Looking to pour a lot of beer for an upcoming event. I have three door kegerator which we used last week and we had many issues with warm beer. The kegs were kept at 38 degrees, the coldest our box will get. Issue is after about an hour in 95 degree weather the fridge cant keep up and the beer begins to get warm causing a bit of foam. Here is the idea/question. I have had success using a jockey box before.... so can the two systems be combined? Jockey box with coils above the box to help with chilling the beer. So it would be a direct draw into a jockey box? Or how about a direct draw with a cold plate prior to dispensing the beer through the tower? The main question is will there be an issue due to the change in temperature or difference in line sizes? Trying to brainstorm how to make this happen any input is appreciated.
i think you are creating problems and work you don't need. if you have a jockey box, know how to use it, and have had success before, stick with it. the solution to warm weather when using a jockey box is more ice. if you are trying to cool coils with a fridge you will find that the cooling capacity is insufficient. you may want to hold the kegs in the fridge and run the 3/8" beer line from the coupler into the jockey box. this will save you the headache of constantly icing the keg. Cheers.
I think this is what I was trying to convey... - A plain jockey box won't work because this will be an ongoing event for a couple of weeks. On the first day the jockey box works great, the next day the kegs are very tough to dial in after sitting outside for about six hours on the first day, iced or not. Most are craft beers which appear to be more temperamental. -The fridge works but it struggles keeping the temp low enough for cold beer on hot days. This is an afternoon event and temp is forecasted around 90-100 degrees. Most of the beer poured will be into pitchers. I looked at a possible equipment upgrade but the cost and limitation to only two beers is not an option. We have 4 beers and expect to pour about two 1/2bbl kegs a night. http://www.perlick.com/files/8213/7243/8277/RC_DC90ACLT_2010-06.pdf back to my question Keep all the kegs in the fridge and have the beer lines feed into a jockey box (with coils in ice) sitting above the fridge? Have to consider how to insulate the beer form top of fridge to jockey box...maybe tape or old trunk line. Or Keep the kegs in the fridge and have the beer line feed a cold plate (located in a cooler with ice in the fridge) and out of the tower?
4 weeks is too long for beer in a jockey box system. even if you are rotating kegs. you need ice and a lot of it. jockey box coils need ice. the kegs need to be iced. if it is too hot, you need more ice. you never quite balance a jockey. the applied pressure is very high, the temp varies a lot, system resistance is an estimate. the pressure is applied mainly to get the beer to flow through all the coil. there is a lot of resistance. but because you would expect to finish a keg in a day or so, the applied pressure doesn't have too much time to screw with the vols. if any keg sits on 30 psi of 100% CO2 for more than a few hours expect wild pours. buy a pro kegerator. it doesn't need to be an outdoor appliance if it can be protected from the elements. your problem with the compressor keeping up in the heat is because a refrigerator is residential appliance. a professional kegerator is expense, noisy, usually utilitarian bordering on ugly and made for demanding situations. Cheers.
Thanks, for the reply. The unit in use is a pro kegerator, True TDD-4CT-S. Unfortunately it is still unable to keep up in hot weather. Ice is not an issue, we have an unlimited supply.
