In Wall Tap System Cooling Project

Hey all -
Don't post a lot in the forums, though I do browse and read a lot.

I just picked up a 23 cubic ft. chest freezer for a keezer conversion. I'm about to wrap up my basement finishing project, and one of the last things I have to do is install faucets for my beer on tap on the wall behind my bar. I'm going to have the keezer on the other side of the wall in my storage room, and will have to run about 6-7' of beverage line in order to hit the spot on the wall I want.

The details:
I'm going to build my collar out of 2x6 pine (deckboards I had leftover from a previous home improvement project). My thought is to use insulated ducting out of the collar to a box mounted on the wall (fit with a floor register piece I will insulate). I would have the register connected with a tee, and have another run of insulated ducting back to the keezer as a return. From there, I would either use a computer fan, or a blower booster fan that would fit right in the ducting to keep the air circulating.

Has anyone done something similar to this, and have any advice they can give? I've read about glycol and other higher end methods, but after the money I dropped int he basement, I'm looking for something a little more budget friendly that would have me dispensing nasty warm beer on a 1st pour.

What do you think?

Cheers!

I think your method will work just fine.

I am in the planning stages of the same idea (though on a smaller scale). I was planning to go with a nested tube design (1" inside 2" PVC) with a fan pushing air up the 1" and then letting it fall back through the gap between the two pipes. I just ordered two squirrel cage fans from Surplus Center plus DC adapters for about $35 including shipping. For some reason a direct link won't work, but if you go to www.surpluscenter.com and then search item 16-1358 they should come up.

My plan also includes using 2 STC-1000's for temp. control. One will run the freezer to keep the beer cold. The other will have the probe in the tap box and turn the fan on/off to keep the temps in the box as close to 37F as possible.

dbarton02 said:

Hey all -
Don't post a lot in the forums, though I do browse and read a lot.

I just picked up a 23 cubic ft. chest freezer for a keezer conversion. I'm about to wrap up my basement finishing project, and one of the last things I have to do is install faucets for my beer on tap on the wall behind my bar. I'm going to have the keezer on the other side of the wall in my storage room, and will have to run about 6-7' of beverage line in order to hit the spot on the wall I want.

Click to expand...

I have a keezer in my garage and taps on the opposite side of the wall in my kitchen. Total run with beer line (3/16) is about 6 ft. I ran the lines inside a 2 inch PVC pipe. I thought about active cooling but decided to see how the systems works without, for simplicity's sake. Since the PVC runs through the wall of the keezer (don't ask about what I said after rupturing the condenser coil), I get some passive cooling. I find that at most 2 ounces of beer needs to be wasted to pour a nice one. According to a back of the envelope calculation I just did, 7 ft of 3/16 I.D. beer line has a volume of 1.3 ounces. So you may want to reconsider the cooling project and place resources elsewhere in the man cave (surround sound???).

webby45wr said:

I am in the planning stages of the same idea (though on a smaller scale). I was planning to go with a nested tube design (1" inside 2" PVC) with a fan pushing air up the 1" and then letting it fall back through the gap between the two pipes. I just ordered two squirrel cage fans from Surplus Center plus DC adapters for about $35 including shipping. For some reason a direct link won't work, but if you go to www.surpluscenter.com and then search item 16-1358 they should come up.

My plan also includes using 2 STC-1000's for temp. control. One will run the freezer to keep the beer cold. The other will have the probe in the tap box and turn the fan on/off to keep the temps in the box as close to 37F as possible.

Click to expand...

did you ever complete this? i'm looking into doing the same thing this winter...just getting ideas right now for best method.

Also interested in progress