Hi all,
Just wanted to share the results of a little test I started last night.
I have an event tomorrow night that I wanted to take a keg to, but didn't really have a mobile setup. I have one of the "ice cube" square coolers with wheels that I was planning on using for the cause. I ordered myself:
Another regulator ($33 from Keg Cowboy - Kegerator Conversion Kits & Draft Beer Equipment See side note below!)
A 20 oz.paintball CO2 tank ($14.95 from Discount Paintball)
A Smart Parts Preset On/Off Valve ($13.99 from Discount Paintball)
My tank and On/Off valve are due to arrive today, but I've read that it is a regular CGA-320 fitting that a normal regulator will fit with and that since it has the pin built in, it will serve the same purpose as the adapters that some homebrew shops sell. If not, I'll order one of those and be bottling beer tonight I guess! I'll update tonight on whether it fit.
ANYWAY, I had all of that en-route, and then I stumbled across Ed's post here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/my-new-portable-keg-system-72105/
That just looked too cool, and was very similar parts to what I ordered, so I started looking at the neoprene covers. I pretty much blew my monthly beer budget already, and found the neoprene to be a little more than I wanted to spend right now. It clicked with me that I already have some foam sheets here in the house that might be about the right size. I tried them on for size, and it was pretty darn close without even having to cut them (fits well into the new lazy lifestyle I'm going for).
Ok, so wrapped with blue masking tape it isn't nearly as stylish as the pre-fab neoprene (about 50 bucks or so) and the towels I put on top to help insulate where I was running my temp sensors in don't help in the beauty dept either.... But, I bought these foam pads (I have a couple, but only one is used in this test) at Wal Mart for about $5 (they are pads for putting under sleeping bags and about 1/4 inch thick... found in the sporting goods section in the camping area), so for now I'm ok with going a little sloppy if it actually works.
I filled up two kegs with 5 gal of water and set them in the keezer for about 20 hours. They got down to about 43F in that amount of time. I pulled both out, rigged up a couple of temp sensors and suspended one in each of the two tanks, midway down. I then wrapped one with the blue foam and let them sit there side by side for the past 20 hours or so.
Here is how it has turned out...
After 5 hours, the wrapped keg had raised from about 43F to 50F, or 7 degrees. The unwrapped control keg went from about 44F (must have been in a slightly warmer spot in the keezer) to about 57F, or 13 degrees.
Not that it has much real-world relevance, but after about 19 hours the wrapped keg raised to 62F, and the control keg went to 67F
I like the ice wrap that you can get with the Keglove, and think it's way more sexy, but I'm going to go ahead and give this a live test I think. For truth in advertising here, this didn't take into account the movement that would take place within the liquid, nor did it take into account the fact that the liquid level would be dropping during that time period. I think both of those will probably have a negative effect on temperature retention.
Off Topic: If you need a sharp looking regulator for a great price, I stumbled across these guys (Keg Cowboy - Keg Cowboy - Kegerator Conversion Kits & Draft Beer Equipment) on ebay, but they have an online site of their own too... $33 for a nice shiny silver regulator like this (hose was something I added, so not included). They were very friendly and I had my package the day after I ordered, so they get things out the door quick!
Thanks for lookin'!
Jason
Just wanted to share the results of a little test I started last night.
I have an event tomorrow night that I wanted to take a keg to, but didn't really have a mobile setup. I have one of the "ice cube" square coolers with wheels that I was planning on using for the cause. I ordered myself:
Another regulator ($33 from Keg Cowboy - Kegerator Conversion Kits & Draft Beer Equipment See side note below!)
A 20 oz.paintball CO2 tank ($14.95 from Discount Paintball)
A Smart Parts Preset On/Off Valve ($13.99 from Discount Paintball)
My tank and On/Off valve are due to arrive today, but I've read that it is a regular CGA-320 fitting that a normal regulator will fit with and that since it has the pin built in, it will serve the same purpose as the adapters that some homebrew shops sell. If not, I'll order one of those and be bottling beer tonight I guess! I'll update tonight on whether it fit.
ANYWAY, I had all of that en-route, and then I stumbled across Ed's post here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/my-new-portable-keg-system-72105/
That just looked too cool, and was very similar parts to what I ordered, so I started looking at the neoprene covers. I pretty much blew my monthly beer budget already, and found the neoprene to be a little more than I wanted to spend right now. It clicked with me that I already have some foam sheets here in the house that might be about the right size. I tried them on for size, and it was pretty darn close without even having to cut them (fits well into the new lazy lifestyle I'm going for).
Ok, so wrapped with blue masking tape it isn't nearly as stylish as the pre-fab neoprene (about 50 bucks or so) and the towels I put on top to help insulate where I was running my temp sensors in don't help in the beauty dept either.... But, I bought these foam pads (I have a couple, but only one is used in this test) at Wal Mart for about $5 (they are pads for putting under sleeping bags and about 1/4 inch thick... found in the sporting goods section in the camping area), so for now I'm ok with going a little sloppy if it actually works.
I filled up two kegs with 5 gal of water and set them in the keezer for about 20 hours. They got down to about 43F in that amount of time. I pulled both out, rigged up a couple of temp sensors and suspended one in each of the two tanks, midway down. I then wrapped one with the blue foam and let them sit there side by side for the past 20 hours or so.
Here is how it has turned out...
After 5 hours, the wrapped keg had raised from about 43F to 50F, or 7 degrees. The unwrapped control keg went from about 44F (must have been in a slightly warmer spot in the keezer) to about 57F, or 13 degrees.
Not that it has much real-world relevance, but after about 19 hours the wrapped keg raised to 62F, and the control keg went to 67F
I like the ice wrap that you can get with the Keglove, and think it's way more sexy, but I'm going to go ahead and give this a live test I think. For truth in advertising here, this didn't take into account the movement that would take place within the liquid, nor did it take into account the fact that the liquid level would be dropping during that time period. I think both of those will probably have a negative effect on temperature retention.
Off Topic: If you need a sharp looking regulator for a great price, I stumbled across these guys (Keg Cowboy - Keg Cowboy - Kegerator Conversion Kits & Draft Beer Equipment) on ebay, but they have an online site of their own too... $33 for a nice shiny silver regulator like this (hose was something I added, so not included). They were very friendly and I had my package the day after I ordered, so they get things out the door quick!
Thanks for lookin'!
Jason