Cold Plate Jockey Box Build Step-by-Step

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kcbeersnob

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Since I had not found any really good jockey box build tutorials, I thought I would write one.

I will not address the cold plate vs. coil debate, because that is covered extensively elsewhere. I will only say that I went for a cold plate, because I found that it offers the most bang for the buck in terms of number of lines in a normal size cooler.

Also, I'm a strong proponent of MFL connections everywhere possible. It adds some cost, but is worth it in terms of convenience during maintenance.



Parts list for a four faucet box:
  • Cooler (i used an old one I had sitting in the basement)
  • 4 Beer shanks (3"-4") and tailpieces
  • 4 Faucets
  • 4 circuit cold plate
  • 12 Swivel nuts (1/4" MFL to 1/4" barb)
  • 8 5/16" MFL to 1/4" MFL adapater
  • 16 Oetiker or worm clamps
  • 4 MFL liquid quick disconnects (ball lock or pin lock)
  • 8 1/2" ID grommets
  • Beer line
  • 4 tap handles

Tools
  • Drill
  • 7/8" hole saw
  • 3/4" hole saw
  • Wrench(s)
  • Oetiker clamp tool or screw driver
  • Faucet wrench

I'm not going to cover the gas setup, because it's basically the same as you would use to build a keezer/kegerator.
 
SHANK AND FAUCET INSTALLATION

1. Measure and mark the center of the location where you would like to install each faucet.

Optional: I had read that the interior plastic of the cooler can crack easily when drilled. To prevent this, I clamped a piece of scrap wood as shown below.



2. Using a 7/8" hole saw and being careful to drill as horizontally as possible, drill the holes for each shank as marked above.





3. Install the shanks and check for a square fit. If a hole is not drilled perfectly horizontal it will cause the shank to not fit squarely and you may need to adjust the hole slightly.



4. Using a faucet wrench, install the faucets.



5. Cut the beer line that will connect the shanks to the "Out" side of the cold plate.

6. Install a tailpiece on one end of each line and a swivel nut on the other end.

7. Install the tailpiece onto the shank.
 
BEER LINE INSTALLATION

What size beer line to use? My cold plate has 5/16" OD tubing, which means the ID is approximately 1/4" (slightly larger). In order to ensure approximately consistent pressure from the keg through the cold plate, I opted to use 1/4" ID beverage line.

I opted to not use a wall shank, because I could not find any shanks with a 1/4" bore to match my beverage line. Reducing cost is another convincing reason to skip the shank.

Since I would be running beer line through the wall, I wanted to use something to provide a reasonable (non-permanent) seal on the inside and to improve the look of the box on the outside. To meet this need I picked up some 1/2" ID grommets from my local Ace hardware.



1. If possible, remove the cooler lid. I found it was easier to perform these steps without the lid.

2. Measure and mark the center of the location where you would like to install each line.

See the "Optional" statement in the Shank and Faucet Installation section above.

3. Using a 3/4" hole saw, drill a hole for each line. In this case, it is not critical to drill squarely.

4. If desired, dry fit the grommets to ensure they fit correctly on the inside and outside of the wall.





5. Remove the grommets from the cooler.

6. Cut your beer lines that will connect the keg to the "In" side of the cold plate.

7. Install the outside grommet: push a grommet onto the beer line and insert the line through the hole, adjusting the location of the grommet to provide enough interior line length to reach the cold plate. Push the wall side of the grommet into the wall of the cooler.

Hint: I sprayed some Starsan on the beer line to make it easier to push the grommet down the line.

8. Install the interior grommet: push the grommet onto the beer line until it meets the wall. Push the wall side of the grommet into the wall of the cooler.





9. Install swivel nuts on both ends of each beer line.

10. On the outside end of the line, install ball lock or pin lock disconnects.
 
COLD PLATE INSTALLATION

My cold plate came with 5/16" MFL to 1/4" barb fittings. I opted instead to install an adapter that would allow me to connect lines to the cold plate using MFL connections.

1. Remove the plugs from your cold plate.

2. If desired install MFL washers. Note that standard washers used for 1/4" MFL connections will not work. You will need 5/16" washers. Some happened to come with my cold plate.

3. Install the 5/16" to 1/4" MFL adapters.



4. Insert the cold plate into the cooler. I chose to orient the "Out" side of the plate toward the back and the "In" side toward the front.

