Fast Use Keg / Tapper Configurations

[bartender_adm]

Here’s a question moved from the ticket system….

Quote:

Hello,

I just built a bar and I am only going to use a keg for a few days thru the year so I didn’t build a kegerator. I was going to put the pony keg in a party tub with lots of ice. It is cool in my basement where the keg will be. I am not going to have a CO2 tank. My question to you is there any way that I can get a keg pump that would extend from the keg to the top of my bar and over the top so that I could pump and get my beer from a nice faucet that is about the bar counter? I cant seem to find any that are long enough.

Thanks,

Tony

[bartender_adm]

Tony:

I would buy the tap tower and pump separately, then buy the required length of hose and connect them.

Micromatic is your best source for Party Pumps.

I would recommend an inexpensive foot pump like the iPump Party Pump for $20.

Then I’d match that up with a clearance priced tower that you can mount to your bar top. Chrome Plated Tap Tower for $60.

That will give you the real feel of a higher end system and you can always expand and upgrade to CO2 in the future.

You’ll also need beer line…order x amount of feet you think you’ll need to reach between the tower and the pump. You might want to consider putting a jockey box between the two for even colder beer.

Here ia a good article on Keg Party Pumps

[bartender_adm]

You can find 1/2″ I.D. (inside diameter) beer line here.

[nromig]

So where would I run the beer line from the pump? Would I take off the tap from the pump and run the line from there to the tower or where would I run it to? And also if I didnt do a jockey box would the beer stay cold if I just run the beer line to the tower?

Thanks.

This is going to help so much.

[bartender_adm]

Yes, you remove the hose clamp near the pump body and remove the entire black hose and small, useless tap valve, which you can just stuff away in a drawer somewhere.

Grab some 1/2″ ID hose to connect them.

If the beer is being dispensed rapidly, then you won’t have any problems.
Be sure to wrap the air exposed remainder of the beer line, from the pump to the tower, with pipe wrap insulation.

[nromig]

Where do I get that insulation at? Also will I have to get a coupler?

[bartender_adm]

pipe insulation can be found at your local Home Depot or home center. It looks like the $20 iPump foot pump coupler and pump is all one unit. The coupler is a D style or “Sankey” style coupler which will fit all American domestic beers…bud, miller, busch, etc.

[nromig]

I received that tower that you recommended tonight. It came with a hose that had a attachment on the end. My question to is will that attachment hook up to the pump that you recommended. I dont know if I can get my hand up there to un attach that hose from the top of the tower. Please let me know asap.

Thanks.

[bartender_adm]

Can you be a little more specific? what kind of attachment, can you take a photo and post it?

You may be over thinking this…it’s really simple. There is a 1/2″ ID plastic hose (or 3/16) that runs between the pump and the tower….lop off the “attachment” and splice on an extended length of hose if needed.

How long is the hose? If it’s long enough, just lop off the attachment and connect the other end to the pump…where the black hose and spigot were.

– looks like that thing has a 3/16″ ID hose…no biggie though. The pump may have the same size. If not they make a 3/16″ to 1/2″ adapter that you can get at any hardware store. The fitting is probably a hex nut that fits onto a standard tap coupler. As shipped, that fitting likely won’t directly attach to you $20 hand pump, so just cut it off and connect as described above.

[attachment=96]keggerpump.jpg[/attachment]

[nromig]

A couple of questions. First do I need to buy a coupler or just the pump and tower? And secondly what is the best way to keep the hose insulated so the beer stays cold?

[bartender_adm]

We already covered both those questions.

1. The coupler is part of the pump itself. Look closely at the pump and you will see the bottom part is a sankey threaded coupler. It is also explained in the product description. See the image above and the note in red letters.

2. Use pipe wrap insulation of that insulated foil tape, both available at your local hardware store or home center. In your case though, I would just forget the insulation as your beer line is only going to need to be 5 feet of less in length and you’re going to be drinking it fast.

[nromig]

I just recieved that pump. As I was trying to remove the black hose the whole thing snapped off and I realized that there was no way to remove the black hose without snapping the end where the hose connected to the pump. Is there any other ideas of how to make this happen? I dont know how to use this style of pump to get it to run through a tower.

[Author]

Posts