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Jockey Box Build?


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#1 Deerslyr

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Posted 19 July 2014 - 02:48 PM

Hey guys...

 

Trying to plan ahead for a family reunion next summer.  Am planning on brewing 25 gallons of beer for the event... 15 Pilsner and 10 Hefeweissen.  Chilling and serving has me a bit worried, so I'm considering the jockey box route.  I found this on Craigslist... it's actually someone in the same town I live in.  

 

Has anyone seen this type of plate chiller before?

 

Does it take a lot of hardware to convert to use with corny kegs?  I was just planning on using my cobra taps.

 

Here is the link:

 

https://madison.crai...4539348415.html

 

Also, is this a good price?



#2 MyaCullen

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Posted 19 July 2014 - 04:30 PM

that's an odd looking one



#3 ChicagoWaterGuy

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Posted 19 July 2014 - 04:48 PM

Hey guys...

 

Trying to plan ahead for a family reunion next summer.  Am planning on brewing 25 gallons of beer for the event... 15 Pilsner and 10 Hefeweissen.  Chilling and serving has me a bit worried, so I'm considering the jockey box route.  I found this on Craigslist... it's actually someone in the same town I live in.  

 

Has anyone seen this type of plate chiller before?

 

Does it take a lot of hardware to convert to use with corny kegs?  I was just planning on using my cobra taps.

 

Here is the link:

 

https://madison.crai...4539348415.html

 

Also, is this a good price?

Price seems good. You'd have to really clean it and still build the box. I'd just go with tubs of ice and picnic taps.



#4 Deerslyr

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Posted 19 July 2014 - 07:07 PM

Price seems good. You'd have to really clean it and still build the box. I'd just go with tubs of ice and picnic taps.

Pretty much what I was thinking. Just load with ice and use the cobra taps.

#5 MyaCullen

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Posted 19 July 2014 - 09:03 PM

Pretty much what I was thinking. Just load with ice and use the cobra taps.

I served 3 kegs that way in June, worked like a charm

 

3 Pepsi kegs fit nicely in a standard 35 gallon Rubbermaid garbage can

 

or you can get fancyPosted Image


Edited by miccullen, 19 July 2014 - 09:14 PM.


#6 gnef

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 01:33 PM

I am a big fan of cold plate jockey boxes. i have three - a 2 pass, a 5 pass, and a 6 pass, all in separate coolers with taps and tubing ready. I used to have another 2 pass, but I sold it to a friend who wanted it, and I thought 4 sets was probably more than I needed.

 

If you think you will only ever need to to serve 2, then a 2 pass is great, and if anything it is a great start. I started with a 6 pass because I found it cheaply on ebay at the time, and I needed the capacity (brewing for a friend's wedding on a boat). I later got the two 2 passes, and the 5 pass. I almost got a 7 pass cold plate, but the ebay seller never shipped it.

 

You should know that they can be finicky though, and you have to get a feel for the best compromise on pressure to get the best pour you can. Sometimes it is slow, sometimes it is foamy, etc. As the kegs warm up, things change too.

 

I've done a number of weddings now for friends, and the jockey boxes have done very well, though not perfectly. I am still very happy with them.

 

$65 seems reasonable, though not the best deal. You really only get the good deals on the higher number of circuits though.

 

That one looks pretty nice in that it already had a basket to hold it over the melted water. You may need to get your own connections though. I also recommend freezing your own block ice, as in my mind, it gives the best performance, and they are easy to stack on top of each other inside the cooler.

 

For fittings, there are many sites that have whatever you may need, whether to barb, or 1/4'' flare. If I were to do mine over again (and I'm still thinking about doing this for my current ones, though it would be an expensive changeover), is to go with john guest fittings. I forgot the exact threading, though I do remember that there was an acetal john guest fitting that had the right threading, and had 3/8'' OD tubing on the other side - I've standardized all my tubing to 3/16'' ID x 3/8" OD, so if I had known about those john guest fittings, I would've done all of my jockey boxes like that.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about them though, I've been using mine for years, and built mine from parts.

 

Also, I believe there is a john guest fitting that can fit the shank threading (5/8'' bspp? or something like that?), but I haven't tried those yet (I would like to, but I've got the jockey boxes plus 14 taps on the walk-in, so changes like this are expensive!).



#7 neddles

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 02:17 PM

Who is John Guest?



#8 MyaCullen

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Posted 21 July 2014 - 02:51 PM

Who is John Guest?

John Galt's grandson?




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