FAQ

The questions that come up before a first booking.

Numbers here match the spec sheets on each product page. Where a figure comes from a test or a deployment, the test date or the event is named so it can be checked.

Choosing a unit

Which unit do I need?

The difference is where the kegs live and whether it moves.

  • H1 Mobile Cart. Four taps, kegs inside the cabinet. Arrives self-contained and rolls into position.
  • H2 Podium. Four taps, kegs staged outside, 25.5 inches wide. More product and faster changeover in a narrower bar.
  • H3 Built-In. Two taps, permanent installation in millwork. Sold and installed through Green Theory and Outerspace.
  • H4 Frost Jockey. Two taps in two pieces that fit in a car. In development.
H1 or H2?

Footprint and keg handling. The H1 carries 4 × 30L or 2 × 50L inside, so it is one object you push into place. The H2 is 25.5 inches wide and runs 4 × 50L outside the unit, which means more product on tap and a keg change that does not stop service.

If you are fitting into a concourse pod or a tight concession line, H2. If you want the whole bar to arrive as a single trolley, H1.

Power, setup and the site

Do I need power, plumbing or refrigeration at the bar?

No fixed connections. The H1 and H2 run on battery through service and charge overnight from a standard 15-amp outlet. No permanent plumbing, no glycol deck, and no dedicated refrigeration at the point of service.

The H3 runs on 110V from a standard 15-amp circuit. The H4 is 110V, 10A.

How long does the battery last?

H1: 14 to 22 hours. H2: 12 to 20 hours. Both charge from a standard 15-amp outlet, and both run indefinitely on mains if you have an outlet at the bar.

Runtime varies with product temperature, ambient conditions, serving volume and system settings.

How long from arriving on site to the first pour?

H2: roughly six minutes of cool-down from a 20°C ambient, and five to ten minutes end to end including gas and kegs. H4: about twelve minutes from room temperature.

Power on, connect the gas, couple the keg, pour.

What does the unit need on site that I should plan for?

Three things, and each one exists because it has caused a callout.

  • Ambient between 5°C and 35°C. Below 5°C, product and residual water can freeze in the lines. Above 35°C the unit cannot reject heat fast enough to hold set temperature.
  • Eight inches of vent clearance at intake and exhaust, at all times in operation. The H1 and H2 vent on the right-hand side as the server faces the unit; the H4 chiller vents both sides. Box one into a bar cavity and it recirculates its own exhaust, runs hot, and reports a temperature fault.
  • Upright for two hours before power after transit, so compressor oil settles. Units must stay upright in transit and storage.

Temperature and throughput

How cold is the beer, actually?

We volume-tested an H2 on 29 January 2026 at 30°C ambient with 25°C kegs, which is harder than most real service.

With normal pauses between pours, temperature recovers to 0°C by the ninth or tenth pour, with no foam breakout on any pour. Pouring ten back to back, 12oz pours settle around 2.5°C and 16oz pours peak at 4.1°C then settle between 3.8 and 4.0°C, with controlled head throughout.

Ideal draft service is 2 to 4°C, so those numbers sit inside the band at the cold edge.

Set temperature is typically 0 to 2°C. Under continuous high-volume service from warm kegs, 2 to 4°C is typical and expected, and the display may read 2 to 3°C above set point while you are pouring. That is the system working, not a fault.

Do I have to pre-chill the kegs?

Normally no, and that is the whole point: the product is chilled on the way to the tap rather than the keg being chilled in storage. A warm keg costs you throughput, not temperature.

Chilled output is approximately 4.2 L/min from 10°C kegs, 2.1 L/min from 20°C kegs and 1.4 L/min from 30°C kegs, all at a 0°C output target.

The honest edge case: in extreme heat and extreme volume at the same time, minimal pre-chilling supplements the system. We would rather say that here than have you find out in August.

How much can it pour in an hour?

4.2 L/min is 252 litres an hour, or roughly 710 twelve-ounce servings, across four taps. From 20°C kegs it is 2.1 L/min, about 355 servings. The H4 is 1.5 L/min, about 90 litres or 250 servings an hour on two taps.

Those are cooling capacity, not what a bar turns over. On four taps and two bartenders, the cooling is rarely what runs out first, which is the useful way to read the number.

Why would it foam less than what we run now?

Foam comes from warm zones between the keg and the tap. Henrik’s custom compressor and patent-pending heat exchanger cool each product line along its length, all the way to the tap, rather than at a single point. Fewer warm zones, less breakout.

Flow control on all four taps on the H1 and H2 also lets staff adjust through keg changes and product variations instead of pouring the difference down the drain.

