Newbie wanting to build Kegerator

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dazziep

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
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Location
Doncaster
Hi all..

I recently had the crazy idea I'm gonna build a home bar, but me being me I couldn't just settle for a bar, with some taps on (just for show) and a fridge full of beer. Nope I had to have a real working bar with pumps connected to co2 and beer kegs (as you do), but this has now taken over my life, all I think about is Kegs, Regulators, starsan .. anything that I've recently researched basically :)

One thing I have started work on is a kegerator, I have my corny, I have my fridge (well I do tomorrow), I'm getting pipes, regulator and CO2 bottle next week and I have a friend who has me a nice beer brewing so all is good..

BUT unlike the other kegerators I have seen, I don't want to attach taps to the fridge, I just want some kind of JG style connector on the fridge that I can attach my lines to and send it to my taps on my bar.

I'm not 100% sure how as I've not seen anyone else do that so any help would be massively appreciated and if anyone see's any issues with that or reasons I shouldn't really do it, please let me know

cheers in advance guys (and girls maybe??)

and look forward to chatting with you all about all things beer related and sharing me photos of my build with you..

daz
 
Hi!
Would a keezer be more suitable for you?

KeezerSortaDone.jpg
 
yeah a keezer would be awesome, but I've already got the fridge now (well will have when I pick it up tomorrow) .. Is that yours in the picture..?? that looks really good.

Also noticed your from Doncaster.. me too ;)
 
I'm thinking of maybe just having pipes sticking out of the fridge similar to what you see on the maxi coolers, then I can just clip my lines onto them.

like below... (I am planning on getting one of these in the near future, but the fridge will do for now :) )

cornelius-varitemp-250-327.jpg
 
there is a logistical problem providing simple beer out lines to connect to exiting the fridge and that is an extra stop cock in the line .. but its do-able, However i would suggest you instead think about simply terminating your tap line with a corny disconnect and only hook up when needed instead.

Most modern fridges have cold radiators at the back and dont have cooling pipes travelling through the wall/shell foam insulation void so a simple hatch on the top to provide tube/disconnect access shoud be easy enough to sort out, Just ensure you seal up any exposed insulation foam with pva or latex or similar as otherwise microlife and moisture can lodge in exposed insulation foam and go mankey ;(

shelf chillers are a viable altenative however they are quite noisy with no soundproofing and no insulated food cupboard to sit the noisy compresor and fan behind. And they dont like being boxex into a small space, I run one in the summer in a cupboard with over 3m cubed space, AND Need to keep the cupboard door open when running as otherwise the shelf chiller will heat in the confined space efficiently bringing the ambient temp up over 40c!!! which is counter productive.. the upside is 30-40mins of chilling is generally enough running of an evening to chill the watrebath down to 0c and provide an evenings cool pouring for a single bod ;)
 
If I ever win the lottery or something I will probably go for a keezer, looks great. It will go in my games room with my snooker table, pool table, dart board, huge screen tv, etc. Maybe on wheels so I can roll it into the swimming pool or outside when the occasion calls for it.
 
If I ever win the lottery or something I will probably go for a keezer, looks great. It will go in my games room with my snooker table, pool table, dart board, huge screen tv, etc. Maybe on wheels so I can roll it into the swimming pool or outside when the occasion calls for it.

Hi!
Only one games room? Cheapskate :grin:
 
Just checking I've understood you properly.
Are you saying to just feed the pipes straight though (and seal well) and just disconnect the ball lock on the corny when not using .
Or to some how mount some of those connectors like whatsome on a corny to the fridge and connect and disconnect my pipes straight to the fridge?

Sorry I'm a noob :)
 
thinking more about it and re-reading your comment, I'm pretty sure it is the first you are talking about. BUT..

I was looking on ebay and saw this and wondered if there was anyway I could connect this to the fridge and then use the ball lock disconnects straight on the fridge... I'm still wondering if that a bit of a crazy idea though :)

corny thing.PNG
 
those are caps intended for screwing onto pet bottles so you can pressure condition the contents,

In order to fix the sort of attachment your talking about could be done but would be quite expensive and be a sod to strip n clean which is a VERY IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION.

the major critisism of corny kegs in comparison to other options (sankey style etc) is the 'complexity of seals etc of 2 x connection posts what with poppets and orings to service.replace..

Adding a whole set of new 'weak links' doubles the servicing/cleaning work and doubles the chance of dropping a keg of beer or bottle of co2 due to a leak or weak seal,

perhaps a chest freezer mod rather than a fridge mod would suit you better?
 
You mean something like this? ;)

bf7085065cce4cd2ea9295251d2d0dfa.jpg


It also had the advantage of being able to unclip the beer line from the tap shank and plug in a carbonation cap to fill bottles under pressure, to hook up whatever cleaning setup you want to use (pressure sprayer, submersible pump etc) or get away with fewer taps than you may have kegs (useful to control costs when initially setting up).

Fill is right though in that the more complexity you add in the more possible issues (it is useful being able to isolate things when not using them).
 
yep that's exactly what I'm after :) .. although I totally agree with fil now I've been thinking about it more.. I know what a pain cleaning a corny is, having to take off the caps every time, so yeah I would have to do this with these too..

I am tempted to make an hole, pass the lines in and seal it back up with silicon or something and disconnect my corny's when not in use.. I don't know what to do for the best to be honest :(

I would love to make a keezer instead, but I already have 2 fridges now and no means of picking up a chest freezer (I doubt it would fit in my ford focus :D )
 
getting a step closer now.. got my fridge and my corny..

Spoke to a guy about getting a small co2 bottle (3kg) to fit in it and he said he only has the big ones (6.35kg) in stock at the moment and advises I get one of those and DONT put it in the fridge, put it out of the fridge and drill an hole for the pipe in the side.

He told me ...

"By placing the Co2 bottle inside the fridge you are drastically reducing the pressure of the Co2 gas, Co2 gas is produce by the 'boiling' of liquid Co2, the pressure increases as the temperature increases the ideal Co2 temp. for home brew is 18c to 22c."

which I totally trust, that's his job selling gas, he obviously knows a lot better than me :). if I'm honest though I didn't want to drill too many holes in the fridge as knowing my luck I'm bound to drill straight through one of the chiller lines (or what ever they are called).

I was also wondering, when I've looking at keezers I see that they take the door off, build a wooden frame and stick door on top of that. Can you do that to a fridge rather than hacking away at door and sides to fit 2 cornys in quite easy and make all the holes in the wooden frame??

20170228_205317.jpg
 
Hi!
The problem is the hinges- the supports are built into the body.
You may be able to fit the gas line through the drain hole.
Alternatively, cut out a small section of the "concertina" seal and fit the gas line through the gap.
 
I reckon I could somehow hack the hinges, but I'm a little concerned about the door sealing.. I guess with a keezer the door is on top so the weight will keep it shut, but on a fridge I would need a metal strip around my frame to stick to or something.

some people tell me I'm fine to be drilling holes it as there won't be any of the chiller lines around sides and top.. but I'm still a little nervous about it.. does anyone know for sure that is the case with the Beko under counter fridges (I can get a model number tonight).

I'll have a look at that drain hole too and see how big it is..(won't I need it to drain any condensation out though ??)
 
Ah cool..

Well it looks do-able..I've seen a few pictures on Google images with kegorators with collars on door to make them bigger.. would be interested to know more.. like if it works or if the fridge packs up as it's now doing more work than it was made for etc..
 
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