Long draw glycol cooled dispensing build

[MikeSkril]

Hi all!


I'm in the process of building a glycol cooled long draw system and I will share all my findings here.
It’s not finished yet, so I will post more information over a couple of weeks.

My fridge will be in the basement and the beer lines run 15’ outside the fridge up to the kitchen (8’ higher).
I will have 4 taps, one of them will be a Nitro tap. :rockin: I'm building everything from scratch, including the tower and the trunk line.

The trunk line

I went with ¼ beer lines because I would have too much resistance in a 3/16 line. As my system will only be used on weekends, I was worried about possible off flavours from the lines (look here).

That’s why I chose Bev-Seal lines. Yes, harder to work with, but no taste at all.

I’ve used ½ PEX for the glycol loop.

Tie wraps to keep the lines together. A layer of Food Plastic Wrap to keep condensation inside and a layer of aluminium foil as heat barrier.

That’s a commercial example from Micromatic:

I've used 2” ID, 3” OD pipe insulation and then applied tape around it. That’s how it looks.

I will use a fountain pump to circulate a glycol/water mix.

PP80006: 800 GPH High Lift Pump by PonicsPumps

The tower

I've used a ½ copper line in the tower as copper ia a much better conductor than PEX. I've also used some ¼ copper to get a better heat transfer from the cold glycol line to my shanks.

More coming soon...

 

[jdubdvdt]

Seems pretty cool. I look forward to seeing future updates.

 

[MikeSkril]

I cannot edit my post anymore so I will post an update here...

I finally changed the pump to one with lower wattage. The 60 watt pump was producing too much heat and vibrated a lot. Now I use a 15 watt pump and the glycol solution is at chilly 35F.

Quiet One Pro Series Aquarium Pump - 800

And here a few more pics...

 

[thippe]

i use a 620gph pump from harbor freight that is .58 amps (not sure on watts)
i'm wondering if i should give this one a shot. Did it come with everything you need to connect it to the trunk line? I have a small piece of flex tubing going from my trunk line connecting to the pond pump.

 

[MikeSkril]

i use a 620gph pump from harbor freight that is .58 amps (not sure on watts)
i'm wondering if i should give this one a shot. Did it come with everything you need to connect it to the trunk line? I have a small piece of flex tubing going from my trunk line connecting to the pond pump.

I did the same with my pump. I’ve used a flexible vinyl tube to connect it to the trunk line (PEX).
The smaller pump is great but it can’t lift very high. I have a lift of 6” but my trunk line was filled when I connected this pump. I think it would not be strong enough to fill the empty line.
Beside that it’s running great, pretty quiet and flow is ok.
With the old pump I was not able to get the glycol solution temperature below 45F (the solution is in the freezer but my fridge has no separate temp regulator for the freezer). With the smaller pump I’m at 35F and that works great.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I am very interested in doing this as well, but have been concerned about the quality of beer at the taps in a home environment. Does carbonation hold up when you are pouring one or two a day? Favor stability? WOuld love to hear some feedback from those with similar systems.

 

[MikeSkril]

I am very interested in doing this as well, but have been concerned about the quality of beer at the taps in a home environment. Does carbonation hold up when you are pouring one or two a day? Favor stability? WOuld love to hear some feedback from those with similar systems.

I only use my system on weekends and it works great. Use the best lines you can get. In my opinion that’s Bev-Seal. I can serve a stout, connect an IPA right away without affecting the flavour. I have no issue with carbonation. I use flow control faucets, so I can do high carb and low carb on the same line.

 

[thippe]

I only use my system on weekends and it works great. Use the best lines you can get. In my opinion that’s Bev-Seal. I can serve a stout, connect an IPA right away without affecting the flavour. I have no issue with carbonation. I use flow control faucets, so I can do high carb and low carb on the same line.

I've had bev seal installed since May...seems good. Now i just gotta buy another fountain pump to use for cleaning the lines so i can set it and forget it.

 

[thippe]

I did the same with my pump. I’ve used a flexible vinyl tube to connect it to the trunk line (PEX).
The smaller pump is great but it can’t lift very high. I have a lift of 6” but my trunk line was filled when I connected this pump. I think it would not be strong enough to fill the empty line.
Beside that it’s running great, pretty quiet and flow is ok.
With the old pump I was not able to get the glycol solution temperature below 45F (the solution is in the freezer but my fridge has no separate temp regulator for the freezer). With the smaller pump I’m at 35F and that works great.

interesting. Does your freezer get cold enough to freeze ice? I have mine setup the same way with the 620GPH pump. i go basement up to the first floor - the glycol lines are between 8foot - 9 foot in one direction. I was getting 36 degree pours in the summer, haven't bothered to check since but its colder now in the winter months. Are you using actual glycol? I am using pink RV Antifreeze from walmart that sits in a tub in the freezer.