5. Connect the incoming beverage line MFL connectors to the "In" side of the plate.



6. Connect the outgoing beverage line MFL connectors to the "Out" side of the plate.



Here is a look at my finished box:





 
Last edited:
Nicely done. Would there be any benefit to having ice underneath the cold plate as well as on top? I'm thinking if you have it sitting on ice as well as covered with ice it might chill a bit faster, but if you fill the cooler with ice an hour or two before you plan to pour, I doubt there will be much difference. :)
 
Great write up!

One suggestion I would add is to use the black shank collars on the inside of the cooler also. You can't get the shank nut real tight on the inside because it starts pushing in on the cooler wall. By having the black collar on the inside, you greatly increase the surface area used for compression and you can get the shank nut tighter to keep the faucets from turning/moving.
 
Newsman said:
Nicely done. Would there be any benefit to having ice underneath the cold plate as well as on top? I'm thinking if you have it sitting on ice as well as covered with ice it might chill a bit faster, but if you fill the cooler with ice an hour or two before you plan to pour, I doubt there will be much difference. :)
Click to expand...
I think you're right.
Last year when I poured at a beerfest using a friend's jockey box, he advocated keeping kegs in a bucket with ice to keep the bottom of the keg cold.
 
hungry4hops said:
Great write up! Where did you buy your cold plate?
Click to expand...

I bought it from: http://midwestbev.com/coldplates.aspx

Unlike a lot of other cold plates I've seen online, theirs comes with fittings (although I didn't use them in my build). They also carry 100' boxes of Bevlex (much cheaper than buying by the foot) and a variety of other useful fittings--like the MFL adapters featured in my post and the cheapest swivel nuts I've seen anywhere. The shipping was very reasonable considering the plate weighs nearly as much as a small car.

BTW their cold plate are manufactured by these guys: http://www.fitandcp.com/products/cold-plates.
 
JonW said:
Great write up!

One suggestion I would add is to use the black shank collars on the inside of the cooler also. You can't get the shank nut real tight on the inside because it starts pushing in on the cooler wall. By having the black collar on the inside, you greatly increase the surface area used for compression and you can get the shank nut tighter to keep the faucets from turning/moving.
Click to expand...

Nice suggestion.
Available here for what looks like a very reasonable price: http://midwestbev.com/4346pflangeplasticblack.aspx
 
This is exactly what I needed. I picked up an old soda jockey box with a chill plate, regulator, tons of fittings and lines at a thrift store for a few bucks. Now I have some ideas on how to make it look nicer.
 
Newsman said:
Nicely done. Would there be any benefit to having ice underneath the cold plate as well as on top? I'm thinking if you have it sitting on ice as well as covered with ice it might chill a bit faster, but if you fill the cooler with ice an hour or two before you plan to pour, I doubt there will be much difference. :)
Click to expand...

You don't want your cold plate sitting in cold water. You want it packed in ice. They make a bracket that lifts the plate off the floor of the cooler.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/jockey/wrcp.shtml
 
b-boy said:
No. they are Aluminum so they won't rust. They chill better when they make direct contact with ice as opposed to water.
Click to expand...

gotta disagree here. when you want to chill down a bottle of wine/beer/booze or whatever, you put it into a bucket of ice--AND- you fill it about a third to half of the way with cold water.

why? because water will make contact with every square millimeter of the glass which is submerged in it- 100% surface area coverage for heat transfer. ice only transfers heat where it makes contact- typically at the edges. i cant say i know the surface area coverage percentage- but it aint near 100%.

over time the ice and water equalize their temps so the point is moot after an hour or so, but as long as your water is cold to start with you're going to get much faster results with some water at the bottom.

same principle as a wort chiller with 1/2" copper vs 3/8, or plate chiller with 10 plates vs 5 plates. more surface contact area means more heat transfer.

now if you want to keep your ice from melting, then obviously dont add water. but you'll cool the plate faster with some water.
 
