Budget Box - Vinyl Coils instead of SS

[Leo5102]

I'm planning to make my own Jockey Box and I was interested in making my own coils. Stainless steel coils seem nice, but its just not in the college budge right now, and if I can get away with something cheaper that would really be great. I already have the CO2 tank, cooler, tap and shanks, so this is the only major concern remaining.

Could Vinyl tubing be used in place of SS coils? I was thinking of of using about 100' of 3/16" I.D. vinyl tubing (with the appropriate fittings etc). My initial assumption would be that if it's arranged properly to avoid kinks, etc., 100' of vinyl tubing should cool the beer quite well. Would a different I.D. be better?

Thanks

[edramshaw]

You may have a hard time pushing the beer through 100' of 3/16" ID tubing. You'd be better off using 3/8" and then choking it with some 3/16" at the end. There is a reason you want to use metal instead of plastic, namely the thermal conversion is far greater than plastic. I've never heard of this being done so I can't say it won't work but theoretically I would guess that it won't do the cooling job needed to work. Now I hate to be the naysayer so I'll suggest that you look on craigslist or ebay for a cold plate. You can get one of those there for the same price you'd pay for the tubing I'm guessing. This will work much better and be less trouble in the long run. Good luck!

[happytappy]

I've considered doing the same thing with barrier or poly (thin wall) beer line. I think the insulation properties of this line would be minimal if it was submerged in an ice bath. Let me know how you do.

[BrewGuru]

No.

Well, yes you could, but you're wasting your money.

A lot of people have this idea, and I have seen it done several times, and it flat out doesn't work...

As edramshaw mentioned, vinyl is an insulator, and cannot carry the thermal energy fast enough to provide any sort of real cooling as the fluid passes through. If you're willing to wait 20 minutes between each pour, it might bring the temp down a little bit... Also, as mentioned, the pressure required to push through that much 3/16" would be quite high, and larger ID tubing would have a hard time fitting in the box...

A cold plate is your cheaper and more efficient and effective option for a budget jockey box, check the auction sites and the list of craig for used ones.

Also, this was a popular thought before when metals were cheaper, less so now, so before you think it might be an option, no, do not use copper, no, no, very bad, low ph beverages through copper causing cancer and all that...

[edclay]

Why is copper tubing so bad? I build medical offices, and all of our water and gas is in copper. I would think that copper would be good, not as good as stainless, but cheeper anyway.

[marzsit]

carbonated beverages, like beer, contain carbonic acid. when copper or copper alloys (brass) are exposed to acids, the metal leeches into the liquid and becomes toxic, and also tastes nasty.... this is why brass beer faucets and shanks are plated with non-reactive metals, although stainless steel is a much better option imho....

[pvs6]

Originally Posted by marzsit

carbonated beverages, like beer, contain carbonic acid. when copper or copper alloys (brass) are exposed to acids, the metal leeches into the liquid and becomes toxic, and also tastes nasty.... this is why brass beer faucets and shanks are plated with non-reactive metals, although stainless steel is a much better option imho....

Nailed it. Water is the neutral baseline of the PH scale and is not base nor acid. Pure water flowing through copper results in no chemical reactions. City water will deposit the calcium it contains to the copper. Gas is an apple to an orange since we don't ingest gasses. An acid will leech all metals if you don't think so try putting a copper penny in a glass of Coke and let us know the outcome.

[cubby_swans]

Anyone wanting to try this at home - Pennies, since 1982, are copper plated zinc. Pre 1982 pennies are 97% copper.