Maximum Distance for 3/16" ID

[S54MCoupe]

In Short: What is the maximum distance I can use 3/16ID lines? My longest run, worst case scenario w/ very liberal measurements would be 10 feet of line (from the furthest keg to the nipple of the furthest shank)

Is there any way to make this work, or will this lead to an improper pour? All of the lines will be variably shorter depending on their distance from the shanks, so where should my maximum cutoff be for 3/16?


Long Version: I took a regular Beverage Air Kegerator (4 Keg) and capped off the holes where the original towers were. I then created a new hole on the top left of the kegerator, and attatched a 4" diameter ABS piping with a 17' rise from the counter top of the kegerator.

This leads to a 90 degree elbow that extends approx. 9" through a wall cutout, and attatches to a "T" fitting that is capped at both ends. Holes were drilled along the T to accomodate 3/16ID hoses. The point of the T is to act as a manifold, as to minimize the distance any hose would run uncooled. The short distance of any uncooled hose will be thorougly insulated.

The shanks are attatched to the top half of a wine barrel I cut that will lie on it's side, so the entirem manifold extending from the wall is hidden.
All the customer will see is a wine barrel with 5 spouts.

Cooling will be provided by a 15cfm blower that will blow air directly into the ABS piping. Since the run of the ABS isn't much more than a few feet, and is well insulated, I'm not anticipating cooling being a problem.

Please critique my current setup and give me your opinion/heads up on any problems that may arrise.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for such a long post!

[Larry Tapper]

Use 1/4 inch line at 15' in length, this will give you the resistance you need. I would also increase the blower size, because the 90 degree bend will affect the air flow.1-1/2 '' sump pump line works well for an air tube inside your 3'' pvc. insulate it well, and it should work.

[S54MCoupe]

Thanks for the response. At what length will the 3/16 line become ineffective?

[Larry Tapper]

3/16 vinyl has resistance of 3lb. per foot, so anything over 50''(13lb.) with the rise will make the pressure to high and will over carb the beer.1/4''vinyl is .85lb/ft. so 10' resistance is 8.5 lb. plus lift of about 4' at 1/2 lb./ft is 2 lbs. so total is 10.5 add 2 more ft of 1/4 or 9'' of 3/16 and you end up with about12.75 resistance . at 36-38 degrees this is close to what most beers run.

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by Larry Tapper

3/16 vinyl has resistance of 3lb. per foot, so anything over 50''(13lb.) with the rise will make the pressure to high and will over carb the beer.1/4''vinyl is .85lb/ft. so 10' resistance is 8.5 lb. plus lift of about 4' at 1/2 lb./ft is 2 lbs. so total is 10.5 add 2 more ft of 1/4 or 9'' of 3/16 and you end up with about12.75 resistance . at 36-38 degrees this is close to what most beers run.

Perfect, thank you very much!

A few more questions...

-How do you reccomend connecting the 3/16" lines with the 1/4" lines?
-Are the pressure values for verticle lift (.5lb/ft) variable depending on the lines ID (for an unrelated home project I want to do)

Here's a picture of the project so far (a ton of unfinished details, such as the temporary stands it's sitting on, etc.) All of the measurements came out perfect, and we ran pretty tight tolerances with everything (for better or worse, we'll see, haha)



Thanks for all your help!

[Larry Tapper]

The lift is a constant, if you have 3/16 shank connections then use a union that is 3/16 to 1/4,mm has them. good luck

[Larry Tapper]

I see by the pictures you used a board to gain the clearance you needed for the long tap knobs, I was going to tell you that MM has chrome or gold extentions that when added to the flange ring would do the same thing. The picture was a little dark but I could see it. I have done the same thing for customers a couple of times, the best cooling comes from a pass throught system if you can use it in the location.

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by Larry Tapper

I see by the pictures you used a board to gain the clearance you needed for the long tap knobs, I was going to tell you that MM has chrome or gold extentions that when added to the flange ring would do the same thing. The picture was a little dark but I could see it. I have done the same thing for customers a couple of times, the best cooling comes from a pass throught system if you can use it in the location.

Yeah, sorry for the poor picture, I took it on my cell phone since I don't have my camera here. I'll take a look at what you're talking about and see if I can make it happen. I lucked out on the board I found, because it's almost the same oak as the barrel, and it matches well. But, if there are options that are better for cooling, I would make that my priority.

When you're measuring the rise, do you take the measurement from the top or bottom of the keg? I would assume the bottom, judging from what I've read, but I wanted to confirm that.

Thanks again for all the help, I'm gonna cruise over to MM right now to source out the rest of the parts I'll need to finish this. I'm praying that once it's hooked up it works, haha.

[S54MCoupe]

What kind of pressure am I looking at for 75/25nitrogen mix? I have Old Speckled hen, and I know the pressure was significantly higher. What should I shoot for?