Draught Equipment and System Configuarations > Equipment and Configurations for Direct Draw Draught Systems > Towers
Two-Faucet Tower (forced-air or glycol) (left) and Eight-Faucet Pass-Thru (forced-air or glycol) (right)
Direct-draw keg boxes and most long-draw systems mount the dispensing faucet on a tower. This tower attaches to the top of the bar or keg box. Towers come in various shapes and sizes and may have anywhere from one to dozens of faucets.
To achieve proper beer service, the beer line running through the tower to the faucet must be kept at the same temperature as the beer cooler. Direct-draw systems use air cooling while long-draw systems usually use glycol cooling. The air-cooled towers are insulated on the inside and cold air from the cooler circulates around the beer lines and shanks. This works with direct-draw systems thanks to the close proximity of the tower to the cold box.
Glycol towers attach coolant lines in parallel to the beer lines (typically stainless) and surround them tightly with insulation. This cooling method allows towers to be located remotely from the cold box, up to several hundred feet away.
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