Running beer lines outside of kegerator?

[Hawk60xe]

First off, I'm new here but there seems to be a lot of information available. I have a bar in my basement with a fridge in the bar. I have a storage room right next to the bar that i want to put a kegerator in. I want to run the lines to the backside of the wall in the storage room and have the faucets on the other side of the wall effectively having the beer faucets behind the bar. Can i run the lines outside of the kegerator and to the wall? How do i keep it cold in the lines? Do i just have to throw the first pint out? Should i run it through PVC pipe and insulate it? This will be my first kegerator conversion and im sure i can do it if i had a tower, just not sure how it will affect everything running the lines out the top and through a wall. Any other websites where i can purchase the lines and tanks and regulators and what not would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Can't help you on the specifics of the build, but kegconnection.com has everything you need.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

Most of the time you will need to enclose the lines inside a tube along with a separate glycol send and return, then have a pump that moves cold glycol from the fridge through the lines to keep the beer in the line cold. Alternatively you can use a big cold plate and run the warm beer through it just before hitting the tap. I don't recommed the second as the changes in temp can result in foaming.

 

[Tinga]

i think it would look kinda cool if you had beer lines running all over the place on the outside of your kegerator with you are pulling a beer..... except if youre going for the silly straw effect you might as well just have some ****ty beer in a closed loop system. never mind.

 

[baafowin]

I did something similar on my setup. I have a kegerator in my basement, and have 4 lines running out of the refrigerator and up into my pantry. I added a cold water loop to keep the lines cold, made sure each beer line was in contact with them, then taped them up with that metal duct work tape. I then wrapped them in pipe insulation to keep them from accumulating condensation. My cold water loop is simply a tub of water that I keep in the freezer portion of the kegerator (it's a fridge/freezer combo) and pushed with a pond pump. My first draw is actually colder than the subsequent ones that come from the keg. Only issues I've had is that if they sit for a considerable time (about a week) the beer in the lines gets fairly flat. Not sure if it's losing the CO2 through the lines or through the taps (Perlicks). Keep in mind I have approximately 14' of line outside of the kegerator, so you may not have quite the CO2 loss that I do.

 

[drob]

New guy here also, but have been reading a ton here. Anyway, I'm going to be undertaking the same project shortly, so I'm curious what different options are presented and their effectiveness.
For those that know more about this, would a passive system described here using insulated copper pipes extending from inside the keezer up to the shanks on the wall work?

 

[DieterVonBrauhaus]

I did something similar on my setup. I have a kegerator in my basement, and have 4 lines running out of the refrigerator and up into my pantry. I added a cold water loop to keep the lines cold, made sure each beer line was in contact with them, then taped them up with that metal duct work tape. I then wrapped them in pipe insulation to keep them from accumulating condensation. My cold water loop is simply a tub of water that I keep in the freezer portion of the kegerator (it's a fridge/freezer combo) and pushed with a pond pump.

Do got pics of how that works? Would like to try that as well

 

[baafowin]

Sorry, I didn't get your request until now. I'll get you some pictures tomorrow or this weekend. It's really a pretty simple system as long as you're comfortable with some DIY. I haven't got it cleaned up as much as I plan on doing eventually, but it's definitely functional.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

I know this is obvious so please don't flame me for saying it (just trying to ensure full disclosure)

If you put the resevior in the freezer and use straight water you run the risk of line freezing. I had it happen, it occurred slowly over the course of several days but like cholesterol in an artery, ice build up in the lines and ended up clogging the system. Salt and glycol can help but make sure there are no sudden changes in line diameter or pinches in the line or you can still have problems.

 

[baafowin]

That's good advice indeed (and something I should have mentioned in my post). I actually use the non-toxic RV antifreeze (Propylene glycol) mixed with water on my reservoir. The stuff is only a couple bucks a gallon, and of course never touches any of your beer anyways. I like your idea of salt, and may add some of that just for an added reassurance.

 

[baafowin]

Ok, sorry it took so long to get the pictures up. Here's how I did it. I'm not claiming this is the best method, but it seems to work pretty solidly for me. Hopefully the pictures work. This is my first time trying to post pics.

First, here is the glycol bath in my freezer. [IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55917628@N05/5525964829/in/photostream/"]

Here are my lines coming out of the refrigerator. The glycol lines are included in this. All the lines are wrapped in aluminum duct tape and then in the pipe insulation. I have 5 beverage lines in total, plus the glycol lines. [IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55917628@N05/5526557394/in/photostream/"]

This is where the lines go into the box behind the taps. You can see the individual lines here because I didn't get my insulation quite long enough. Oops. [IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55917628@N05/5525964031/in/photostream/"]

Here is the box that I use to hold the lines. I have it insulated to help keep it cool. Not sure how much of a difference this actually makes, since the beverage lines are in contact with the glycol lines all the way up until here. This is located behind my refrigerator, so there's no way to see it, otherwise I would have made it prettier. On a plus note, I found my screwdriver! [IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55917628@N05/5525963479/in/photostream/"]

And finally, this is what it looks like from the pantry. I made the plaque and turned the handles myself. I left room to expand with a creamer, but haven't gotten that added yet. [IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55917628@N05/5526556282/in/photostream/"]

Hope this helps (and hope it worked).

 

[yuenglager55]

Hey I was reading up on extending my lines up into my kitchen from my basement keeper. I saw you posted about possibly running copper pipes. How did you end up doing your project? Did you use copper pipes and did they keep the beer cold.

New guy here also, but have been reading a ton here. Anyway, I'm going to be undertaking the same project shortly, so I'm curious what different options are presented and their effectiveness.
For those that know more about this, would a passive system described here using insulated copper pipes extending from inside the keezer up to the shanks on the wall work?

 

[Ray Keenan]

I did something similar on my setup. I have a kegerator in my basement, and have 4 lines running out of the refrigerator and up into my pantry. I added a cold water loop to keep the lines cold, made sure each beer line was in contact with them, then taped them up with that metal duct work tape. I then wrapped them in pipe insulation to keep them from accumulating condensation. My cold water loop is simply a tub of water that I keep in the freezer portion of the kegerator (it's a fridge/freezer combo) and pushed with a pond pump. My first draw is actually colder than the subsequent ones that come from the keg. Only issues I've had is that if they sit for a considerable time (about a week) the beer in the lines gets fairly flat. Not sure if it's losing the CO2 through the lines or through the taps (Perlicks). Keep in mind I have approximately 14' of line outside of the kegerator, so you may not have quite the CO2 loss that I do.

Where do you keep the pump. I’m guessing not in the freezer part. Do you have any photos of the setup. I have about 7’ of line running from my fridge to the tap. I have been pouring a 1/2 pint for waste on my first pour. Then first pint of Guinness I pour is perfect. Then when I finish that and then pour my second pint the head is usually too big. I’m thinking because the Guinness sitting in the line is changing temperature and that’s what’s causing the big head. If I pull another pint straight away it pours good

 

[IslandLizard]

Where do you keep the pump. I’m guessing not in the freezer part. Do you have any photos of the setup.

Welcome to HBT!
You replied to a post from 2011, the poster has not been here since August of 2014. I doubt you'll get a reply from him.

The pump is in the freezer part (the top section) of his kegerator, and recirculates cold water through the trunk line that serves his taps.

I have about 7’ of line running from my fridge to the tap.

Yeah, you'd need to keep that 7' tap line (ice) cold. If you don't, that explains the foaming, dissolved CO2 coming out of your beer due to the warmer temps.