1/4 but you will need about 12 ft of vinyl to create enough back pressure to balance the system. If your runs are even longer, you can move to rigid barrier line. Barrier has much less resistance than vinyl so longer runs are required to balance system with back-pressure.
        4) I normally set clients up with one secondary regulator feeding a 4 -way gas manifold. That's assuming they are serving those beers at the same pressure (carbonation level)
        5) Read up on system balance. Essentially direct draw systems are like kegerators. You'll push with straight CO2. You need proper pressure and cooler temperature to maintain the carbonation level you desire. The length of line creates back pressure to balance system.

        A lot of small details to consider. I'd be happy to give you advise on specifics of your system. I strongly recommend Micro Matic hardware and lines. Not trying to be a sales guy, but I do sell MM equipment below retail to breweries and could easily drop ship to you. Shoot me a an email at matt@draftworksbeverage.com and check out my Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DraftworksBeverage

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        • #5
          Unfortunately, "That Guy" was me--our draft system grew over the years, and rather than scratch it and start over, we just kept adding on and adding on. We finally built a new beer cooler and completely redesigned and built it "Right and Tight" this time. Servers love it, and it's just easier for everyone who has to work in or around it.
          Timm Turrentine

          Brewerywright,
          Terminal Gravity Brewing,
          Enterprise. Oregon.

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          • #6
            How about stainless steel versus chrome plated components (Faucets, shanks, etc.)? Obviously stainless is preferable but can I guy or gal on a budget get by with the less expensive stuff?

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            • #7
              Basically, yes. The all-SS will last almost indefinitely, but the chrome-plated brass is good for years. When the chrome starts to peel off, as it eventually will, it's time to replace--the roughness leads to foaming and/or sealing problems.

              We had chrome-plated couplers and faucets for many years, and have finally replaced them all with SS, but we did it as parts wore out. New purchases are now all SS.
              Timm Turrentine

              Brewerywright,
              Terminal Gravity Brewing,
              Enterprise. Oregon.

              Comment


              • #8
                Ah - sound's like a good way to save $$$ up front and upgrade down the road when one has better cash flow. Thanks for the info!

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