Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

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AliC-123

Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by AliC-123 » Sun Jul 16, 2017 7:43 am

Hi everyone. A little more advice if possible, I've setup my bar now and I ended up using a Maxi 310 to chill my beer. I've piped the keg to the chiller (via a cellar buoy) using 3/16 line as advised in a previous post, and from the chiller to the tap in 3/16" line (I'm currently going through both product coils in the chiller but I've a feeling eventually that won't be necessary. My reg is set at 12psi, I have a purchased keg of Peroni, not homebrew, I get a good pour at the tap but it's very very slow. I suspect that the line resistance is huge and yet I'm nervous to increase the co2 pressure as I don't want to over carbonate the beer. The keg sits at room temp and is chilled excellently to drinking temp by the chiller. I can't seem to find line resistance values for 3/16 OD Tube, and when I calculated it with 3/16 ID the pressure value I got was huge - 110 PSI. Any ideas?


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PeeBee
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Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by PeeBee » Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:26 am

The chiller coils are going to be about 3/8" bore, so there is not much point choking the bore down twice; I'd use 3/8" tubing from keg to cooler then 3/16" from cooler to tap (and use 3/8" or thereabouts, bore between the product coils if joining them). Shorten the length of 3/16" tubing. If you can't shorten the tubing and reach the tap make up the length with 3/8" tube and put in a 3/8-3/16 reducer (such as these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/John-Guest-Pu ... JFPfP_sttA but they seem quite pricey from that source).

I never got on with the "calculations"; I found the "suck it and see" option less traumatic.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

AliC-123

Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by AliC-123 » Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:28 am

Thanks mate. I appreciate your advice. I've ordered some 3/8" tubing. The setup now will do for now, I'll probably move the Maxi 310 outside at the same time as it's quite noisy although most people run them for an hr before they fancy a drink and then switch them off.


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Fil
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Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by Fil » Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:59 pm

dont enclose the maxi in a cupboard it will cook itself,,

the metrics on the restriction of 3/16" micro line is 1-2psi per foot length upto about 10-12feet iirc it was found on a US kegging site after some browsing and not bookmarked im afraid. closer to 1 psi for the first foot and increasing with each subsiquent foot length.

Most folk afaik find a 2m or shorter length of 3/16 microline sufficient to balance off most keg pressures, my kegs sit in a cool spot and the fizzy kegs sat at upto 15psi serve well with about 4.5m feet (NOT METERS) of 3/16" microline and about 5m of 3/8" feed from the keg thru a shelf chiller,

check out a kegging chart, should be a good one with temps in C stickied in here.. it will indicate the sort of presures needed to maintain condition levels in kegs at different temps ;)

also if considering running to chill the waterbath and then turning off, consider wiring the recirc/agitator to an independent switch too so you can recirc/agitate while pouring to avoid the 'cold finger' effect which is the name for the warm beer heating up the water around the product coil and diminishing the heat exchange eficiency.
a nice lil optical switch that detects the glass under the tap auomatically is ideal.
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

yourbrew

Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by yourbrew » Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:20 am

sometimes, if the distance between the keg and the faucet is too long, you will not be able to push the beer using only CO2, unless you bring the pressure up which can compromise your beer. What I suggest you do is consider using a blend of 75% nitrogen and 25% CO2. This is a standard measure in some American pubs and bars.

AliC-123

Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by AliC-123 » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:08 am

Thanks guys for the responses. I think I'm going to look into it a bit deeper and come up with a plan. I think reducing the amount of 3/16 is a good way forward and I like the idea of changing the co2 to mixed gas. Thanks for the ideas chaps. Sounds like putting the chiller outside in a waterproof house is a no no by all accounts.


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PeeBee
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Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by PeeBee » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:12 am

AliC-123 wrote:... Sounds like putting the chiller outside in a waterproof house is a no no by all accounts.
Putting the chiller outside is ideal. But weather-proofed, not in an enclosed "waterproof house". Problems arise if air can't freely circulate around the chiller.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Fil
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Posts: 5229
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: Cowley, Oxford

Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by Fil » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:16 pm

fwiw my kegs and chiller both sit in what was the coalshed, and is now the washing machine cubby/beer celler, insulation and position keep direct heat from the sun off and it remains fairly cool.

Image

But if in summer i close the weather proofed and sealed door and run the shelf chiller it takes less than 15 minutes to bring the cupboard temp up to 40C!!!!
and thats in an enclosed area circa 90cm x 160cm x 180cm

leaving the door open however allows the chiller to pump out its heat without any detrimental effects, however it took me a few weeks to sus out what was going on running the chiller sealed up in the enclosed space when i was first running it and this was compounded by the fact i was running it more like a bar all the time while serving!!
So avoid similar errors if you can ;)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

BarnBrian

Re: Another question about my bar setup with Maxi 310

Post by BarnBrian » Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:08 pm

The washing machine is the cause of all your problems, get it out of there!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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