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Draft beer in a Vanagon!
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16CVs Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now do that with Iced tea and I'll applaud ! ! ! I'd be at your van the whole time .

Stacy
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shizzon
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jkidd152 wrote:


Check out this cooler...
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



That looks like a sweet setup. Not to take away from the whole "having a tap on the outside of the vehicle" thing, but for those of us who aren't ready for that kind of commitment yet, I wonder if you could make a complete self-contained setup with that cooler?

I'm thinking along the lines of drilling a hole in the side for the shank, and using a small CO2 charger like this

http://morebeer.com/products/co2-injector-w1-cartridge.html

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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climberjohn
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John,

You are a mad genius AND a great beer meister!
Seriously looking for a campsite next to you at Mogfest this weekend.

-CJ
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Syncroincity
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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slobrewer
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

shizzon wrote:

I'm thinking along the lines of drilling a hole in the side for the shank, and using a small CO2 charger like this

http://morebeer.com/products/co2-injector-w1-cartridge.html

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Those CO2 injectors work in a pinch but they're a bit of a hassle to get right. They joy of draft beer is just being able to open the faucet and perfectly carbonated beer flows out. If you're tight on space I highly recommend the mini regulator setups from Williams Brewing:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/MINI-DUAL-C02-REGULATOR-P2650C148.aspx

They work like a charm and you set them and forget them. They're not cheap but they are worth the money.
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shizzon
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't find the CO2 cartridges to be a problem, as long as you start with a beer that's properly carbonated, it's simple to give a little squirt of co2 as needed.

That said, for the ultimate in hands off operation, a full tank is nice... I was just trying to think of a completely contained way to make that work with one of those 5 gal cooler things as shown in this thread.
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slobrewer
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

shizzon wrote:
I was just trying to think of a completely contained way to make that work with one of those 5 gal cooler things as shown in this thread.


Take a look at the link I posted. With the smaller cartridges the entire thing fits right into a small cooler. It takes up very little space and lets you set an exact pressure and forget it till the keg or the gas are empty.
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shizzon
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ahh... I see. I thought that was just a tiny regulator for a normal size tank. Agreed, that would be a sick setup for a small enclosed space!
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slobrewer
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, as promised I've written up the way I installed a 1.75 gallon setup in my Westy in the cabinet after removing the fridge. All told I needed the following parts:

    5 gallon bucket
    5 gallon bucket lid
    2 bucket styrofoam cooler inserts
    1.75 gallon keg (available from Williams Brewing)
    Beer faucet
    Beer shank (preferably the shortest you can get, about 2" long)
    Beer nut, tailpiece, and washer
    ~8' of 3/16" ID beer line
    Beer quick disconnect with threaded connector assembly
    Williams Brewing Mini-CO2 regulator with CO2 cartridge and gas line with quick disconnect


Much of that can be seen below:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I started by drilling a 1" diameter hole in the vent block out plate I had installed and then mounted the shank:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Then I prepared the bucket. I had to use two of the styrofoam bucket inserts because they tapered too much to fit a keg in there. So I cut the wider top half off of two of them. I put one lid piece in the bottom and saved the other lid piece to put on the top. Here you can see the keg sitting in there:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Drill a hole in the lid and foam lid big enough to thread through the beer line:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The transfer your beer from your larger keg to the 1.75 gallon keg. Here you can see me doing a transfer under pressure with a jumper connection. That prevents foaming and oxidation. I put the target get on a scale and I've tared the scale with the keg filled with water to the target amount I want to take. Then I just transfer and bleed pressure off the target keg to keep the beer flowing until the scale reads zero.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Drop your keg into your bucket and hook up the gas and set your pressure to whatever you typically use (I do about 10-12 PSI.)
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Add ice and close her up:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I ran the beer line to the shank and through into the cabinet. I mounted the block off plate with the shank back into the vent hole. Sorry, I didn't get a good picture of that step. The whole bucket easily fits into the storage cabinet with plenty of space for other things:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


When you get to camp just pop the beer quick disconnect onto the keg and pour away:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


In that picture I'm pouring a nice 3.9% ABV dry stout I brewed a couple of weeks ago.

With this setup the 1.75 gallon keg easily fits in there. If you switch up to a larger bucket typically used for fermentation (6+ gallons) you can fit in a 2.5 gallon keg.

Dave.
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MacDude
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't believe that no one has replied to this since you posted it.

This is freakin' awesome!!!

Beats the heck out of my insulated Growler...
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I now have another project to add to the list. this is epic.. well done.
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MacDude wrote:
Beats the heck out of my insulated Growler...


Hey, don't bag on the insulated growlers. I own several of those and they're great for the casual get together at the beach on last minute notice. The only downside with this kegging approach is the setup and clean up required.
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atomatom
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That mini regulator is nice, but not cheap. I have a 5lb and a 20lb tank, and want to attempt some kind of beer camping next year - although I'm not sure I'd make it permanent - and I still have my fridge in.

I think the must-have part in this setup is the mini keg in the bucket full of ice. I want all the gear, but my list is long.

slobrewer wrote:
The transfer your beer from your larger keg to the 1.75 gallon keg. Here you can see me doing a transfer under pressure with a jumper connection. That prevents foaming and oxidation. I put the target get on a scale and I've tared the scale with the keg filled with water to the target amount I want to take. Then I just transfer and bleed pressure off the target keg to keep the beer flowing until the scale reads zero.


I'm pretty sure of this, but to clarify, you're jumping the beer-out on the large keg to the beer-out on the small keg. I like the scale trick for keeping it all under pressure.
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

atomatom wrote:

I'm pretty sure of this, but to clarify, you're jumping the beer-out on the large keg to the beer-out on the small keg. I like the scale trick for keeping it all under pressure.


Yup, beer out to beer out. That ensures the keg fills from the bottom. Having a jumper like that around is useful whenever you need to do keg to keg transfers.
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 7:03 am    Post subject: Re: Draft beer in a Vanagon! Reply with quote

I think I'm going to convert my Westy's flu vent to this for some parties. Key is to make it water tight!
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Draft beer in a Vanagon! Reply with quote

shagginwagon83 wrote:
I think I'm going to convert my Westy's flu vent to this for some parties. Key is to make it water tight!


Just let us know where you're going to park it Laughing Oh, and make it double IPA Applause
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