My Barrelator Build

[Buffers brewery]

Having modified my King Keg closure to within an inch of it’s life and developing a serious tap envy of corny keg users and their kegerators and keezers, I decided to convert my beer fridge, where I store two King Kegs (and various off-the-shelf beers), into a Barrelator.

The process of fridge conversion is the same as for kegs, as you would expect. Because of the location of my fridge, I opted to go dangerous and mount my taps on the side. Hole drilling was done with much caution and I managed to miss anything that could have killed the fridge.

I decided to plumb the gas line through the side of the fridge as well so I can connect my gas supply without opening the door, or going through the drain. Yet to decide if I have a second independent line for King Keg number 2.

I used 3/8” beer line from keg to tap and run at around the 6 p.s.i. mark which suits my ales.

First pour....


Cascade with a twist.

Edit: changed pic for a movie shot.

 

[Clint]

Are you pouring that just for research purposes?

 

[Buffers brewery]

Are you pouring that just for research purposes?

You know me too well @Clint

 

[Clint]

Well...a lot of the stuff you post is very technical and looks like it needs vigorous testing.

 

[SamBrewster]

Any tips to miss all the important stuff when drilling the side?

 

[Banbeer]

Looks a great job you've done there

 

[Buffers brewery]

Any tips to miss all the important stuff when drilling the side?

Use a centre drill first to make a small hole without going too deep.

Then use a slightly bigger drill to enable you to poke a blunt object through the hole. I use a small round file with a blunt end.

Poke it gently up and down and (can't believe I'm writing this ) side to side as you go deeper. When you hit the inside skin make sure there's nothing there except for foam. I need a lie down now!

 

[honeymonster]

Poke it gently up and down and (can't believe I'm writing this ) side to side as you go deeper. When you hit the inside skin make sure there's nothing there except for foam. I need a lie down now!

Could have been worse. At least you didn't say in and out

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Use a centre drill first to make a small hole without going too deep [...]

And as goes without saying, unplug the ruddy thing from the mains first!!

 

[Banbeer]

Any tips to miss all the important stuff when drilling the side?

You could spray the inside with water when the fridge is cold and you will see if there are any cooling lines.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Just a bit of added detail. I didn't want to press down on the gas in connection as it might over time distort the fridge outer skin so made a stainless steel plate to mount under the gas post.

Grip it with my fingers to press the connector into position.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I love an engineering project

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

May I ask where you got your post(s)? I ordered mine from China and the price was very low but they took quite a while to arrive...

 

[Buffers brewery]

May I ask where you got your post(s)? I ordered mine from China and the price was very low but they took quite a while to arrive...

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/liquid-ball-lock-post-with-14bsp-bulkhead-assembly/A bit expensive when you add in the P&P but I’m trying to buy more stuff from UK suppliers now

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I got mine from BrewKegTap at £8.50 each. Not sure if you can get them cheaper elsewhere, these were part of a larger order.

 

[Buffers brewery]

A bit more detail on the King Keg mods. First, I got rid of the tap By using a stainless steel nipple, female blanking plug, nut and rubber tap washer.

My Keg cap is my own creation (I’ve posted about elsewhere) and uses a polycarbonate disc as a lid to which I’ve fitted gas and beer posts and a Tee piece fitted with a pressure gauge and a pressure relief valve. I tried fitting the posts vertically but there was insufficient head-space in my fridge so I had to mount them horizontally on stainless steel elbows.

The beer post elbow is secured to the lid on the underside using a 8mm push fit/1/4 BSPF connector. A short length of stainless steel dip tube (about 50mm) is fitted into the push fit connector which in turn has a length of 8mm ID silicone pipe fitted at the end of which is a KK float.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

A bit expensive when you add in the P&P but I’m trying to buy more stuff from UK suppliers now

Laudable, even if the manufacturer is probably the same.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Laudable, even if the manufacturer is probably the same.

More’s the pity. “eggs”, “all”, “basket”, “same”, “putting”, “your”, “the”, “in”

 

[Buffers brewery]

Yet a bit more detail on my build. The gas feed is through the fridge casing. I drilled a 14mm hole so that I could fit a 1/4” BSP 80mm long nipple, held in position by elbows at either end and washers to pack it out.

1/4” BSP barbed connector allows connection to a short length of 3/8” gas/beer line, a JG reducer to 3/16” for the gas line to the keg.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Yet a bit more detail on my build. The gas feed is through the fridge casing. I drilled a 14mm hole so that I could fit a 1/4” BSP 80mm long nipple, held in position by elbows at either end and washers to pack it out.
View attachment 34384
1/4” BSP barbed connector allows connection to a short length of 3/8” gas/beer line, a JG reducer to 3/16” for the gas line to the keg.
View attachment 34386

Very nice job, sir.