Oxbar 20l keg kegerator

clarkos72 · Jun 15, 2024

Hi all,

I want to make a kegerator and recently ordered some Oxbar 20l PET kegs and wondered if anyone could tell me the internal height of a Hotpoint RLA36 fridge. I have a feeling these kegs are too tall but I live in hope.

https://www.kegland.com.au/products/oxebar-20l-amber-pet-keg-pressure-fermenter-tank

Thanks in advance.

clarkos72 · Jun 16, 2024

clarkos72 said:
Hi all,

I want to make a kegerator and recently ordered some Oxbar 20l PET kegs and wondered if anyone could tell me the internal height of a Hotpoint RLA36 fridge. I have a feeling these kegs are too tall but I live in hope.

https://www.kegland.com.au/products/oxebar-20l-amber-pet-keg-pressure-fermenter-tank

Thanks in advance.

View attachment 100746

Answered my own question. I took the plunge and picked up a Hotpoint RLA36 and these kegs fit perfectly. Thought I’d mention it, someone might find this information useful.

fluketamer · Jun 17, 2024

i love these. i have two one i use as a pressure fermenter. i already pressure fermented a munich helles in it and it came out really great at 70 degrees !. the other one i keep as a shank tank for pressure transfers line cleaning and jumping beer to minikegs for taking on the road.

SHANK TANK:

i was going to say one of them fits in a madea 4.3 cu ft fridge without any mods but it sounds like you are already good. cheers .

you cant beat PET kegging. light weight value versatility, see through.

so far cleaning the kreusen ring has been a breeze with warm oxyclean soak

clarkos72 · Jun 18, 2024

I was a little concerned as I’d heard that some people had issues with these holding pressure. I’ve pressurised and left for a few days and they’re holding perfectly. Great value for money.

fluketamer · Jun 18, 2024

I got mine at 25 psi for two weeks now. No loss of pressure. I use it to move beer and purge kegs and lines and jump beer etc. When I first did a pressure lager it didn’t hold cause I didn’t tighten one of the carb caps. My fault.

I really like having the free co2 production. I definately notice that I am using much less co2: My only source of co2 is sodastream and that’s pricey. This really helps.
It has occurred to me that with keg priming and a shank tank I think you can prolly get away with no commercial co2 source and still drink keg beer. My only worry now is that keeping the yeast water sugar solution in the oxebar so long will make it harder to clean any crud. I will find out eventually lol.

clarkos72 · Jun 19, 2024

Kegerator in progress, just waiting for the delivery of my tap tower.

I see some people bypass the existing fridge thermostat and install a separate unit. What’s the advantage of doing this? I’d rather not bother and keep the electrics of the fridge unmolested.

Benfleet Brewery · Jun 19, 2024

clarkos72 said:
Kegerator in progress, just waiting for the delivery of my tap tower.

I see some people bypass the existing fridge thermostat and install a separate unit. What’s the advantage of doing this? I’d rather not bother and keep the electrics of the fridge unmolested.View attachment 100923 View attachment 100924

There’s no need to start pulling the fridge apart for temperature control. Just get an Inkbird temperature controller and plug it into that.

clarkos72 · Jun 19, 2024

Benfleet Brewery said:
There’s no need to start pulling the fridge apart for temperature control. Just get an Inkbird temperature controller and plug it into that.

I have an Inkbird, but I don’t see the advantage. Unless it’s to do with accuracy.

clarkos72 · Jun 19, 2024

clarkos72 said:
I have an Inkbird, but I don’t see the advantage. Unless it’s to do with accuracy.

When we store bottles of beer in our domestic fridge, we don’t worry about the exact temperature, as long as it’s cold it’s good to drink.

Benfleet Brewery · Jun 19, 2024

clarkos72 said:
I have an Inkbird, but I don’t see the advantage. Unless it’s to do with accuracy.

Without it the fridge will chill to fridge temperatures (2-4 degrees). With the Inkbird set to, say, 6 degrees, it will turn the fridge off when it gets to that temperature.

Benfleet Brewery · Jun 19, 2024

clarkos72 said:
When we store bottles of beer in our domestic fridge, we don’t worry about the exact temperature, as long as it’s cold it’s good to drink.

Some people like there beer at a temperature higher than normal fridge temperatures. 2-4 degrees is fine for lagers but not for some other ales.

clarkos72 · Jun 19, 2024

Benfleet Brewery said:
Some people like there beer at a temperature higher than normal fridge temperatures. 2-4 degrees is fine for lagers but not for some other ales.

clarkos72 · Jun 19, 2024

My enjoyment of beer isn’t as precise as a few degrees in temperature. I’m quite new to the hobby so consider myself a complete novice so maybe missing something regarding serving temperature.

If I have a pseudo lager and an IPA in the same kegerator I’d rather both beers be on the cold side.

I’ll go without an Inkbird for now and see how I get on.

fluketamer · Jun 21, 2024

in the states supposedly we drink our beer much colder than you guys "across the pond" as you say.

in that vein i think we mostly use them over here to turn fridges into temp controlled ferm chambers.

i drink my beer ice cold like 34-36 degrees ( again 2 c for the other side of the world. or the rest of the world for that matter. lol )

i dont use any temp controller on my fridges they are already right where i want them. i just plugged it in and threw in the kegs.

for my ferm chamber i used to use an inkbird with a 3.5 cu ft fridge for temperature control.

if you are ok with drinking very cold beer then you dont need inkbird.
btw the fridges have that little knob so you can chill them all the way down to 32 or leave em a little warmer at like 42. maybe thats warm enough for you europeans.

cheers

clarkos72 · Jun 21, 2024

fluketamer said:
in the states supposedly we drink our beer much colder than you guys "across the pond" as you say.

in that vein i think we mostly use them over here to turn fridges into temp controlled ferm chambers.

i drink my beer ice cold like 34-36 degrees ( again 2 c for the other side of the world. or the rest of the world for that matter. lol )

i dont use any temp controller on my fridges they are already right where i want them. i just plugged it in and threw in the kegs.

for my ferm chamber i used to use an inkbird with a 3.5 cu ft fridge for temperature control.

if you are ok with drinking very cold beer then you dont need inkbird.
btw the fridges have that little knob so you can chill them all the way down to 32 or leave em a little warmer at like 42. maybe thats warm enough for you europeans.

cheers

Maybe I’m an honorary American as I like my beer to be cold regardless of style (so shoot me).

I do use temp control for my fermentation chamber but I think like your good self I’ll let my kegerator run wild and get my beers nice and cold.

gavp1979 · Jun 21, 2024

Just be wary that if it is too cold you can freeze the beer in the lines. I did that when I first set up my fridge, took me a while to work out why the taps weren't working

clarkos72 · Jun 21, 2024

I’ll keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for the advice.

fluketamer · Jun 22, 2024

yeah try to keep the lines away from the back i find that they can freeze up if leaning or very close to the back where the condenser or whatever it is called is.

i find if you wrap your palm around the line for a minute it will melt the ice in there.

clarkos72 · Jul 4, 2024

I might even put some insulation on the pipes to help prevent freezing, I’ll see how I get on.

So I’ve finished the build so far, which is open to modifications if I think it needs it like an Inkbird but it’ll do for now. Just need to fill it with beer.

Oxbar 20l keg kegerator

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