 

[thippe]

interesting. Does your freezer get cold enough to freeze ice? I have mine setup the same way with the 620GPH pump. i go basement up to the first floor - the glycol lines are between 8foot - 9 foot in one direction. I was getting 36 degree pours in the summer, haven't bothered to check since but its colder now in the winter months. Are you using actual glycol? I am using pink RV Antifreeze from walmart that sits in a tub in the freezer.

oh i think i get it...you are using an external temp control for the fridge and thats why your freezer doesnt stay cold enough

 

[MikeSkril]

interesting. Does your freezer get cold enough to freeze ice? I have mine setup the same way with the 620GPH pump. i go basement up to the first floor - the glycol lines are between 8foot - 9 foot in one direction. I was getting 36 degree pours in the summer, haven't bothered to check since but its colder now in the winter months. Are you using actual glycol? I am using pink RV Antifreeze from walmart that sits in a tub in the freezer.

I did not measure air temp in the freezer but, the condensation on the glycol bucket lid does freeze. I've set the temp so that the beer stays at 39F as I cant regulate the freezer separately, this results the glycol solution to be at 35F. My run is like yours, 9' in one direction. I dont need the freezer compartment for anything else, so I dont care. I just care about the beer temp and the glycol temp.
I use the below antifreeze mixed 50/50 with water. Its not toxic and not flammable.

 

[MikeSkril]

oh i think i get it...you are using an external temp control for the fridge and thats why your freezer doesnt stay cold enough

No. My fridge has one controler/sensor, not 2. So I can dial in something for the fridge and something for the freezer compartment. I did not modify the temp control for my fridge.

 

[milldoggy]

I am very interested in doing this as well, but have been concerned about the quality of beer at the taps in a home environment. Does carbonation hold up when you are pouring one or two a day? Favor stability? WOuld love to hear some feedback from those with similar systems.

I have bevseal, 25ft. I have one tap that does not get uses much. I notice the beer taste almost 100%/sitting in it. Sometimes I feel it loses a little co2 and the flavor is slightly off. Nothing to really worry about. Mine has been running for over two years.

 

[milldoggy]

For cleaning, not sure how many taps you have, but I can clean all four of mine with this rig. 1/8 hp sump pump. Perlick425s with cleaning adapeters daisy chained, Bobby ms disconnect connectors. Will fill the lines un primed

As for my glycol pump, I use a tiny 9 volt eBay motor for 12$. Works great, just need to prime the lines. I have a valve on my output, so I prime and close it to keep it primed while I hook up the pump. I use a keg for glycol so I use co2 to prime it.

Hope this helps anyone setting a long draw up

View attachment 1455332356765.jpg

View attachment 1455332378199.jpg

 

[MikeSkril]

For cleaning, not sure how many taps you have, but I can clean all four of mine with this rig. 1/8 hp sump pump. Perlick425s with cleaning adapeters daisy chained, Bobby ms disconnect connectors. Will fill the lines un primed

As for my glycol pump, I use a tiny 9 volt eBay motor for 12$. Works great, just need to prime the lines. I have a valve on my output, so I prime and close it to keep it primed while I hook up the pump. I use a keg for glycol so I use co2 to prime it.

Hope this helps anyone setting a long draw up

I just use a keg to clean the lines. I push cleaner thru the lines (with CO2), then flush with water and after that Starsan.

 

[MikeSkril]

I have bevseal, 25ft. I have one tap that does not get uses much. I notice the beer taste almost 100%/sitting in it. Sometimes I feel it loses a little co2 and the flavor is slightly off. Nothing to really worry about. Mine has been running for over two years.

I agree, the bevseal is great. No plastic flavor and flush able.

 

[u81doughboy]

Milldoggy, do you know the model of the pump you're using? I'm working on putting a system together and I am going from the basement to the first floor. I'd like to use the smallest pump that I can get away with.

 

[milldoggy]

It was very similar to this http://r.ebay.com/CX6tcY. I think mine was a 5m head. I used a 9v wall wart to power it

*maybe it was a 7m head http://r.ebay.com/3gZ4xz

 

[MikeSkril]

Just added a few more pics of my setup on the first page.

 

[MikeSkril]

I finally found the time to review my original post and clean it up a bit.

https://skrilnetz.net/how-to-build-a-long-draw-beer-dispensing-system/