Flow meter?

[HBSean]

Flow Meter

There's a new product out called TapMate. It is self installed and uses infrared light to measure draft beer flow. It attaches to the keg coupler. Check it out at abouttapmate.com. It's a simple product to help with draft beer control for $195. You can order it off the website.

[draftbeerguy]

flow meter

there is a company called intelatap they make flow meters that measure inventory and also for bar that allow customers to pour there own beer.they are accurate ,I belive they charge a fee for ther service monthly.

[DCullender]

The problem I see about these turbine devices is does it measure line cleaning solution as beer? If so then the amount of beer left could be way off depending on the length of your draw, the type of cleaning, and amount of solution used.

Unfortunately this is an on going problem with several of the flow meter companies. I have worked with one of these companies here in Virginia, and that is exactly the question I asked them.

Solutions seem to be aimed at the line cleaners, requiring them to switch the transponder units from service to cleaning mode.

That being said, commercial grade units are not designed to tell the restaurant how much beer is left in a keg. They are designed to detect theft and loss. This is accomplished by date/time stamps on the reports so that sells can be reconciled with pours during any given shift.

[shane34652]

The problem I see about these turbine devices is does it measure line cleaning solution as beer? If so then the amount of beer left could be way off depending on the length of your draw, the type of cleaning, and amount of solution used.

[bubbalove]

answer to our prayers

Home Page

My buddy and I both have one of there. They are a god send. keg-meter.com

[Scott Zuhse]

For home use, scales are a great method of determining usage. For commercial application, there is a firm out there called Bevinco that uses scales to weigh tapped kegs to determine removals. The carry this from store to store.

Unfortunately, no one has come up with a scale that can stay in the cooler and stand up to the abuse from the kegs moving in and out.

[uncre8tv]

I ran across this (dead) thread in google, am wondering why no one has suggested scales? I'm thinking of putting a cheap-ish digital scale with remote readout in the bottom of the fridge. Weigh it full, weigh it empty, watch the scale. Has anyone tried this? Is the constant weight, or cold, an issue?

[shiftyjason]

I own a small bar in Syracuse,NY and have come across a company called US Beverage Net. They monitor your draft beer being poured (with flow meters) and receive data from youe POS system and deliver that information on a login section of their website in real time. This gives you a real time reconcilliation of what's being poured and what's being rung up at any time in the day.It's pretty amazing. I think their website is www.usbeveragenet.com.

[keg-meter]

An inexpensive metering device is the Keg-Meter. It isn't tamper proof and doesn't track inventory. But if you just want to know when a keg is about to blow this will tell you. www.keg-meter.com

[CSweet]

I've had pretty good success with Sprint Enterprises' Beer Guardian.

It's based on a in-line turbine design that measures beer usage for each beer line without weighing, etc. The best part is also its simplicity.

A simple digital counter is mounted in our office (the measuring turbines are at the kegs in the cooler) and we take beginning and ending shift reads of each meter. A simple calculation of sales into ounces vs. usage in ounces and voila instant control. A simple form can suffice for perpetual inventory tracking and later calculation.

Of course, depending on the number of stations, etc., you may want to add more meters for finer accountability. But it won't impact the beer quality or taste.

I like the fact that it can't be reset. That's too easy for someone to cheat the system. Sort of like rolling back the odometer.

You can get more info at www.sprintent.com

[Sudz]

My flowmeter/totalizer is up and running!

I'm currently performing calibration. (uuurrrp) Ok, ok, I'm just drinking the 1st keg to see how many flowmeter ticks are in it. After that, the totalizer can be set to display in pints.

Guess it'll take TWO kegs to see if I did it right

[Sudz]

Do you dump a lot of beer/foam after a keg replacement? You may want to look into a Foam On Beer (FOB) auto-shutoff. Micromatic has some wall mounted ones. (Search for FOB).

Plus, you'll want a FOB if you put a flowmeter in-line.

[Scott Zuhse]

Check out this link - http://www.auper.com

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Colin Kaminski]

I would very much like a flow totalizer. It must need a key to reset. It should be stainless, tolerate beer line cleaners and be accurate to 1%. I would like it to have 3/8" barb fittings and a smoothe bore (no threads). Is there any chance Micro-matic will have one of these? My efficiency varies from 9% to 34% lost. My MicroMatic draft system produces very little foam even in pitchers so it is mostly given away. I would like to be able to audit a single shift so I can focus my training to specific bartenders. In order to do this I have to know within a pint per shift how much someone is using. I have 9 flavors but I would be happy with a unit that could count from 8 meters.

Even being able to rotate it through one flavor would be of help.

Cheers!

[Scott Zuhse]

It will be in the 2006 product catalog as well as on the on line site. Keep posting and as soon as it is in inventory, we'll link to it.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute