Beer cooler: specifications, instructions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The beer business has been flourishing for many centuries, and there are several million beer lovers in the world. But among them there is hardly at least one who prefers to drink this drink warm. Experts believe that the temperature of beer poured into a glass should be within +4 °C + 6 °C, and at the exit from the container it should be about +2 °C. A beer cooler is a device designed to maintain an acceptable temperature in draft beer, at which the exclusive taste qualities of the drink are fully revealed. It is a mandatory and very important element of beer equipment, whether it is installed in a stationary room or at a street trade point. There are several types of coolers and many models on the market. They differ in design, price, and most importantly, the principle of operation. Which one to choose, so as not to pay extra money, and not to ruin the business, our article tells.

Classification

In front of everyone who decidesto organize a business selling beer, the question will definitely arise, which beer cooler to purchase. Despite the wide range of brands and models of these units, they can be divided into two types according to the place of installation:

1. Over-rack.

2. Underrack.

There are also devices called kegerators, but they are mainly used to cool a small amount (up to 2 kegs) of expensive and elite beers. Cooling in them reaches the design temperature in a few hours.

The second classification is based on the principle of operation. There are also only two types of coolers here:

- flowing (popularly called wet);

- dry.

Let's look at each type in detail.

Underrack

This beer cooler, as the name suggests, is permanently placed under the bar. According to the configuration, devices of this type are horizontal and vertical. Their virtues:

- high performance (up to 350 liters per hour);

- the ability to simultaneously cool up to 20 beers;

- high power;

- the remaining free space on the bar counter.

The disadvantage of under-rack coolers is their impressive size.

It is reasonable to use such units in establishments where large volumes of beer are poured, and not one, but several varieties.

The principle of their work is unusually simple. Beer is stored in kegs at the temperature maintained indoors. Through the hoses, it enters the cooler, and from there to the bottlingcolumn, where there is a special lever (crane). When you press it, the drink starts pouring into the glass.

There are many models of under rack coolers on the market from different manufacturers. In the price category, the most attractive Chinese devices, but, according to consumer reviews, they do not have a sufficiently high quality. Among the relatively inexpensive, but well-proven coolers are the brands Nord, Yantar, Typhoon, Pegasus, Umka.

Over Rack

This type of beer cooler is placed directly on the bar.

His virtues:

- compactness;

- the absence of a pouring column as unnecessary (in some models of installations for beauty, it is preserved);

- quick and easy installation.

The disadvantage can be considered low productivity and power, so it is more reasonable to use over-rack coolers where beer is sold in a small assortment (up to 4 varieties) and in small quantities (up to 50 liters per hour).

Flow through

Today the most popular flow beer cooler. The photo shows its design, which includes two main components - the compressor part and the water bath. In the first part there is a compressor (in the diagram it is number 1), a fan (No. 2), a condenser (No. 9), freon lines (No. 10) and a throttle (No. 11). The bath contains coils with beer (No. 6), an evaporator (No. 7), an ice bank (No. 8), an agitator pump (No. 3) and an aftercooling line (No. 4). This element is very important, since beer inhoses that come out of the cooler bath can have time to heat up significantly before it enters the glass, which is especially important when the cooler is located at a considerable distance (more than 3 meters) from the pouring point. In such cases, sufficient thermal insulation of the beer hoses is required, plus an additional cooling device. If this is neglected, the client will receive a drink not only not cold enough, but also with a lot of foam. The principle of operation of flow type devices is to cool the drink with constantly circulating water, refrigerant or ice.

Operation principle

It's easy to assemble an in-line beer cooler. The instruction says that for this it is required to install a compressor, fan, condenser on the carrier platform of the unit, after which they are connected with copper pipes by soldering. For greater reliability, these places should be outside the bath. Next, the cooler is charged with refrigerant and the unit is tested, the indicator of which is the temperature of the beer during bottling.

The principle of operation of the device is as follows: the refrigerant (for example, freon) enters the compressor, where it is strongly compressed (pressure increases from 5 to 25 atmospheres). At the same time, it heats up to about 80 ° C. Such hot gas enters the condenser, which is continuously blown by a fan. Due to this, the refrigerant cools down and turns into a liquid state. At the next stage, it moves into a throttling device (a special tube called a capillary). After that, the refrigerant pressuredecreases due to an increase in the diameter of the frenoprovod. The temperature of the refrigerant also drops, and it begins to go into a gaseous state. In this form, it enters the evaporator, where, due to the transformation from liquid to vapor, it greatly cools the water washing the coils with beer. Having completed its mission, freon again enters the compressor.

Advantages of flow coolers:

- reliability;

- efficiency;

- easy to install;

- low price;

- no deterioration in beer quality (no carbon overload).

Flaws:

- it is impossible to adjust the outlet temperature of the drink;

- too long (up to 5 hours) preparatory stage;

- the need to periodically change the water in the bathroom.

Dry

In recent years, dry-type beer coolers have become increasingly popular. Their clear strengths are:

- compactness;

- quick cooling of the drink;

- short duration (only 15-25 minutes) preparation for the start of work;

- noiseless process.

Disadvantages include:

- higher cost than flow coolers;

- increased energy consumption;

- inability to create an ice bank.

Design and principle of operation

Dry-type coolers work in much the same way as flow-type coolers, so their design does not differ much. The main difference is that metal is used instead of water in these units, most oftenaluminum alloys. This is clearly demonstrated by the diagram above, where the number 8 marks the metal block.

Heat transfer in dry coolers is direct, that is, the entire power of the unit is directed directly to the beer in the coils. The design feature of this type of units is that the connection of the beer cooler is carried out without the possibility of connecting the after-cooling circuit. Therefore, it is advisable to use such a device where the drink is sold in small volumes, plus the filling point is located next to the cooler itself.

Typhoon beer cooler

Let's take a closer look at this brand, as it is the undisputed leader among analogues. Coolers "Typhoon" are produced by the manufacturer UBC Group. It is important that the company is engaged not only in the development of new models of refrigeration equipment, but also sells its products directly, without intermediaries, which allows you to set prices without unnecessary markups. Beer coolers "Typhoon" are available in several models, depending on the volume of beer in liters, which the unit is able to cool in an hour. Among them, "Typhoon 50" is the most compact flow-through beer cooler. The characteristics of the apparatus are as follows: it has a cubic shape, a length and width of 45, and a height of 50 cm. At the same time, the mass of the unit is only 33 kg (without water), and at the same time it can cool 2 types of beer. The most powerful in this series is Typhoon 220. It is capable of simultaneously cooling up to 14 types of beer, but it takes at least 6.5 hours to prepare for operation. In addition to these two models,the company produces "Typhoons" with a capacity of 75, 90, 120 and 160 liters of drink per hour. Depending on the model, these coolers can be used both in large stationary premises and in small draft beer outlets.

Mistakes made in the operation of coolers

Practice shows that if the instructions are followed, the equipment lasts a long time. The most common errors are:

1. Flow-through beer cooler put into operation without water in the tub.
2. The unit is located too compactly, that is, the distance from its walls to other objects is less than 150 mm (because of this there is no air circulation, so the cooler overheats).
3. The design mode, according to which the thermostat should work, is not respected, because of which the beer is supercooled. Such a mistake is often made by personnel, wanting to increase the performance of the unit at peak loads. This may cause only foam to flow from the faucet.

There are also a number of purely technical errors associated with improper grounding, incorrectly selected extension cords, and failure to sanitize equipment.

To avoid problems when selling beer, you need to follow the instructions that come with each cooler model exactly.