True Kegerator 3 tap conversion - Blower Question

[frtyptny]

So I just ordered several hundred dollars worth of parts from MicroMatic (which arrived super quick and well packaged!) to convert my "True" brand kegerator to hold 3 sixtels and to move it to a remote place in the basement... We own a small Bed and Breakfast in Vermont and have a small pub. Sorry if this is the wrong place for my question but I hope that someone will help!

So, following the advice I have found on here I ran 3" ID PVC pipe through the floor up to the base of the new 3 tap tower. It is a solid piece of pipe. The whole thing is 9' long from the top of the fridge to the bottom of the tower.

Inside of this pipe I have run a 1" air duct and the 3 beer lines all inside of another tightly insulated tube. Essentially there is about a 1" area for warm air to return inside of the 3" pipe.

Inside of my True refrigerator there is a small blower hose for the tower that was on there before. It does not feel like a lot of air comes out of this hose though?? When I connected it to the new longer air hose, there is no air flow that I can feel from the tower top.

The issue is that at the tap I am getting the first beer at about 45 degrees, in the fridge the temp is 36-38. I would obviously like to close that gap...

So - my questions are - is anyone familiar with the small blower built into this unit? How many CFM is it? Would it be worthwhile to even try the 15CFM unit Micromatic sells? I see that it says for up to 5 feet - which makes me think that its similar to whats already installed in there. I would go with a bigger one but can this refrigerator (which is commercial) handle a larger blower?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Here are some photos of my setup:









Tim and Amy Brady
Innkeepers
Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast
192 Putney Road
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-6268
Brattleboro Vermont | Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast VT | Comfortable Accommodations Steps from Downtown

[Larry Tapper]

The fan in the unit is all this tube was for, more to move the air throught the evaporator and keep the unit cold . You should use the small blower and insulate the out side of your 3" pvc this should help a lot.

[frtyptny]

OK, so I have just ordered the 15CFM blower. I figure at this point its worth just trying out. I also picked up some self adhesive insulation (R6) for the PVC to keep that as controlled as possible. The basement itself maintains a 65 - 68 degrees which is far better than the room it was in before (75 - 78) so I hope that helps in the long run at least somewhat... Served up some beers tonight and no one was complaining - but it bugs me to know that its not perfect...

[frtyptny]

So I installed the small blower and I also removed the insulation that I had around the beer line inside of the PVC. I also used a hacksaw to enlarge the hole on the top of the kegerator to the same inside size as the 3" PVC I am using - this gave a lot more room for return air flow (which I can now feel coming back down the tube). I also super insulated the outside of the PVC with 2 layers of R6 insulation the whole length. End result - MUCH better... Even the tower itself feels ice cold now (10' from the fridge).

So -

I have searched the forums and can't find a clear answer of the formula to determine the correct PSI relative to beer line size and length. I have approx 10' of line now (running straight up if that matters - lift?) and am currently planning to serve 2 Ales and a Porter. I have the PSI currently set at about 14 and it seems to be a bit foamy. Any help would be great!

Thanks!

[thehammer]

Sweet setup! Try the link below.

http://www.micromatic.com/direct-dra...m-aid-121.html

I used it 2 years ago to balance my system and it has been perfect! I also have a 3 keg True system and I use a seperate PSI gauge for each beer I serve to get the pressure exact on each keg. Cheers!