cornie keg fridge

[neddy]

Hi im new on here so soz if this has already been put on.
Ive brought 3 cornie kegs and been looking on you tube and alot of the guys in the states have tall fridges with taps drilled through at top of door. Was considering doing this to keep beer cool and then its also ready to pour. Is this a good idea and also which fridges are best to fit 3 kegs in (second hand)? Ive noticed that they put gas bottles in also (is that ok?)
Thanks for the help and suggestions
Neil

 

[kev]

I've got one. I can't post pics until I'm home because of the net-nazi's at work.

Basically you're best to keep the gas outside the fridge. It's dead easy to drill a small hole through the wall of the fridge and put your gas lines through it. Means you have more space for cornies!

If you want more than 2 cornies in at once then you might be best with a chest freezer as there's more room inside. My first keg fridge can only fit 2 kegs in it and it's a big fridge. I could maybe fit a 3rd in if I butchered the inside of it but I'm happy with 2.

Keep your eye on Gumtree. There's a stupid amount of people that just want rid of stuff as quickly as possible. My last fridge was absolutely mint and worth about £300 but I got it for £30. I needed a chum to get it down 2 flights of stairs but it took about 20 mins all together and I got a belter of a fridge.

Also got to factor in temp control......and I don't mean the dial on the inside of the fridge! I mean a proper accurate temp controller that switches the fridge on/off accordingly. Lastly......you might need a heater in there. I serve at 11c which is the norm for craft beer and I have to actually heat my fridge overnight.

Don't forget it'll cost a few quid to get this all going. The taps are about £50. Then there's brew lines, gas lines, regulators, controllers, etc. I've probably spent £200-£300 all in on my setup and that's assuming you're getting the fridges for nowt or very very cheap at the most.

will post pics of mine later.

K

 

[neddy]

Thanks matey.
It sounds very complicated

 

[kev]

Well....it's not really complicated but it's quite "involved". That said, kegging is infinitely easier than bottling and pouring perfectly carbonated draught beer at home is mega.

K

 

[Fil]

Its a VERY GOOD idea, to get the best from your kegs all year round some sort of active chilling is going to be useful. Temperature is one of the factors you can control to ensure you get to pour nice beer and not wasteful foam.

 

[TRXnMe]

Wat are the dimensions of a corny keg?

I'd only get one pressure barrel into an average fridge, but there would be a lot of 'wasted' space due to the curvature of the keg...

 

[jaymondo]

cornies are approx 650mm high and 220mm diameter. i have a tall larder fridge and can easily fit in two cornies side by side and also have a shelf full of bottles :thumb:

 

[TRXnMe]

Thank you, gives me an idea what size fridge to get, and whether an under counter jobby will do me :)