Product, gas and kegs

Can we pour something other than beer?

Yes. Kegged cocktails, wine, cold brew and kombucha all run through the same taps and change out as easily as a keg of beer.

What gas and what couplers?

CO₂ or nitrogen on the H1, H2 and H3. Sanke D is standard and the system is compatible with any coupler.

The H4 also takes beer gas and 1 lb SodaStream cylinders, so a small operator can buy gas at a grocery store rather than hold a supplier account.

What keg sizes does each unit take?

H1: 4 × 30L or 2 × 50L, inside the cabinet. H2: 4 × 50L, external. H3: 2 × 30L standard, customisable. H4: external.

Can we put sponsor content on it?

The H1 Pro and H2 Pro carry a 21.5-inch display for menus, team content, sponsor creative and brand video, which turns concession equipment into sellable inventory.

It is rated indoor and semi-outdoor and is not sunlight-readable, so specify it for a covered concourse or a shaded bar rather than open sun.

Proof

Has this been run at real scale?

60 units deployed for Diageo across Toronto and Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup 2026.

At Roots & Blues 2026, 15 H2 units across four bars served 36,923 drinks over three festival days. Under 5% of product was unaccounted for, measured against the festival’s own ticket data, and the main bar served 20% more volume with three fewer staff than the year before.

Is the equipment certified?

Certification for Canada and the US is in progress through a recognised test laboratory. Current documentation is available on request.

Buying and renting

Do you rent or sell?

Both. Units are now available for purchase, not rental only. Rental suits a single event or one season; purchase suits a venue or an operator running enough dates to build a fleet.

What do they cost?

H1: $14,995 base, $17,995 Pro. H2: $12,995 base, $15,995 Pro. Both CAD.

H4: $7,995 CAD or $6,995 USD, indicative on a product still in development.

The H3 is sold and installed through Green Theory and Outerspace. Rental rates depend on the unit, the duration and where it is going, so those come with a quote.

Can we try one before committing?

Yes. Deploy a unit for one event and compare sales per minute, transaction volume, product recovery and bar-support time during the peak service window. We will use your operating data to model the case for a larger deployment.

Warranty and service

What is the warranty?

On new equipment bought directly from Henrik, running from the date of delivery:

  • 24 months comprehensive, parts and labour, on manufacturing defects and component failure in normal commercial use. Freight on warranty parts is covered inside this term.
  • 36 months on the compressor and sealed refrigeration system: parts and labour for the first 24 months, parts thereafter.
  • 24 months on battery, screen and controller. Battery is covered where measured capacity falls below 70 per cent of rated; shortening above that is normal degradation rather than failure.

Wear parts are not covered, because they are consumed in normal use: faucets and tap components, O-rings, seals, gaskets and washers, beer, glycol and gas lines, couplers, drip trays, drain valves and check valves. Henrik supplies all of them and a base spares kit ships with every machine.

Register each unit within 30 days of delivery. That confirms the start date and is how we know which units are where when a parts or safety notice goes out.

This is a summary. The binding terms for any particular machine are the ones in its purchase agreement. Full sheet on the home page under Resources.

How often do the lines need cleaning?
  • After every event: flush all lines with clean water, sanitize, dry, store.
  • After cocktail or mixed product: a full line clean, not a water flush.
  • Weekly in season: full line clean.
  • Monthly: glycol level check as a leak check, and inspect connections and fittings.
  • Quarterly: parts inspection, replace worn O-rings, seals and check valves, CIP cycle.
  • Annually: depot service and battery health check.

Keep a cleaning log per unit per event. Fouling is the most common cause of the symptoms people report as equipment faults, and without a cleaning history a fouling problem cannot be separated from a manufacturing one after the fact. Fruit, hops and pulp from unfiltered product will clog lines, couplers and taps, and clearing that is not a warranty repair.

Something fails mid-event. What happens?

Contact Henrik with the serial number, a description of the fault, photographs, and the cleaning log. We aim to acknowledge a claim within one business day.

Most faults are diagnosed remotely, and many, particularly display and Pi module faults, are resolved by a field swap without the unit leaving service. A spare Pi module ships with every Pro unit, designed to be swapped without a technician. If parts are needed we ship them with fitting instructions; if depot attention is needed we arrange the return.

Report any equipment incident within 24 hours whether or not a claim follows. Incident reports are how design problems get found.

Not covered here? Ask for a quote and put the question in the message, or email gord@henriksystems.com. Spec sheets download from the H1, H2, H3 and H4 pages, and there is a setup demo.