SanPancho said:
gotta disagree here. when you want to chill down a bottle of wine/beer/booze or whatever, you put it into a bucket of ice--AND- you fill it about a third to half of the way with cold water.

why? because water will make contact with every square millimeter of the glass which is submerged in it- 100% surface area coverage for heat transfer. ice only transfers heat where it makes contact- typically at the edges. i cant say i know the surface area coverage percentage- but it aint near 100%.

over time the ice and water equalize their temps so the point is moot after an hour or so, but as long as your water is cold to start with you're going to get much faster results with some water at the bottom.

same principle as a wort chiller with 1/2" copper vs 3/8, or plate chiller with 10 plates vs 5 plates. more surface contact area means more heat transfer.

now if you want to keep your ice from melting, then obviously dont add water. but you'll cool the plate faster with some water.
Click to expand...

Instructions for using a cold plate:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/jockey-boxes-portfolio-cid-11.html

http://www.kegman.net/categories/Soda,-Seltzer-&-Water/Cooling-Systems/Cold-Plates/

If you were constantly agitating the cold plate, I'd agree with you. However, if it is just sitting, it will become less efficient as the temperature of the water layer immediately surrounding it warms. You see this problem in wort chillers too. They do a much better job if the chillers is agitated, or the wort is whirlpooled.

The ice is melted by the heat dissipated by the beer moving through the coils. You always want direct contact between the cold plate and ice.
 
I have a box with two cold plates. I put the plates directly on block ice and fill everything above it with cube ice. There is a lot of ice contact and the blocks act as a stand keeping the plates out of the water. I also have a hose to constantly drain the water. It works great. If the kegs are too cold, i.e. less than 60°F, I have a problem with freezing the beer In the plates.
 
sandyeggoxj said:
I have a box with two cold plates. I put the plates directly on block ice and fill everything above it with cube ice. There is a lot of ice contact and the blocks act as a stand keeping the plates out of the water. I also have a hose to constantly drain the water. It works great. If the kegs are too cold, i.e. less than 60°F, I have a problem with freezing the beer In the plates.
Click to expand...

Nice. Wish I knew somewhere to get block ice around here...
 
JonW said:
Great write up!

One suggestion I would add is to use the black shank collars on the inside of the cooler also. You can't get the shank nut real tight on the inside because it starts pushing in on the cooler wall. By having the black collar on the inside, you greatly increase the surface area used for compression and you can get the shank nut tighter to keep the faucets from turning/moving.
Click to expand...

Good idea...

How about just "glue" that piece of wood he had installed to assist in drilling the holes...

Maybe a piece of plastic or at least paint the wood.
 
Finally got to take the jockey box for its inaugural run today at the Parkville Microbrew Fest. It worked perfectly from start to finish.



 
Based on a follow-up question I've received, I thought I would post some details about my beer lines.

Short version
In my system, I'm using:
8 ft 5/16 ID beverage tubing on the input side (keg to cold plate)
2 ft of 3/16 ID on the output side (cold plate to shank)
Serving pressure was approximately 10-12 psi.

Explanation
First you have know know the specs of your cold plate, so you can determine the required line diameter and length. My cold plate has 12' of 5/16" OD stainless tubing. Using a table I found online, that means the cold plate resistance is .5 psi/ft.

In order to get close resistance without going under, I opted for 1/4" ID beverage line on the input side (keg to cold plate), which has a resistance of .7 psi/ft. I also opted to use 3/16 ID tubing on the output side (cold plate to shank) to create some restriction.

I had put together a calculator in Excel to approximate the line length I would need and serving pressure. Playing around with some variables, I arrived at 22 feet total from keg to shank. My goals were to have lines that were long enough to reach kegs under a table and serving pressure as low as possible to minimize risk of over-carbonation.

In the end, I went with 8 ft. of 1/4" tubing on the input and 2 ft. of 3/16" on the output. Gives me a total length of 22 feet.

In theory my serving pressure should have been ~18 psi according to my calculator. In reality I found that the necessary serving pressure was lower, although I did not make a note of what it actually was. I want to say it was close to 10-12 psi. I believe this discrepancy is because the overall resistance from keg to faucet was lower than I had entered into the calculator.
 
This is very timely as I am planning on building a plate jockeybox for a pig roast next month that my family has every year and this is exactly the information I am looking for. Could I/we possibly get a copy of your excel calculator? I am trying to balance the box I am building against commercial kegs and want to ensure I buy enough tubing to do it right with minimal testing.
 
I forgot to mention. It's a 7 product plate with only three taps. It ran cold beer out with 70+ degree kegs on a 90 degree day. I'm very happy.
 

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