Before reading this article, you may want to watch this accompanying video

A jockey box can be built and configured in many ways, but its basic construction is an ice chest of some sort with beer faucets in the front, a cooling system (coils or plate) inside the ice chest and supply lines coming out. It would then be connected to a keg outside of the box. So, why is this called a “Jockey Box”? The name comes from an old term of “jockey around” or move something around. Basically, it is a portable box for dispensing beer or other beverages from.

First I will go through the components used and which ones to choose for your project.

Before I start, keep in mind we have very popular, turn key kits so you can build a Jockey box without having to do as much work. We offer these with 50’, 70, and 120’ Coils. In addition, we offer them configured for commercial (store bought kegs) and homebrew style kegs (both ball lock and pin lock. Not sure what you need? Once you read the components explanations below you will!

Cooler - This is the box that makes it a Jockey Box. The choices in coolers are unlimited, but what you need is primarily a personal preference. The only thing in a cooler that is required is picking one that will fit the number of faucets you want.

• Insulation value - The general rule of thumb for coolers is that the more insulation the better because your ice lasts longer ... .this is not necessarily that important with a jockey box. This is because the cooling of the coil is going to melt your ice much more quickly than it would melt with the normal use of a cooler. Also, you are usually using these for an event, so you're typically not using it that long. We often use an inexpensive 48qt cooler to build our jockey boxes like the Igloo 48qt QT Laguna that often retails for about 25 bucks. However, you may want a nicer looking cooler metal cooler or something that matches the theme of your event better.
• Size - This is important. You need to get dimensions on the coils you are using and make sure they will fit in the ice chest you are building. For example, the Igloo we mentioned above works great for 1 and 2 faucet setups( with 120’, 70’ or 50’ coils), but it will not work for additional faucets, you will need a longer cooler.

Coils and Cold Plates - We primarily use coils now for jockey boxes, but you can also use a cold plate. The advantage of coils is that they have a lot more surface area and allow for quicker cooling of the beer. I will cover coils first and then do a quick look at cold plates. A coil is simply a piece of metal tubing, usually stainless steel, that is coiled around and around in a circle or square to enable a lot of surface area to be cooled by the ice in the jockey box. I will cover the three main sizes of coils below with a discussion about why you would use each one.

• 50’ Coil - This is a great choice for a jockey box that is going to be used at a picnic or small party that does not require continuous pouring. The coil holds about 16 ounces of beer, so if you are serving 12 ounce glasses it will hold about 1.5 beers at a time. If the beer going into the jockey box is cool or cold this will allow you to pour another beer fairly quickly as you wait for recovery or cool down of the beer between pours. Another nice thing about this size is that the restriction is about 15 pounds, so you can serve your beer closer to the normal PSI of around 11 PSI and get a decent flow rate. This makes operating the system simpler and keeps you from over carbonating beer. We offer this 50’ coil as a stand alone product and also in complete kits.

• 70’ Coil - This size gives you a larger volume of just over 23 ounces. This allows you to pour two 12 ounce beers (with head) before having to wait for recovery. This will allow you to pour cold beer faster. The restriction on this coil is about 21 pounds, so you might need to pump up your CO2 to around 20 PSI to get a good flow rate and have enough back pressure to push the beer out. Also keep in mind that depending on your other components ... .especially hose, you may have more restrictions than this and need to raise your PSI even more. Remember, there are a lot of variables when serving beer from a jockey box, so you may need to play around with the service PSI until you find a pressure that serves well. Also, be sure to disconnect and purge keg of CO2 if you have been left over after your event or you will over carbonate your beer over time!

• 120’ Coil - This bad boy will dispense a lot of beer continually when you have a line to serve. The first 100’ are ⅜ stainless steel tubing and the last 20’ are ¼ stainless steel tubing. This means that it holds over 50 ounces of beer in the lines and it has about 36 pounds of pressure. You will need to push this at around 35 PSI (depending on all conditions) and it will be a crowd pleaser! It is crucial that you disconnect and purge any kegs with leftover beer or you will severely over carbonate them!

