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affordable way of locking 14 taps?


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#21 gnef

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 08:41 AM

Haha. Sorry I've been away for a bit, my parents came in to town, and I've been busy with other things as well!

 

Thanks for the ideas, I still have time to figure this out, but I'd like to have a game plan.

 

Valves are an interesting idea, and actually relatively easy to institute once I change out the rest of my tubing to 3/8'' OD and just use john guest fittings. There are some relatively cheap 3/8'' poly valves (not sure if they come in acetal or not, I'll have to look in to that). This would be an annoyance though, as I would have to go in to the walk-in and look for all 14 to turn off. What would be crazy would be to have solenoid valves wired to a keyed lock, and use a key to turn the solenoids to on or off. I do have electricity in the walk-in that I could use for that, but I don't want to even look at the cost of food grade solenoid valves.

 

Ken, yes, I do have right around 100 kegs now, with about 24 or so empty, waiting to be cleaned. That is something I procrastinate on, and my stack of kegs to clean always seems to grow.

 

I actually don't drink that quickly, and there are many kegs that are many years old at this point. This includes meads, ciders, and my big beers, which I might have on tap for many many years in some cases. Even beers that don't age well, I will keep until they start turning, and then either forget about them in the walk-in, or dump them.

 

This is one reason why I've moved back down to 5 gallon batches - by the time I finished the first keg of a 10 gallon batch, the second keg was typically already past its prime.

 

I am still preferring the idea of the box cover, but I would need to figure out exactly how to build it and lock it for when I need to, without it looking really tacky, and difficult to position.

 

I also still need to figure out how to secure my scotch collection in addition to the rest of the liquor. Right now we are using an IKEA wide shelf with sliding glass doors, but we use it for our glassware and other big plates. I bought a sliding glass door lock, but it is too small to fit on the doors, and it would be a pain to have to unlock and relock every time we wanted a glass or one of those plates. I think we need a separate true liquor cabinet that we can lock, but it has to be big enough (I have 21 bottles of scotch right now, plus the other alcohol, so it needs to be pretty substantial), yet not be too much in the way in the kitchen. I might end up getting two liquor cabinets - one to store my scotch in the basement in the beer room, and then another one upstairs in the kitchen for the mixed drink alcohol.



#22 BlKtRe

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 09:39 AM

I don't like 14 styles of beer enough to have 10g each so that number is way to many. For me 5g batches are a huge time waster. I used to have a trail of people stopping by all the time so I was always brewing 3-4x/month. Glad those days are over.

#23 MyaCullen

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 10:06 AM

I don't like 14 styles of beer enough to have 10g each so that number is way to many. For me 5g batches are a huge time waster. I used to have a trail of people stopping by all the time so I was always brewing 3-4x/month. Glad those days are over.

meh. I can't drink up 10 gallons fast enough



#24 BlKtRe

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 11:55 AM

meh. I can't drink up 10 gallons fast enough

 

If I was the only one drinking off a 5g keg Id agree. By the time I take beer to club meetings, my wife hits it, and we attend small gatherings 5g wouldn't last me but a few weeks. 



#25 realbeerguy

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 12:50 PM

I don't like 14 styles of beer enough to have 10g each so that number is way to many. For me 5g batches are a huge time waster. I used to have a trail of people stopping by all the time so I was always brewing 3-4x/month. Glad those days are over.

Address? I'll be right over :frank:  :lol: 

 

Gnef, you could do  a hinged wooded or plexiglas cover that might double as a drip tray.



#26 gnef

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Posted 06 July 2014 - 06:38 PM

Plexiglass sounds interesting, but wood would be more practical for me (and cheaper!). I don't think I'd want it to double as a drip tray though, as that could get pretty messy pretty quickly.

 

I think it is interesting how we all approach brewing differently, and have different circumstances. I don't have many friends that drink a lot of beer and my wife doesn't like beer. For club, a 32oz growler is typically sufficient, and I try not to bring repeats. With 14, I just can't drink fast enough from a single tap to make 10 gallons worth it. When I only had 6, it was already difficult to go through 10 gallons, and now with 14, it is that much more difficult.



#27 codemonkey

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 05:09 AM

Your girl's almost 3? I'd wait 10 years before doing anything. Who knows what will have changed by then.



#28 positiveContact

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 05:18 AM

Your girl's almost 3? I'd wait 10 years before doing anything. Who knows what will have changed by then.

 

i agree.  cross that bridge when you come to it.



#29 ChefLamont

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 07:19 AM

Large capacitor and metal tap handles?



