Beer Engines

[eskimobob]

I'm thinking of heading towards using beer engines (hand pull pumps) to dispense in future along with a cask breather however I have a few questions. I know other people here are also thinking along the same lines so perhaps we can come up with some answers in this thread:

1) What are the pros and cons of Swan Neck pumps vs Standard Spout pumps?
2) Some pumps seem to specify a water jacket around the pump cylinder - what is this for? - is it for chilling the beer?
3) Do the handles come apart? - I have seem some nice porcelain ones so presumably they can be replaced.
4) How often do you need to sterilise your pump and beer lines? - I have heard people disconnect when they are pulling the last pint of an evening to ensure that they do not waste beer by leaving it to go stale in the pump but doesn't that cause the pump to go manky inside?

Cheers

[Frothy]

I'm wondering if it's possible to get adapters from 3/8" to a 1/2" tail so that the pump could be hooked straight up to a corny.

Matt

[RabMaxwell]

Hello Frothy i use 3/8 - 1/2 push fitting from B&Q
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1654 ... 009wc6.jpg

[deadlydes]

1) What are the pros and cons of Swan Neck pumps vs Standard Spout pumps?

you want the end of the dispense tube to touch the bottom of the glass to get the full creamyness. also since the nossle will be under the liquid level it will prevent oxidation when pouring

2) Some pumps seem to specify a water jacket around the pump cylinder - what is this for? - is it for chilling the beer?

yes its for chilling

3) Do the handles come apart? - I have seem some nice porcelain ones so presumably they can be replaced.

yeah. the knobble on the top of the handle unscrews and the porcelain handle lifts off.

4) How often do you need to sterilise your pump and beer lines? - I have heard people disconnect when they are pulling the last pint of an evening to ensure that they do not waste beer by leaving it to go stale in the pump but doesn't that cause the pump to go manky inside?

i sterilise once i have finished what i am drinking. this can be anything from 3 days to 3 weeks. your beer should be sterile so if your lines are sterile in the first place you shouldnt get a problem.
as for disconnecting i dont bother. i havent had problems with beer going off. i suppose if you only drink at weekends then it may be a good idea but i am a 1 or 2 pints a night person so its all ok.
even if you dont drink in the week i doubt it would be a problem.
you will waste loads if you keep disconnecting and re connecting. since the cylinders hold either 1/4 or more common 1/2 a pint even with the tube connecting the engine to the cask you will not empty the cylinder (although you will empty the lines).
hope this helps

[deadlydes]

see this thread for my bit on my beer engines
http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1923

[Frothy]

I've been fortunate enough to aquire a broken hand pump au gratuit. The shaft is bent on the piston. Spoke to Geoff @ DTS and he sells refurbes pumps and spare parts too http://www.beer-coolers.co.uk

Raab - do you use hard plastic pipe straight from the speedfit connector to the pump?

Matt

[flytact]

1) What are the pros and cons of Swan Neck pumps vs Standard Spout pumps?
From what I hear "across the pond" is that you would be a fool to use a Swan Neck and that no real beer drinker would use a standard spout. It's a northern vs. southern issue from what I gather.

2) Some pumps seem to specify a water jacket around the pump cylinder - what is this for? - is it for chilling the beer?
Yes for chilling, but I've never had a need.

3) Do the handles come apart? - I have seem some nice porcelain ones so presumably they can be replaced.
You can go crazy and take the whole thing apart if you dare.

4) How often do you need to sterilize your pump and beer lines?
Like the previous response, I drain the lot if I'm not drinking for a while. Before tapping I pump cleaner through and then I pump sanitizer through.

[/quote]
I would highly recommend giving it a go. You can find them relatively cheap on auction sites, my issue was shipping. Luckily I only had to post it to London. Got the whole thing delivered for under $50 US.

[RabMaxwell]

Hello Frothy i use soft stuff as i had it lying around got it from Hop & Grape some time ago.You could probably still use reinforced stuff with those fittings.But the inside diameter will be smaller probably than the fitting on the bottom of your beer engine. You would probably get it over by heating the end in a kettle of water though. The proof is in the pudding though.


(click to enlarge)

Cheers

[Immy's Dad]

That's a beautiful picture Rab.................


*drools*

[PieOPah]

How would I get one of these attached to a King Keg or Budget Barrel. Obviously I would need the Cask Breather to go along with it!!

[deadlydes]

PoP
have you been on the homebrew! LOL

see your other thread here http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2060
and then follow the link i posted to here http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1923

then see my first post on there.
basically you do the lid conversion to take the tank connector etc then just get tubing from the tap from your barrel to the inlet to the beer engine. then job done.

i suppose you could hook the beer engine up without doing the lid conversion but you would have to release any pressure in the keg by undoing the lid. then as you draw beer you would have to top up the gas inside the keg to atmospheric pressure to ensure the beer engine doesnt suck back and so you dont knacker the valves. also you would have to be careful not to put too much pressure in so that is pi*ses out of the beer spout.

or alternatively if you are having a few mates round and are going to finish the keg in 48hrs ish you could just back off the lid and let air go into the keg when drawing a pint. if your drinking quickly it wont go off

[SMASH3R]

In case anyone is interested, I've measured the diameter of the spout on my King Keg 1" drum tap, and it varies between 17.52 and 17.89mm. I've looked everywhere on the internet for this measurement and couldn't find it anywhere, so I though I would post it.

The spout is obviously not quite uniform as a result of the manufacturing process; I want to just connect a piece of pipe on the end to dispense from the pressure barrel into my glass - an 8" length of food-grade tubing (16mm I.D.) will suffice.

[Waffty]

1) Above + Different spouts reflect location preferences and in some instances, the brewers choice (same with sprinklers). So in the north, it's normal to have a 'good' head on your ale, in the south, it's normal to have no head as such, hence the need for the different spouts. Angram even list them as northern and southern spouts http://www.angramltd.com/products/spare ... cessories/
2) Above + Angram pumps both dispense and refill on the same stroke, therefore after the 1/4 or 1/2 pint cylinder has been purged, it's also refilled, therefore in a warm pub, with a product line that doesn't sell that well, it's quite possible to have either 1/4 or 1/2 of ale that could soon reach room temperature, so the purpose of the cooling jacket, is to ensure that the ale left in the cylinder is kept to the correct temperature. Likeswise in a busy pub it may be an idea to add an additional chill to the ale, before it gets dispensed, especially if it has a long journey from the cellar.
3) Above
4) Million dollar question - Most pubs do this once a week at least, some two times a week, some flush the lines every night with water. The answer is how much loss can you take, as everytime you clean the lines, pull a fresh pint, you loose product.

I would only consider using my beer engines at a party, as I simply don't drink enough in a week, to warrant the losses and cleaning i.e as I've said, with an Angram engine, there's always a full charge in the cylinder at anyone time. Some of the other pumps Worthside etc, fill on the back stroke, so you can limit losses by not pushing the handle back.

There is something special about dispensing with a Beer Engine but the reality is they are designed for commercial use, as such, using them for home/limited dispensing has to have it's trade offs, the big one being, loss of product i.e to purge/clean a 1/2 pint pump, could take 2 to 3 pumps, which is a 1.5 of lost beer. I have 1/4 cylinders for that reason, even then, it's still 3/4 of a pint potentially per cleaning cycle, which is a fair amount of loss/waste for the 5 to 8 pints, I'd actually be drinking, in that week.

Parties are another matter as a good beer on a BBQ night, can literally be gone in 60 seconds