Beer Forum

scott_dc · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006, 12:54 PM

I'm putting a glycol cooled tower on my bar, and running the beer from my fridge in the basement with glycol cooling lines. Any reccomendations for the pump to use with the glycol?

Scott Zuhse · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006, 05:42 PM

What are you using for a glycol bath and chiller? Check out this vertical pump.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

scott_dc · #3 (**permalink**) 02-10-2006, 09:36 AM

The glycol will be in a large container in the keg fridge. Still trying to find the right container to use.

scott_dc · #4 (**permalink**) 02-10-2006, 09:48 AM

Also - the rise from the keg to the faucet is 9.5 feet. am I correct to use 13 feet of 1/4ID tubing from tap to faucet?

Scott Zuhse · #5 (**permalink**) 02-11-2006, 04:33 PM

If you have this container in the refrigerator with your keg, do not turn down your control to acquire a colder bath. Hopefully the 38 f beer temperature will maintain the same temp. in your bath and this will be sufficient in maintaining your Beer temperature.

Assure that your beer line is in contact with the glycol loop every inch of the route from your refrigerator wall to the back of the faucet. If you are using CO2 at 14 PSIG at 38 F at sea level and your run length is 13' with 9.5' lift between the bottom of the keg and the faucet, use the 1/4". Preferably splice a a half foot of 3/16" to the 1/4" at the faucet end.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

scott_dc · #6 (**permalink**) 02-13-2006, 09:47 AM

here's an interesting question - in practice does it matter if the choker is attached to the faucet or the tap? I'm thinking that changing a choker that's attached to the tap would be easier to change if i put in a keg that requires a different carbonation level.

Lou Marconi · #7 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006, 08:00 PM

Scott,

I have a similar system that I am still trying to debug. The system came in a vacation home we recently bought. The pump that was in the 1 gallon bucket of gylcol was a small condensate pump mounted to the edge of the bucket. It was burned out so the system was inoperable at first. A friend of mine thought the 15 foot rise from my garage to the tap was probably too much for the original pump and suggested something stronger. I bought a 1/3 hp stainless steel Honda submersable pump (paid $134.00 at a local Honda store) and put it into a larger bucket of gylcol in the freezer of the refrigerator where the keg is stored. (The gylcol is in the freezer section, the beer is in the refrigerator section)

That works great but after about an hour of constant running the pump begins to heat up the gylcol so I go downstairs and shut it off. The beer runs well and after about another hour I go back downstairs and put it on again, and so on and so on....

I shut off the pump when I am done pumping beer. I do the whole thing over again each time I pump beer and loose the small amount of beer that is still in the line. I clean the system about every two weeks. I made the mistake of forgetting to shut off the pump for about 5 hours one time and went out. I came home remembering that and went downstairs to see how it was holding up. The gylcol had turned from cold to a very warm bath and the beer was foamy as hell.

As I said the system works but I think my 1/3 hp pump is overkill or requires a larger bucket of gylcol or bags of ice around the bucket to keep the gylcol and the pump cold.

Good luck with your pump search. Let me know how you make out.

Lou

Scott Zuhse · #8 (**permalink**) 02-23-2006, 10:49 PM

You may want to return your pump. Try to utlize a pump that will be on the outside of the refrigerator and then insulate the pump (not the motor) and the inlet and outlet lines that are outside of the refrigerator.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

darck1 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-25-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Zuhse

What are you using for a glycol bath and chiller? Check out this vertical pump.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

Scott,

I have an air-cooled system and it's working great... but just in case I ever want to run for a long distance...

Would I only need this pump that you mention, the glycol bath in my converted freezer and some trunk line?

ernestbud · #10 (**permalink**) 10-25-2006, 01:58 PM

first off you must consider the size of your reservoir and the recovery time for it to chill back down and if you do overkill on your pump you are not allowing proper recovery time and at those short distances you only need approx 1qt. per min flow of glycol not the 1-2 gpm some of the other pumps do

bOILERmAKER_4_bEEr · #11 (**permalink**) 03-22-2007, 03:04 PM

Hello Y'all,

Just registered as a new user today after purchasing items 2 days ago from Micromatic and they already arrived>>>>impressive service.

To the point>>>>>

Scott,

1) what is the difference in the 2 vertical pumps found for sale on MicroMatic website the PP4301-VP and the MMPP4301-VP ?

2)What is the function of the crome-colored lever-looking bar with the red plastic tip that extends throgh the mounting plate on the PP4301-VP?

3)Which of these two forementioned vertical pumps would compliment a home glycol system better? Why?

Just bought 20 cuft chest freezer & micromatic digital temp. controller to start system. Freezer in garage and will run trunk lines through garage wall and under raised floor in living room 10-25 ft (haven't decided on bar placement) to glycol cooled tower on bar.

4)This freezer was bought for sole purpose as kegerator so no reservations on drilling holes. Would it be advised to drill hole in freezer lid so the pump motor would be outside the freezer and shaft inside glycol bath in the freezer? or would keeping one of these pumps entirely inside the freezer be alright because of size of freezer/its cooling capcity? which of the 2 vertical pumps would you use?