Corny keg fridge - from scratch.

[Joust]

Now then,

I live in central(ish) London. Although I'm lucky enough to have a garden I'm very short on space and spousal patience. So I can't just have a big chest freezer or tall fridge kicking about for my drinking and tinkering.

I'm planning on completely dismantling a small fridge freezer and using its cooling pipes, some insulation board, and some wood sheet panels to make a small cooler.

It will hold two corny kegs. Both 19L. And have two taps. A footprint of about 1 foot by 2 foot. And be kept outside.

I only drink of a weekend. So plan to turn it on Thursday till sunday. Or when carbing.

I've just picked up an undercounted fridge with a little freezer box off Freecycle. And scavenged a large sheet of insulation foam board from a building site.

I'll document the build and success or failure.

And I'm open to tips and suggestions and predictions on failure!

 

[Ben034]

Sounds interesting. Would it not be better to leave on at all times? At least to cellar temperatures? This will help the beer condition and I can't imagine you would save much energy by having to cool 20/40l + down from 20-25c in the summer?

Would a beer cooler (maxi cooler or similar) not be best for your situation? I believe people turn these on for half an hour before drinking as it only cools a small amount of liquid.

 

[Brew_DD2]

I would echo Ben's comments. Fluctuations in temps screw with your carbonation levels.

 

[user 18729]

I'm very short on space and spousal patience.

I think that sums up most members on here! good luck with your build!

 

[Joust]

Sounds interesting. Would it not be better to leave on at all times? At least to cellar temperatures? This will help the beer condition and I can't imagine you would save much energy by having to cool 20/40l + down from 20-25c in the summer?

Would a beer cooler (maxi cooler or similar) not be best for your situation? I believe people turn these on for half an hour before drinking as it only cools a small amount of liquid.

You might well be right about keeping it on... I'll have to see how much it warms up when it's off. Good point!

And yeah I'm sure there are a lot of premade options that are better suited. But I like to tinker and I've not got a load of spare money these days. We're just on the wife's wage at the moment and she's been reduced to 80% due to the coronas.

 

[Clint]

Why not leave the freezer as is and build a pallet wood (free) case around it so it looks sort of like a little shed or garden tool box. Have some doors on it so you can access your beer..

 

[Joust]

Why not leave the freezer as is and build a pallet wood (free) case around it so it looks sort of like a little shed or garden tool box. Have some doors on it so you can access your beer..

I can't fit the 2 cornies in it. It'll only fit the shorter fatter of the two

 

[Ben034]

You might well be right about keeping it on... I'll have to see how much it warms up when it's off. Good point!

And yeah I'm sure there are a lot of premade options that are better suited. But I like to tinker and I've not got a load of spare money these days. We're just on the wife's wage at the moment and she's been reduced to 80% due to the coronas.

Understandable. I'm sure someone with experience of building similar will be along. Good luck with the project

 

[Joust]

Before....

 

[Joust]

After....

 

[Joust]

Two hours of being metal and snapping polystyrene.
Only three cuts on my hands.

And it still works!

It all looks good for size. Two main elements. One big one from the freezer box and a small one from the fridge. Should fit nice inside the box I will build. And the radiator elements are shaped well for the sides of my box.

 

[ChilledGecko]

Damn, I doff my hat in your direction sir!
I used to be a refrigeration engineer in a previous incarnation and those pipes can be notoriously brittle, to got where you are the beer fairy must have been looking over your shoulder

I look forward to seeing your further adventures.

 

[Clint]

I'm not good at such stuff...I've just spent two hours trying to free a gate hinge that's still attached to the steel post that used to be on the end of the drive...removed the gates as the posts were knackered and we decided to get rid. Anyway I've kept the gates and plan to use them on the allotment...I've given up...tried WD-40, jamming it under the garage door, screwing it to the wall and the big hammer ...I'd have broke that fridge for sure...

 

[fury_tea]

Interested to see how this turns out!

 

[Gerryjo]

I'm not good at such stuff...I've just spent two hours trying to free a gate hinge that's still attached to the steel post that used to be on the end of the drive...removed the gates as the posts were knackered and we decided to get rid. Anyway I've kept the gates and plan to use them on the allotment...I've given up...tried WD-40, jamming it under the garage door, screwing it to the wall and the big hammer ...I'd have broke that fridge for sure...

Get a blowtorch on them with some heating oil or diesel to help free them up..

 

[Clint]

Thanks ..I haven't got one though...it's only the top one that's stuck and it's just the hook and eye hanging type...coz it's attached to the post and the post isn't attached to anything it's hard to get any leverage on it ..it will move a bit but it's stiff as hell...perhaps I might take it to the allotment..bolt it to the shed and rag it round...

 

[Neilos1988]

Nice will be interesting to see the finished product, might have to copy, take plenty pics

 

[Joust]

Damn, I doff my hat in your direction sir!
I used to be a refrigeration engineer in a previous incarnation and those pipes can be notoriously brittle, to got where you are the beer fairy must have been looking over your shoulder

I look forward to seeing your further adventures.

It felt really dodgy. Like something was going to burst at any second.

But I guess it's repeated bending that work-hardens and cracks the pipes. So I'm being very careful not to move it. And I'll hardly have to reshape it at all, once I stick it in a frame.

 

[Joust]

About to cut a sheet of osd board in to the panels of the box

 

[Joust]

Forgot to post this the other Day..