#30 Big Nake

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 07:28 AM

I mentioned earlier that I would disconnect the gas (knowing that there would still be pressure) but what I meant to say is that I would disconnect the liquid-out line. This would work for me because I have 4 lines and it would be trickier with 14, clearly. But if my wife and I had to leave my kid(s) alone while we were gone, this is what I would do assuming that no one would know what to do.I also know when someone pulls a tap without my knowledge because I tap "cleanly", making sure that little-to-no beer ends up in the drip tray. Almost everyone else pours and either pulls the glass away too quickly or just allows beer to dribble into the tray as if that's supposed to happen. Once when my youngest son was 8 or something, he had a friend over and they were playing Xbox and when I went downstairs, a small smell of beer hit me. I walked to the taps and the drip tray was filled with beer. I looked at them and my son said, "Anthony wanted to know what would happen if he pulled on the handle". Well now he knows.

#31 gnef

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 07:45 AM

Haha. Yea, I know. I just want to have something in mind for when it becomes important, and not have to rush something. I may do some mock up designs to see what works best so that when the time comes, I just install it, and it is done.



#32 BlKtRe

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 10:31 AM

Proper parenting. Ass whooping is part of that.

#33 positiveContact

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 10:38 AM

Proper parenting. Ass whooping is part of that.

 

yeah, just do the opposite of what ken did.  :troll:



#34 positiveContact

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 10:44 AM

more seriously - there will often by no punishment type deterent that will work.  if the kid convinces themselves that they'll get away with it the punishment doesn't matter as much.  honestly though this thread is about locking up taps and these types of post should be in Ken's PH thread.

 

so far I think figuring out a way to disconnect the liquid lines and deny access to the kegs is sounding pretty good.  depends on your setup of course.



#35 BlKtRe

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:02 AM

I disagree. Brewers who have kids should discuss parenting tips and tricks and ways to educate our kids about alcohol. Sure all parents should have this talk with their kids but brewers could have a more difficult time because beer and open taps are right in the open. Fits right into this conversation. But if all else fails by all means disconnect the kegs when gone.

#36 positiveContact

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:08 AM

I disagree. Brewers who have kids should discuss parenting tips and tricks and ways to educate our kids about alcohol. Sure all parents should have this talk with their kids but brewers could have a more difficult time because beer and open taps are right in the open. Fits right into this conversation. But if all else fails by all means disconnect the kegs when gone.

 

we are already into the "all else fails" for Ken.  there was a failure so now he can't trust his kid which really sucks.  so now that there is a lack of trust he has to do things like this if he ever wants to leave his kid at home with all of the beer.



#37 Big Nake

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:14 AM

On that topic, my son is no longer allowed to be here by himself for any length of time. Another girl recently sent out a group chat message that said, "I'm having people over tonight if my parents go to Ravinia..." which is a concert venue here and a good 5-6 hour time investment and coincidentally where we were on the night my son had his party. We won't be able to do that again until trust is restored. Btw, the girl got responses like "WHOO!" and "Yes, please!" so the kids are clearly looking for opportunities. If I were ever to find myself in a situation where I thought some shenanigans were going to take place, I would disconnect the liquid lines from the kegs and I would clean my drip tray out. If there was beer in the tray, kids wouldn't clean it up & that would provide a clue. The next step would be a padlock on the beer bunker door (where the draft fridges are housed) and that room would be locked if I needed to leave for any length of time. There is a fridge in the bar with plenty of commercial beer (bottles) in it and that might have to be addressed at some point as well.

Edited by KenLenard, 07 July 2014 - 11:15 AM.


#38 positiveContact

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:29 AM

On that topic, my son is no longer allowed to be here by himself for any length of time. Another girl recently sent out a group chat message that said, "I'm having people over tonight if my parents go to Ravinia..." which is a concert venue here and a good 5-6 hour time investment and coincidentally where we were on the night my son had his party. We won't be able to do that again until trust is restored. Btw, the girl got responses like "WHOO!" and "Yes, please!" so the kids are clearly looking for opportunities. If I were ever to find myself in a situation where I thought some shenanigans were going to take place, I would disconnect the liquid lines from the kegs and I would clean my drip tray out. If there was beer in the tray, kids wouldn't clean it up & that would provide a clue. The next step would be a padlock on the beer bunker door (where the draft fridges are housed) and that room would be locked if I needed to leave for any length of time. There is a fridge in the bar with plenty of commercial beer (bottles) in it and that might have to be addressed at some point as well.

 

so how did you come across the chat message?  do you have a mole?



#39 Big Nake

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:34 AM

so how did you come across the chat message?  do you have a mole?

My wife has asked my son for his phone and he allowed her to look through the messages. We let him have the phone when he's at work but when he gets home he gives the phone up. Sure he could delete messages that come in during the day but after about 3pm, anything that comes through we see. I'm sure some here would say that's a violation of privacy but what he did was a violation as well and trust needs to be restored.

#40 BlKtRe

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Posted 07 July 2014 - 11:47 AM

I don't think it's a privacy violation. Having a phone is like driving a car for kids. It's a privilege. Fwiw, I know a judge that bought a breathalyzer for their kids because trust was violated multiple times. I kinda of wonder if the way the Germans do it is better than US laws and thinking about kids and drinking.


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