Faucets - The beer faucet on a jockey box kit is definitely open to your personal preference. However I would make a few recommendations. First, I would suggest a stainless faucet. We really like the CMB V3S with a bent nozzle on a jockey box. This faucet looks great and functions exceptionally well. A standard stainless steel faucet will also work. If you are on a budget a standard chromed faucet will also work.

Shanks - Shanks are a more difficult discussion. It can get complicated, but I am going to give you a simple option that works very well. First, a little jockey box history. These were traditionally made using specialty shanks in the front and back that were specifically made for Jockey Boxes. They had different bore sizes for different size tubing, different grommet and ferrule sizes to connect to the different size stainless tubing as well. People that had never built a jockey box were very confused by this, in fact I have been in the draft beer business for about 20 years and I got confused. So, we experimented and came up with easier solutions that work just as well, if not better!

Hoses - We use only USA made, NSF approved, dual durometer beer and gas hose for building our Jockey boxes.

• For beer hose we use Bevlex® 3/16”, Bevlex® ¼” or Bevlex® 5/16” hose, depending on the restriction lever we want (see chart below)
• For gas hose we use Bevlex® red 5/16. We use red because that is the standard color used for gas in the draft beer industry. Because this hose is dual durometer the inside layer is clear.

Clamps, tailpieces and other parts - For clamps there are two choices, stainless steel stepless clamps or stainless steel adjustable worm clamps. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Stepless Clamps - The main advantage to stepless clamps is that they are very permanent and offer superior protection against leaks. The disadvantage is that they need a special tool to install them and they can be difficult to remove.

Stainless Steel Adjustable Worm Clamps - Adjustable worm style clamps also seal very well and they do not require a special tool. They are also very easy to remove or move. This makes them a better choice for building a jockey box from a kit.

or nipples - Just as with shanks, we recommend using stainless steel nipples when building a jockey box.

Tailpieces - As with beer shanks, we recommend using only stainless steel tailpieces because they touch the beer or other beverage. It is extremely important to only use stainless steel with coffee, wine, water and soda!

Beer nut, beer washer - The beer nut is chromed brass. It does not touch the beer or other liquids so they are traditionally not stainless steel. The beer washer is rubber and seals the tailpiece with the shank using the beer nut.

15/16 Hole saw - These can be hard to find in a hardware store, but they are the perfect size to use when building a jockey box. The one listed on the link is a bi-metal hole saw, so you can drill a hole in a plastic or metal ice chest.

Building the Box - Click here to watch video, it will be helpful before reading below

We have changed how we build jockey boxes over the years and we believe the new method makes building a jockey box easier and more affordable. We use a standard beer shank (we prefer the stainless steel version) and connect the coil with a short piece of beer hose. We then connect a hose coming out of the back and use a passthrough to make this transition. This gives the beer a continuous path and has less connections to limit leaks and other issues. It also makes the jockey box easier to build because you do not have to perfectly drill holes and place shanks so they line up directly on the inside. When using hose you can have coils in places where they make the most sense in your cooler. Many coolers today have cuts and logos on the front, so having this flexibility can help a great deal when building a jockey box.

Keep in mind that there are two main sections on your jockey box build, the ice chest and associated components and the outside parts you need after exiting the jockey box. These would include:

• Ice Chest Components - Ice chest, coils, shanks, faucets, tailpieces, beer nuts, beer washers, clamps, passthroughs and liquid hoses.
• Components After Exiting Ice Chest - the gas hoses (liquid hose exits the first section and joins the second section), regulator, Snake D coupler for store sold kegs or ball lock or pin lock disconnects for home brew kegs. You will also need a CO2 cylinder.

The actual steps in building the jockey box are covered in the video mentioned above. I will not go into a lot of detail, but basically you just drill the holes using a 15/16 hole saw and then assemble the pieces as shown in the video.

So, now you are ready to build your jockey box! Need additional help? You can email us at help@kegconnection.com or call us at 35-356-5204. We would love to help you complete this project. Prost, Cheers and happy drafting from your friends at Kegconnection! Todd