Newbie wanting to build Kegerator

[dazziep]

got to be honest I'm scared stiff about drilling holes in this.. don't suppose anyone knows anything about beko under counter fridges and where the coolant lines usually are in them?? sides, top, bottom or fricken everywhere ??

 

[bigbud78]

Find a piece of wood almost as thick as a thin drill bit is long and use it as a stop so only a mm or two of drill bit is showing. Drill your hole, then use something thin to check for pipes in the way

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[dazziep]

cool idea :) will I be able to tell the difference between hitting a pipe and the inner plastic layer of the fridge? or do you mean through the top and take the top off the fridge so it's just insulation and then do it from the inside ?

 

[bigbud78]

Just through the side where you want the pipe, if there is a cooling pipe you won't get it very deep. The insulation inside will just move to one side. I saw it on a dono video on YouTube, will link it later when at pc


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[bigbud78]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12p9_sfxFds[/ame]

 

[Bigcol49]

I've seen a few pictures on Google images with kegorators with collars on door to make them bigger

Hi!
When our local WMC upgraded their bottle coolers, two of them "fell" into my brew shed. They hold only one corny keg, so I thought about adding a collar.
I plan to build a complete outer "shell" of plywood for the top and sides of the fridge and add a plywood door, suitably insulated, to the front.
This will mean that I can get two cornies inside, there will be room for bottles above the compressor shelf, I won't need to drill through the fridge itself and I can add proper taps.

 

[dazziep]

I'm after one of those.. you ain't selling one are you ?? :)

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've sent you a PM.

 

[Fil]

Big difference between extending a chest freezer and a front opening fridge is the nature of cold air to settle below warm air, so a hacked freezer will contain the cold air in its main body regarless of any leeks in a collar, while a low leak in the collar of a front opening door mod will drop all the cold air out of the fridge as quickly as you can chill it.

Also be wary of creating condensation traps where moisture can pool in cracks n crannies.

good luck and please post pics of the builds

 

[dazziep]

Ok I've done some thinking, and I now have my 2 tap beer tower ready to go and drill my hole in the top of my fridge, but I don't think I'm going to attach the tower to the top of the fridge, I want to attach it to my bar and sit the fridge under the bar, so I need to have a little think about how I'm going to do that and seal it all. I'm also thinking if ever my fridge dies and I need to replace, I don't want to have to take all my bar to pieces to get the fridge out..

Has anyone here built a kegerator like this before that could point me in the right direction ?

Cheers

 

[Wilfy]

Ok I've done some thinking, and I now have my 2 tap beer tower ready to go and drill my hole in the top of my fridge, but I don't think I'm going to attach the tower to the top of the fridge, I want to attach it to my bar and sit the fridge under the bar, so I need to have a little think about how I'm going to do that and seal it all. I'm also thinking if ever my fridge dies and I need to replace, I don't want to have to take all my bar to pieces to get the fridge out..

Has anyone here built a kegerator like this before that could point me in the right direction ?

Cheers

I may be being stupid here but if your fridge died, wouldn't it just be a case of disconnecting the lines to the tower tap and pulling the fridge out?

 

[dazziep]

No I need to blow cold air up into the tower so I would have some kind of pipe connected from the top of the fridge to the tower which I assume needs to be sealed pretty well??

usually the towers are just sat straight on top of the fridge with a pipe up and a blower, but mine has to go from the fridge to the bar above.

I guess I wouldn't have to take the whole bar to bits to remove fridge, just dismantle tower and take out pipe ??

I think I just like to over complicate matters sometimes :)

 

[Fil]

No I need to blow cold air up into the tower so I would have some kind of pipe connected from the top of the fridge to the tower which I assume needs to be sealed pretty well??

usually the towers are just sat straight on top of the fridge with a pipe up and a blower, but mine has to go from the fridge to the bar above.

I guess I wouldn't have to take the whole bar to bits to remove fridge, just dismantle tower and take out pipe ??

I think I just like to over complicate matters sometimes :)

i may be wrong but cold air blowing up a font doesn't sound right??

Many fonts have python plumbing generally 1/2" or 15mm to take a cold water flow from a shelf chiller for a visual condensation effect on the bar, and while it also chills the last foot or so of beer line, its not that crucial to serving,f omitted just resulting in a nominally longer initial burp n fart out of the tap at the start of each session, and perhaps a lively first half pint as the beer chills the line ..

 

[dazziep]

I'm not too sure, I'm just going on quite a few of the vids I've watched on youTube on how to build a kegerator.. quite a lot of people put a pipe up into the font with a fan at the bottom blowing the cold air up into the tower?? like this guy for example ...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imu1Zm6Kjys[/ame]

 

[Fil]

OK thats a new one on me but as usual im happy to stand corrected..

However imho its more gimik/novelty feature with more in common with a flashing led than any practical purpose, the cold beer running through the beerline to the font will chill it down after a few oz's have flown through regardless.. so if easy to replicate and it rings your bells go for it, if tricky to implement then if omitted its not going to have any negative impact.

 

[dazziep]

further updates. (I wish I had taken more pics, or maybe a youtube vid of me doing this ah well I might make another one :) )

Hole drilled, pipes put in and tower attached (not screwed down yet as it's sitting on a bar above fridge)

woo hoo, getting there.. just need beer..

 

[blawford]

Looking good.

I am thinking about doing the same, can I ask how much the tap tower was and where you got it from?

Also, is there room for a second corny in there? It's hard to tell from the picture.

 

[dazziep]

Cheers :)

the tower was from - https://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/collections/chrome-plated-beer-towers/products/2-faucet-beer-tower

I'm hoping I can fit a 2nd corny in.. I haven't got the 2nd one yet so can't tell but I think I need to carve out some of the door and the side walls then tape it all up with the silver insulating tape to stop nasties from getting in :)

I'm just waiting for some beer now to test it :thumb:

 

[TheQuokka]

That's actually a really common way to cool the beer line in the tower 'round these parts - sans the lights and the tubing, though. A fan to blow cold air up into the tower works well and is a lot cheaper than a commercial chiller system. 240V fans are expensive, so cut the plug off a 12V plug pack and wire it up to whatever fan you have scrounged. (The LEDs don't help, even in a computer!)

 

[dazziep]

Got my 2nd corny today and surprise surprise they won't just both fit without having to hack the hell out of the inside if the fridge.. I knew I wouldn't be that lucky, but the worse bit is... I have removed the light and temp control and there us a connector behind it so it doesn't reach to where i need to move it too.. I guess the easiest thing us to see if I can get a 6 pin molex extender (or make my own).
Anyway .. a few more pics of my progress for you..