I've wanted to build a kegerator ever since I started kegging beer; partly because it would free up my existing fridge solely for fermenting duties (was too small anyway) and partly because I was fed up with trudging to the brewery each time I wanted a pint. So when lockdown #3 ended for us a fortnight ago I made a bee-line to my local purveyor of white goods and relieved them of an upright larder fridge big enough to hold 4 kegs.
After knocking up a shelf on CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) I had some help from a friend to cut it out of a section of "wet-wall", which apparently is a type of laminated plywood used to build shower rooms. I decided to plan for two 19 litre Cornelius kegs and two 10 (or 5 - they have the same footprint) litre mini kegs because that's the motley collection I seem to have ended up with since I started kegging; two Cornys for pale ale or other quick drinking brews, a 10 litre for high ABV beers where the other half of the batch is normally bottled, and space for another ten or two stacked fives which tend to hold the results of an experiment.
Using this staggered pattern gives me the chance to have some airflow around the kegs, and if needed I can insert a vertical brace of some kind between the two kegs at the front if the weight of those at the back calls for it.
Having just received the freshly cut shelf I'm not sure that I'll need to support the front as the material is incredibly stiff, and its thickness matches the height of the little 'bump' at the back of the compressor housing, which means my kegs can partially sit on that bump and the shelf at the same time without any tilt, letting the compressor housing take half the weight. Very happy with this.
By the way, my gas manifold is held in place with two white sticky pads from the local motor factors, the kind that you stick number plates on with. It gives me easy access to my lines and just clears the shelf on the inside of the door, which serves as a drip tray for the taps when the door is closed. I also used the same sticky pads (trimmed lengthways) to hold the gas lines inside one of the otherwise unused shelf channels, and then down the back via a 90° elbow. Praise be to our lord and saviour, John Guest, amen.
Finally, those taps. I opted for three Flow Control Nukataps back when I thought I'd be using what is now my ferment fridge, because three kegs is all that I'd have fitted in there. Now that I can have four, possibly five kegs I was going to jump in and buy another two taps, but the cost is starting to mount up and I don't honestly know if I'll need that many, given that I've only got one ferment fridge and two decent FVs. Trouble is, the number of taps is a factor when you're planning to mount them in the door, and I didn't want to butcher a brand new fridge only to have to add two more taps later, one of which may only be there to preserve the symmetry. Damn my OCD.
So I decided to start out by having the taps on the inside until I figure out what I need. It was only ever going to be a short term solution, but you know what? It seems to work really well. The wooden box I've bashed together is easily modified and hides the beer lines. The taps are fully refrigerated which makes them more hygienic and there's no surplus foam. Flies can't get to them, zero chance of bashing into them while walking past, no smelly external drip tray. Opening the door each time I want a pint seems to produce no more condensation than opening the door and taking out a bottle. In fact the only downside I can think of so far is that I need to give each tap a brief wipe with some blue roll when I've poured a pint, since I don't have an in-situ drip tray and the door doesn't close quick enough to offer up an otherwise empty door shelf to catch the first of maybe two or three drips. That's it.
In summary I'm mightily impressed by the convenience of having the taps inside the kegerator. This arrangement may not work in a bar or a club, but being the only beer drinker in the household I have no problems with it. If I decide to keep the taps in there then I may go for a better 'tap box' - ideally something that eliminates wood because I'm not keen on the thought of a porous material inside a fridge. Part of me wants to convert a Makita power tool box, but although it's the right size I'm not going there until I'm sure of how many taps I'll need.
Finally, the tapless expanse of man-sized white box currently in my kitchen will probably be covered in some printed vinyl to make it a bit more funky, possibly with something by one of the geniuses at r/ComicWalls. Seriously cool stuff ...
After knocking up a shelf on CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) I had some help from a friend to cut it out of a section of "wet-wall", which apparently is a type of laminated plywood used to build shower rooms. I decided to plan for two 19 litre Cornelius kegs and two 10 (or 5 - they have the same footprint) litre mini kegs because that's the motley collection I seem to have ended up with since I started kegging; two Cornys for pale ale or other quick drinking brews, a 10 litre for high ABV beers where the other half of the batch is normally bottled, and space for another ten or two stacked fives which tend to hold the results of an experiment.
Using this staggered pattern gives me the chance to have some airflow around the kegs, and if needed I can insert a vertical brace of some kind between the two kegs at the front if the weight of those at the back calls for it.
Having just received the freshly cut shelf I'm not sure that I'll need to support the front as the material is incredibly stiff, and its thickness matches the height of the little 'bump' at the back of the compressor housing, which means my kegs can partially sit on that bump and the shelf at the same time without any tilt, letting the compressor housing take half the weight. Very happy with this.
By the way, my gas manifold is held in place with two white sticky pads from the local motor factors, the kind that you stick number plates on with. It gives me easy access to my lines and just clears the shelf on the inside of the door, which serves as a drip tray for the taps when the door is closed. I also used the same sticky pads (trimmed lengthways) to hold the gas lines inside one of the otherwise unused shelf channels, and then down the back via a 90° elbow. Praise be to our lord and saviour, John Guest, amen.
Finally, those taps. I opted for three Flow Control Nukataps back when I thought I'd be using what is now my ferment fridge, because three kegs is all that I'd have fitted in there. Now that I can have four, possibly five kegs I was going to jump in and buy another two taps, but the cost is starting to mount up and I don't honestly know if I'll need that many, given that I've only got one ferment fridge and two decent FVs. Trouble is, the number of taps is a factor when you're planning to mount them in the door, and I didn't want to butcher a brand new fridge only to have to add two more taps later, one of which may only be there to preserve the symmetry. Damn my OCD.
So I decided to start out by having the taps on the inside until I figure out what I need. It was only ever going to be a short term solution, but you know what? It seems to work really well. The wooden box I've bashed together is easily modified and hides the beer lines. The taps are fully refrigerated which makes them more hygienic and there's no surplus foam. Flies can't get to them, zero chance of bashing into them while walking past, no smelly external drip tray. Opening the door each time I want a pint seems to produce no more condensation than opening the door and taking out a bottle. In fact the only downside I can think of so far is that I need to give each tap a brief wipe with some blue roll when I've poured a pint, since I don't have an in-situ drip tray and the door doesn't close quick enough to offer up an otherwise empty door shelf to catch the first of maybe two or three drips. That's it.
In summary I'm mightily impressed by the convenience of having the taps inside the kegerator. This arrangement may not work in a bar or a club, but being the only beer drinker in the household I have no problems with it. If I decide to keep the taps in there then I may go for a better 'tap box' - ideally something that eliminates wood because I'm not keen on the thought of a porous material inside a fridge. Part of me wants to convert a Makita power tool box, but although it's the right size I'm not going there until I'm sure of how many taps I'll need.
Finally, the tapless expanse of man-sized white box currently in my kitchen will probably be covered in some printed vinyl to make it a bit more funky, possibly with something by one of the geniuses at r/ComicWalls. Seriously cool stuff ...
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