Tower Cooling Methods

[Nickjc]

Did some research on tower cooling and i can attribute my 'initial' foam issue on first pour to a warmer tower. Once I get the warmer beer out she seems to pour fine....

I am assembling the material to make a tower cooler and upgrade the 'insulation' of the tower and cap...BUT my question is it necessary to have a return line to the bottom of the unit for return air?

In working with HVAC contractors within my job it is critical to have return air so I am guessing to be effective with this as well, a return air line is necessary.

I was planning on feeding flexible plastic tube to the top of the tower as the feed air and one at the bottom dropping to the bottom of the unit as the return as the cold air enters the tower it will wash over the beer feed tubing and drop tot he return air line....

seem reasonable?

[LasKid]

From everything I've seen, you just need a pipe going up and air should return naturally. I'm working on the same thing and I should get my blower today. Just gonna have a blower with a pvc (already wishing I used copper for size reasons) pipe attached leading up the tower. That's what I've seen in the pics on this forum. Search for tower cooling and you should be able to find plenty of info. Good luck!

[jumper]

It's not necessary for such a low air volume and open space. The air will be forced down and out of the tower naturally.

[Nickjc]

Originally Posted by jumper

It's not necessary for such a low air volume and open space. The air will be forced down and out of the tower naturally.

Thanks for the replies...

BTW excellent quote....!

[RickDel]

Just curious, are you guys doing a remote draw (tower located away from kegerator) or are you just mounting it on top of your kegerator?

I'm setting up a remote dispensing tower and still need help selecting the material to house my beer lines (PVC, Aluminum Flex Metal, Insulated Duct, ect). I need to find what has the best insulation value, but PVC isn't an option, because it needs to be flexable to accomidate a strange 'S' angle I have to deal with.

assembling the material to make a tower cooler and upgrade the 'insulation' of the tower

I'm also curious as to what you're doing to better insulate the tower.

Please post some pics if you can.

Thanks - Rick

[Nickjc]

Hi All,

OK so the blower unit has been installed for a few days now...

I used a PCI Slot Computer fan feeding a few feet of tubing directly up the tower. The PCI fan resides right at the bottom of the kegerator to draw the coolest air...I also have a small video chipset fan mounted to circ some air around...

The tower is VERY cool now...so much so that the tower sweats a bit...I now also have it insulated 'temporarily' with two wool socks...looks kinda funny but works...

The oddest thing is though..while I had some initial foam on the first glass..I thought it was a heating issue....once the first half/full glass is drawn foam is no issue after that for the next couple...then i guess as it heats up a bit foam again till the coolest beer comes out......the CO2 tank is at 11PSI for a keg of moretti...

But even with the tower being VERY cool I still have the foam issue on the first half glass draw...

strange...any thoughts...

[LasKid]

RickDel,

My tower is right on top of the kegerator so I wouldn't be able to help.

Nickjc,

Is your tube going all the way up the tower to the shank? I heard that if the shank isn't cooled there could still be some foam issues. My pipe goes up the tower and ends directly under the shank. I just got my kegerator working properly (kinda...but that story is in another thread). I'm putting my first keg in tonight because I'm just impatient like that! I'll let you know how it goes.

[joepizi]

Originally Posted by Nickjc

The tower is VERY cool now...so much so that the tower sweats a bit...I now also have it insulated 'temporarily' with two wool socks...looks kinda funny but works...

The oddest thing is though..while I had some initial foam on the first glass..I thought it was a heating issue....once the first half/full glass is drawn foam is no issue after that for the next couple...then i guess as it heats up a bit foam again till the coolest beer comes out......the CO2 tank is at 11PSI for a keg of moretti...

But even with the tower being VERY cool I still have the foam issue on the first half glass draw...

strange...any thoughts...

I think the temperature in the tower will always be slightly warmer than the temp in the unit, just due to heat loss from the tower not being insulated like the walls of the kegerator.

You may have a liquid temp of 38 down in the keg, but the beer in the line at the tower may be around 39-40, thus giving you that brief shot of foam. If your tower has condensation all the time, it is probably getting cold enough and you should still be able to pour the first glass with less than an inch of head. The second glass will probably have slightly less head depending on the way you pour it. To get less than an inch of head, I have to pour my first glass a little more carefully than any consecutive ones.