Flow meter?

[Dro]

Anyone know of any kind of flow meter you can put in-line to keep track of the amount of beer used? It would be helpful to know when I have to order a new keg BEFORE my current one runs out.

thanks!

[Scott Zuhse]

If this is just for home use, there will be a keg strip which incorporates liquid crystal technology available from Micro matic soon. Otherwise, there is a device which tells you exactly how much beer you have left in the keg - cost around $1500. great for retail. Pricey for home use.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[flashlite]

yeah i know one, lift your keg every once in a while. when it gets light get a new one ready, duh.

[diet069]

My 2 cents:

Like flshlite said.....lift the keg every once in a while.

Here is a trick that works with propane tanks (might work with kegs too). Pour a some hot water down the side of the keg. A noticeable hot/cold line can be felt with your hand to indicate how much is left.

Regarding what happens when your keg runs out of beer (quite often at the worst possible time)....i keep a few cans of beer tucked in the kegerator to be used for just such a crisis.

[Sudz]

This is what you (and I) want. Unfortunately they want $286 for the meter, $170 for a power supply ($10 at Radio Shack) and $85 shipping! Bleah! And oh, did I forget to mention you also have to buy a $235 "Reset fob" to reset the pint counter back to zero? Double bleah!

http://www.flowmeters.co.uk/turbine_meters.htm

Why can't anyone make one similar to this with a reset button: ?!?!?!
http://www.omega.com/pptst/FTB4000.html

Don't know if the beer would be foamy after going thru the turbine.

Also, Google for "KegBot" for a fun idea.

[johnski]

hey mmcscott..when will that liquid crystal strip thingy be available? if not soon..where can i get one? have any more info and cost?

thanx
john

.. recent happy owner of micromatic kegerator conv kit

[Scott Zuhse]

It will be in the 2006 product catalog as well as on the on line site. Keep posting and as soon as it is in inventory, we'll link to it.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Colin Kaminski]

I would very much like a flow totalizer. It must need a key to reset. It should be stainless, tolerate beer line cleaners and be accurate to 1%. I would like it to have 3/8" barb fittings and a smoothe bore (no threads). Is there any chance Micro-matic will have one of these? My efficiency varies from 9% to 34% lost. My MicroMatic draft system produces very little foam even in pitchers so it is mostly given away. I would like to be able to audit a single shift so I can focus my training to specific bartenders. In order to do this I have to know within a pint per shift how much someone is using. I have 9 flavors but I would be happy with a unit that could count from 8 meters.

Even being able to rotate it through one flavor would be of help.

Cheers!

[Scott Zuhse]

Check out this link - http://www.auper.com

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Sudz]

Do you dump a lot of beer/foam after a keg replacement? You may want to look into a Foam On Beer (FOB) auto-shutoff. Micromatic has some wall mounted ones. (Search for FOB).

Plus, you'll want a FOB if you put a flowmeter in-line.

[Sudz]

My flowmeter/totalizer is up and running!

I'm currently performing calibration. (uuurrrp) Ok, ok, I'm just drinking the 1st keg to see how many flowmeter ticks are in it. After that, the totalizer can be set to display in pints.

Guess it'll take TWO kegs to see if I did it right

[CSweet]

I've had pretty good success with Sprint Enterprises' Beer Guardian.

It's based on a in-line turbine design that measures beer usage for each beer line without weighing, etc. The best part is also its simplicity.

A simple digital counter is mounted in our office (the measuring turbines are at the kegs in the cooler) and we take beginning and ending shift reads of each meter. A simple calculation of sales into ounces vs. usage in ounces and voila instant control. A simple form can suffice for perpetual inventory tracking and later calculation.

Of course, depending on the number of stations, etc., you may want to add more meters for finer accountability. But it won't impact the beer quality or taste.

I like the fact that it can't be reset. That's too easy for someone to cheat the system. Sort of like rolling back the odometer.

You can get more info at www.sprintent.com

[keg-meter]

An inexpensive metering device is the Keg-Meter. It isn't tamper proof and doesn't track inventory. But if you just want to know when a keg is about to blow this will tell you. www.keg-meter.com

[shiftyjason]

I own a small bar in Syracuse,NY and have come across a company called US Beverage Net. They monitor your draft beer being poured (with flow meters) and receive data from youe POS system and deliver that information on a login section of their website in real time. This gives you a real time reconcilliation of what's being poured and what's being rung up at any time in the day.It's pretty amazing. I think their website is www.usbeveragenet.com.

[uncre8tv]

I ran across this (dead) thread in google, am wondering why no one has suggested scales? I'm thinking of putting a cheap-ish digital scale with remote readout in the bottom of the fridge. Weigh it full, weigh it empty, watch the scale. Has anyone tried this? Is the constant weight, or cold, an issue?

[Scott Zuhse]

For home use, scales are a great method of determining usage. For commercial application, there is a firm out there called Bevinco that uses scales to weigh tapped kegs to determine removals. The carry this from store to store.

Unfortunately, no one has come up with a scale that can stay in the cooler and stand up to the abuse from the kegs moving in and out.

