Blower Set Up

[FoamMaker]

Hey guys,

I built my own kegerator and am having some issues with the temperature in the tower. Right now I have a one and a half inch pvc pipe going from my fridge to the top of the tower which is mounted on my bar top. Inside the PVC is the beer line and the blower hose. Would it be better to remove the pvc and just have the line and blower hose run in the tower? That might give me more air flow but I would lose insulation that way. What do you think is best?

Thanks

[psychodad]

You would be best just running the blower hose to withing an inch or so of the top of the tower and letting the tendency of the air trying to return do the cooling of the beer line.

[cavern]

how well does it work to wrap nude copper wiring around the tower hose? 2' tower.

ie: use conduction rather than convection?

[Scott Zuhse]

We always appreciate members testing and reporting! As long as you are not starting a fire or blowing something up, try it out. Let us know what the outcome is.

[psychodad]

The copper thing has been discussed before. I'm not sure it would be worth trying. Neither Fourier's law or Newton's law of cooling suggest anything to be gained from this as the copper and the beer line would be so near equilibrium that there would be little transfer of heat from the beer line to the copper.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no whizbang in physics and don't want to try to act that way. I'm just sayin' this is my opinion.

[cavern]

i tried the copper thing last night. my problem was one problem beer of 1/2 foam first, followed by good flow. i feel certain this is due to warmer air in the tower. I had previously placed a small desk fan on top of the keg, blowing up that way. Didn't seem to do much. Yesterday i bought some nude coppe wire, probably 3/16" and taped 2 lengths of it to each side of the tubing in the tower and placed the bottoms of the wire into a cup of water sitting on top of the keg. Then, as best i could given the more restricted space, i replaced the fan blowing up that way. This DID help, albeit just a little. The result right now is a slightly unacceptable first glass followed by proper flow. As long as I get the first glass and THEN let my guest go, i'm good with it - no embarrassment.

honestly, i think if all i had was the fan blowing up that way and i removed the top of the tower to allow air to pass through, i think my problem would be solved. i think, with the top in place, that the trapped warm air creates a higher pressure zone that simply deflects the cold air i'm attempting to blow up there. the fan PLUS the tubing: i think all the fan is doing is helping the conduction process up to the bottom of the tower hole before the air is being deflected by the high pressure zone.

but, of course, if i removed the tower top, i think the fridge would burn itself out trying to stay cold

[lunkhead]

Don't know if you searched the forum for tower cooling but this is how I did mine. Works real good too. Hope it gives you an idea for yours.
Tower Cooling for Danby DKC645 or ???

[bonefish]

I bought a tiny 12v,7cfm fan from radio snack for 12 bucks. Its the size of a matchbox. Currently hooked to a battery pack (temporary) that will last a few weeks. I made a shroud for it out of card board, and ran some tubing up the tower. Results are great. You don't have to move a lot of air to cool the tower.
I'll post pics tonight.
Sean

[bonefish]

Picture of fan rigged for cooling tower. Cardboard fan shroud, duct taped together. Some scrap tubing. Battery power supply.
Moves the cold air, from the bottom, to the tower.
COLDER BEER.
SEAN

[Duff Beer]

I took an old computer fan I had sitting around.


I bought one of these project boxes at Radio Shack for $5.99. It is part # 270-1807.


Mark the fan hole & cut it out. Drill a small hole at the bottom to run the DC wires through. Cut another hole on the end for the hose. I then used a length of 22AWG wire. You can see how it is connected. The other red & black wires go to another computer fan I have which is used to move air around inside the unit. I ran the wire through the drain hole in the back of the kegerator. I put a female mini connector on the wire & used an old cell phone charger AC adapter to power the fans.

I had an old length of vaccuum cleaner hose that i cut to size.

Here is the completed setup.


I turn the fan around so it is pulling air off the cold plate. It moves a lot of air & keeps the tower at 36-39 degrees.

[bonefish]

Duff,
Where are you getting power from? My battery pack won't last forever.
Sean

[Duff Beer]

Originally Posted by bonefish

Duff,
Where are you getting power from? My battery pack won't last forever.
Sean

This is a 12VDC fan. I ran the wire through the drain hole in the back of the kegerator. I put a female mini connector on the wire & used an old cell phone charger AC adapter to power the fans.

[bonefish]

Just finished a keg of Sam Adams, and noticed the drain hole as I was cleaning. Should be easy. Off to the beer store, and I'm not driving.
SEAN

[bonefish]

Came home from work expecting to have a perfectly poured cold beer. Pulled the tap, drooling like rabid dog, and nothing. doooouuuughh!!!!
When I put the new keg in yesterday, the beer line got behind the coils and froze! Already fixed it, just thought I'd give a heads up.
SEAN

[judgeoo7]

Duff, I am considering going your route. My question is does your fan run 24/7 and is it still running. Im decent at the building just worried about overheating and possibly burning up or catching fire.

[Duff Beer]

It runs 24/7. Since it is a 12Vdc computer fan & the inside temp is 34*, no problems so far & I am not worried about overheating. Many computers run 24/7 & I have never heard of a fan bursting into flames.

[cubby_swans]

Originally Posted by Duff Beer

It runs 24/7. Since it is a 12Vdc computer fan & the inside temp is 34*, no problems so far & I am not worried about overheating. Many computers run 24/7 & I have never heard of a fan bursting into flames.

yeah, they're can be good for 50-60,000 hours of operation. I've thrown out many computers with perfectly woking fans. They usually go bad earlier than that when people have dirty computers. There's very little heat build up from a computer 12v DC fan. I run mine 24/7. I'd prefer to keep the temp consistent throughout my kegerator always, rather than periodically.

[BIGDOGG8590]

Here are a couple more pics of my blower setup and temperature display, also I changed the little Danby fan for a bigger 3" fan from Radio Shack, world of difference.

[Hill Top Brewer]

Nice thermometer read out. Where did you pick it up ?