Construction of a beer tapping plant

Which accessories do you need?   Sources of trouble

What is necessary for construction of my new tapping plant?   Here you find a view about all things you need for a good functioning tapping plant in your home bar. Technical terms and complicated calculations you will not find here. Principally you need: Keg Air bottle Pressure regulator Air line Keg coupler Beer line and  Dispenser kegerator Dispensing tower with tap    or alternatively Beer tapping plant (dry cooler) with tap   The Keg All kegs/barrels are suitable for fillings from 15 l up to 50 l beer. Normally a keg is made of stainless steel. Some kegs have an outside cover of gum which should save the kegs against damage. Also the beer remains cool for a longer time with such rubberize.   The Keg Coupler For the beer of your choice you need the right keg coupler. In Germany/for German breweries you find 4 different couplers for more than 800 breweries . And this are subdivided into the following 3 groups:    1.Bar with normal construction (beer is running from the top of the coupler)    2. Bar with narrow construction (beer is running from the side of the coupler)    3. Bar with serious connection (you can tap from several kegs at the same time) The Flat Keg coupler and the Combi Keg coupler These couplers are as like as two peas but there is an important difference: the small pipe you have to put into the keg. The flat keg coupler has a little bell in his middle (you see it on the photo below) and the combi keg coupler contents a small pipe in his middle (to see on the other photo below). Flat keg coupler Combi keg coupler The Corb Keg coupler and the Corb-Draft Keg coupler Here the same confusions are possible because of the small pipe you have to put into the keg. This pipe is more longer in the corb coupler than in the corb- draft coupler (to see on the photos below). Corb keg coupler Corb-draft keg coupler If the coupler is not to put right on the keg or if it is very difficult to put it on the keg, you have bought the wrong coupler. Please don't try it by force! Beer will not run out even the coupler has clicked into place. The keg and/or the coupler will be damaged or destroyed. If you have the right coupler and beer is not running or it's difficult to put the coupler into the keg so the coupler either is very dirty or incorrect constructed.   The Beer Tube/Line The tubes are made of stainless steel, tin or plastic (99 %). If there are no bends you can use a tube of stainless steel between keg and beer tap. This tubes are mounted in all tapping plants (water coolers and dry coolers) and they are usable as cooling coils. Tubes of tin are not more used nowadays. Today it is usual to take tubes of plastic. It is very simple to lay them and you can buy them for a very low price. All plastic tubes has to be food safe.   The Beer Tap The most using taps are: Swivel tap Piston tap Compensator tap Ball tap The Swivel Tap The classic tap for elder people. But we recommend to buy a piston tap for better and careful using. Some informations about making the taps watertight: Because of introduction of kegs in Germany it is possible filling beer into a barrel by a higher pressure with CO2 since then. Because of that the pressures of the tapping plants has to be higher too. Former you could tap the beer with a pressure from 0,5 bar up to 1,0 bar, today you need a pressure from 0,8 up to 1,3 bar and more. So all manufacturers of swivel taps had a problem: The taps became leaky. To reach this new pressures they had to make the cone larger (so the taps become higher). Unfortunately all swivel taps that you can buy today are not aible to reach a pressure of more than 1,5 bar. Both parts of this taps are stamped with the same number. If there are different numbers please don't join together, the tap will become leaky. Swivel tap dismantled Stamped numbers The Piston Beer Tap This taps are constructed in a very other wise. On the piston you find a ring of rubber which has to seal it. That means the higher the pressure the better the seal. This taps are usable with pressures from 0,3 bar up to 3 bar. Piston beer tap Piston beer tap dismantled The Compensator Beer Tap For tapping with this tap a pressure of at least 1,2 bar is necessary. If there are 1,0 bar suitable for your tapping plant the compensator tap has to reach a higher pressure anyway. The pressure compensation happens by a small slit. Compensator beer tap Compensator beer tap dismantled The Ball Beer Tap It looks nice but there are some draw backs: The cleaning is very difficult and not possible without the right tools. And in spite of modern seals it becomes leaky very often. Ball beer tap Ball beer tap dismantled   The Air Bottle (CO2-bottle) Carbonic acid is filled into this bottle as liquid gas. Only after opening the bottle the gas becomes gaseous. The bottle has to stand upright the whole time! Please never lay it down! DANGER for life! The reasons are: Inside the pressure regulator a membrane of rubber is integrated which lets only pass the pressure which is adjusted. If you lay down the bottle this membrane will freeze over and the complete pressure of the air bottle passes into the keg. The keg bursts (like an explosion)! All kegs have a predetermined breaking point, but every year there a lot of victims because of improper handling with air bottles or because they have tried to tap without pressure regulator. Please note: The air bottle has to stand upright Store away from heat (heating or sun)! Shelter from drop down (chain or something like this) Empty bottles are to keep and transport always with protecting cap. The CO2 (carbonic acid) is always searching the coldest place, like all gases. Please don't put the air bottle into the refrigerator or cold-storage chamber because they will not become empty. Carbon dioxide interacts deadly in conjunction with the air in a room. Therefore it is very important to seal the tapping plant and to air your rooms.   The Pressure Regulator The regulator is necessary to bound the pressure of the air bottles. A membrane of rubber is configurated to let the adjusted pressure to the keg. All regulators have to comprise a safety valve which is constructed to conduct away the pressure in case of a damage. There are 3 different regulators to buy: Up to 2 bar (red dash in the pressure gauge shows 3 bar), suitable for beer Up to 3 bar (red dash in the pressure gauge shows 3 bar), suitable for beer Up to 7 bar (red dash in the pressure gauge shows 7 bar), not suitable for beer, only for non-alkoholic beverages. In case of damage the regulator is to mend only by a specialist. If the regulator has freezed over during operation please close the bottle at once, open the windows and search for the defect or you have adjusted an incorrect pressure.   The Kegerator For private using 30 l or 50 l kegs are most commonly used. All kegerators should have a evaporator on the backside. So you can drill the holes for mounting the tower or beer lines unhindered at the top or sides. Because of the different construction "normal" refrigerators cannot rebuild as a kegerator ( the tubes of the evaporator are integrated in the side-walls).   The Tapping Plant (instantaneous cooler) Basically you distinguish between dry coolers and water coolers. The operation of both devices is the same but the cooling coils are conducted by water (water cooler) or by aluminium (dry cooler). Dry coolers are usable after 10 minutes (the aluminium is appropriate for storing the cold). Water coolers need about 2 hours because it's difficult to withdraw the heat in a short time. And an agitator machine is necessary for an optimal balancing of operations. If the machine is out of order for a longer time you run the risk that water smells rotten or the agitator engine is stucked. Please exchange periodically the water or fill the plant immediately before using (max. 2 hours before). Before pluggin in check the motor by moving the shaft with your hand. If it's difficulut or not possible take a few drops of a good rust solubles. Otherwise the motor becomes too hot and the damage will come soon. Please note that there no water is running directly on the motor!

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