Using a counterflow system for cooling beer lines?

[isubsmith]

Hello, I'm very new to all of this beer dispensing. I just bought a house with a nice bar already built. It has a full size fridge+freezer that I'm going to turn into beer storage. However, I don't want the tap(s) on the door itself, instead I'd like a separate tower.

The tower will be roughly 4-6' away, then 3' up, give or take.

There appear to be a number of fan-based air circulation plans to keep the beer lines cool for a remote tap handle install. However, what I was thinking of doing was running the beer tubing inside something else, ie, garden hose, similar to a counterflow wort chiller. I'd have a small reservoir of water in the fridge and a pump somewhere in the system. The water would be a closed system so I'd run a return line back to the fridge too.

Any reason why this wouldn't work? I suppose it won't chill the tap tower, but I think the tubing (and beer) will stay cooler so that might be less of a problem.

I'm sure I'll have more dumb questions as I continue my planning, but that's
it for now.

Thanks.

[timg]

I wouldn't swear to it, but I doubt that your frig unit will be able to keep the water from a small resevoir cool that's recirculating through a 6-9 foot line (or rather 12-18 total length). It may work at first, but I think you will be constantly loosing ground on keeping the water cool. I think you would have to have a pretty large resevoir or else a major cooling source such as the freezer. Unless you you can get a extremely low gpm pump.

Don't know for sure, but that's my thought.

[jumper]

Someone here did this and he ended up running coils of water line up through the freezer to cool the water... but it can be done.

[Larry Tapper]

I have done this. I used a condensation pump and reservior system. 2- 3/8 ploy lines with the beer line , wraped with foil tape themwrape with the clear vinly tape that lumber yards use to bundle pieces. this is all put in a foam insulation tube. ss turn around on the shank end . the reserior has a float in the tank so if the fluid gets low the pump stops. they work o.k.

[isubsmith]

Thanks for the comments.

So, it sounds like this should work but might be overly complicated. What are the odds of an air system working at >7'? Everything I've read on using the small(er) fans says to only use them up to maybe 5'.

Thanks.