[bubbalove]

Home Page

My buddy and I both have one of there. They are a god send. keg-meter.com

[shane34652]

The problem I see about these turbine devices is does it measure line cleaning solution as beer? If so then the amount of beer left could be way off depending on the length of your draw, the type of cleaning, and amount of solution used.

[DCullender]

The problem I see about these turbine devices is does it measure line cleaning solution as beer? If so then the amount of beer left could be way off depending on the length of your draw, the type of cleaning, and amount of solution used.

Unfortunately this is an on going problem with several of the flow meter companies. I have worked with one of these companies here in Virginia, and that is exactly the question I asked them.

Solutions seem to be aimed at the line cleaners, requiring them to switch the transponder units from service to cleaning mode.

That being said, commercial grade units are not designed to tell the restaurant how much beer is left in a keg. They are designed to detect theft and loss. This is accomplished by date/time stamps on the reports so that sells can be reconciled with pours during any given shift.

[draftbeerguy]

there is a company called intelatap they make flow meters that measure inventory and also for bar that allow customers to pour there own beer.they are accurate ,I belive they charge a fee for ther service monthly.

[HBSean]

There's a new product out called TapMate. It is self installed and uses infrared light to measure draft beer flow. It attaches to the keg coupler. Check it out at abouttapmate.com. It's a simple product to help with draft beer control for $195. You can order it off the website.

[Karamuru]

has anybody used the Tapmate? seems like a good solution...

[pgaeast]

has anybody used the Tapmate? seems like a good solution...

Yes Karamuru. I've seen Tapmate in action at a Las Vegas trade show demo and at a restaurant. It works like a "meter" should work--at the source. For example, as the bartendar pours a 21 ounce Coors Light beer, the Tapmate counter on the Coors Light keg tallies the ounces (e.g., tamper-proof counter moves from 790 to 811 as beer is being poured).

You should see the stunned reaction of bartendars when they see this hardware in action for the first time. The reality sinks in as they watch it. They know the Owner will be able to pinpoint how many draft beers of Coors Light were given away during the shift.

And this Tapmate is truly a METER, so you'll always know exactly how many ounces remain in the keg--just read the meter. I watched a self-install demo on the keg coupler with a crescent wrench in a couple of minutes, and they also showed how to replace the triple-AAA battery. It's clear that with Tapmate you don't rely on a third party for anything. It's 100% do-it-yourself. No salesman. No contractors changing your draft beer system. No long-term contracts. No O&M retainer fee. I suggest you give Tapmate a try for the $195 and post your own experience.

[shane34652]

How does the Tapmate deal with the cleaning issue I brought up earlier?

[HBSean]

Shane,
Since TapMate is connected to the coupler, it will measure cleaning solution. You have to make sure you read the meter after the lines are cleaned and before you start selling beer.

[HBSean]

Aberle, what is your company?

[vipola]

So.. ? For a simple home use who don't want to have an empty keg in a middle of a party..
TapMate or Keg-Meter??

[HBSean]

I'm not sure what a keg-meter is. I'm glad my dad didn't have a draft beer meter on his keg when I was growing up. We would fill 1-gallon water containers twice a week. His keg would go dead a week early and he would freak. He had 20% shrinkage under his own roof.

The Tapmate looks like the simple solution because it goes on in two minutes and doesn't have moving parts that will jack up your beer.

[Scott Zuhse]

How about using a very simple device as the Smartstrip?

[krwell]

What about the Berg Draft Sentinel system?

[HBSean]

What about the Berg Draft Sentinel system?

Krwell,
How many kegs are you wanting to meter and how much beer do you pour? Some draft beer systems are expensive to install and maintain but cost effective if you pour a lot of beer; >$350,000 annually. If you have four handles and pour, say $150,000 annually, you could justify a $1,000 investment, not $20,000.
HBSean

[krwell]

I have 19 taps but soon to get a few more. For 2008 I did roughly$220k of draft beer sales.

[HBSean]

I have 19 taps but soon to get a few more. For 2008 I did roughly$220k of draft beer sales.

A good draft beer monitoring system will increase your sales volume by maybe 10% and cut your waste in half. So assuming a 6 month ROI, you don't want to spend more than $10k. Keep in mind once your staff knows you have the ability to detect theft, the problem is 95% solved. Don't spend a bunch of money of some fancy system that requires installation contractors, maintenance contract and monthly fees. It would suck to write a check every month for a problem that's no longer there.

Try installing something simple like TapMate on your top six sellers, which is probably 80% of you volume; that's a $1,200 installed solution. If you pour a lot of liquor as well, check out some type of liquor control solution like Accubar. Then you will have it all covered.

If you have a long draw system (more than 40 feet) make sure your glycol system is solid and use FOB's. That will reduce your waste drastically.
Also with something self installed and mobile like TapMate, you can move it from keg to keg to get an idea of what is being given away the most.

Bartenders are smart. A crooked one will rob you blind. If you decided to manage your bar correctly, the thief will quit and work down the street.