Mick Dundee’s Kegerator Build

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MickDundee

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Now, I’m probably the least handy person on the planet so here goes.

I got a kegerator conversion kit for my birthday and today was my first attempt at putting it together. I would just like to say how smoothly it went. My big drill bit went through the door like a hot knife through butter.

My only problem is with the gas line though - I can’t seem to fit it through the drain hole and my attempts at making the drain hole bigger have been futile. I have a couple of options - see if I can fit it on the ledge behind the kegs (either between the 10L minikegs or sit the minikegs on their side on the shelf at the top), I can drill the side of the fridge (don’t want to do this), or I can get some 3/16 line and line reducers and see if that will fit. Just wondering who has taken what route with their gas tank/line location?
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I used 3/16" through the drain hole with John Guest reducers etc and a two way splitter, let me know if you want any pics or advise.
Yeah that’s what the maltmiller video did and probably my preference.
 
I did exactly that after watching the Video.
I’ve just ordered a pair of in line reducers. I’ll nick some 3/16 beer line from my taps when I balance my lines. Canister can sit in the fridge in the meantime.
 
Did you order the the Kegland inline regulator from AliExpress?
Not yet. I’m only going to have 1 keg on for a while and don’t want to be spending too much at the moment. It’s on my shopping list.
 
Ah ok, you might want to order in some 5/16" gas line if you order one and a reducer for both ends.
I accidentally ordered some from 5/16 line from GEB (they have the in line regs for £10 and I added to basket then saw the total price of my order and removed everything but forgot to remove the line) so will just need the reducers when I get round to ordering.
 
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Great work there and you can always add on extras as and when. I did the same as MM with the gas lines, 3/8 from the regulator reduced to 3\16 then back to 3\8 going through the drain hole and it worked out perfect. But with all the different JG fittings it can become quite expensive, I’ll eagerly be watching on the progress ; )
 
First keg done - wondered why it was taking so long to get the CO2 in and discovered I needed to have the ring pulls pointing up on the pressure relief valves.
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Edit: the PRV had become unscrewed. I’ve screwed it in now and it keeps pressure with the ring folded over.
 
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Looking smart. You can get a good few kegs in there. It's making me wonder whether I should get a tall fridge now as the little chest freezer I have only holds two kegs, which is clearly not enough...

Rather than the little signs, you could probably just get a whiteboard marker and write directly on the front.
 
Looking smart. You can get a good few kegs in there. It's making me wonder whether I should get a tall fridge now as the little chest freezer I have only holds two kegs, which is clearly not enough...

Rather than the little signs, you could probably just get a whiteboard marker and write directly on the front.
Yeah I’d thought about that. The little blackboard markers came with some kitchen Tupperware and I thought they were a neat touch - damp cloth gets the pen off. The Kiss sticker and “Michael’s Bar” sign we’re both on there when it was my brew fridge, although I moved the sign up over the Indesit logo to fit the taps in.

I can fit 2 cornies plus 2 10L minikegs (although I only have 1 at the moment) with room for a hop/yeast shelf at the top, which also means I can get rid of my Stella Husky fridge which I’d been using for hops and yeast before.
 
I can fit 2 cornies plus 2 10L minikegs

Is the photo a bit deceiving then (I'm looking at the first photo in the first post)? It looks like there is clear space to build a wooden shelf and put another two cornies above?
 
Is the photo a bit deceiving then (I'm looking at the first photo in the first post)? It looks like there is clear space to build a wooden shelf and put another two cornies above?
I think it’s the angle of the photo. I possibly could but it would be tight.
 
I can fit 2 cornies plus 2 10L minikegs (although I only have 1 at the moment) with room for a hop/yeast shelf at the top, which also means I can get rid of my Stella Husky fridge which I’d been using for hops and yeast before.
Stuck the Husky fridge on Facebook marketplace and it sold in 9 minutes with 5 people contacting me. I’m wishing I’d stuck it on for more than £30 now.

Manifold and in line regulator ordered from AliExpress now using the proceeds.
 
How do I know if I have a gas leak?I’m probably just paranoid.

When I was first building the kegerator, I knocked the canister over, it somehow hit something that turned the gas on and it ran for about 20-30 seconds before my brain realised what had just happened and I switched it off. When I attached it to the keg it was reading 50. I put it in the keg and it dropped just into the low area (which is understandable because of the temperature drop).

I set up the 3/8-3/16 reducers to fit it through the drain hole on Friday. I took the gas back out and it went back up to 50 again by yesterday morning. However today it’s back in the red further than it was before.

I thought if I had a leak I would hear it and it would release gas to make up for a pressure drop but that doesn’t seem to be the case. When I turn the pressure up on the reg I can hear it pumping gas in so it’s definitely not empty that I’m aware of (I haven’t started on the keg yet because I was planning set and forget).

If I do have a leak, I think it will be one of 2 things:
Either my reducers are leaking very slowly or I haven’t tightened the connection between the tank and the reg (I didn’t have the right size spanner so did my best). I doubt it’s the latter because it seemed to be holding between Tuesday and Friday.

I’ve shut the gas off for now and will check for leaks and weigh the tank tomorrow when I have more time. I believe I shouldn’t pay much attention to the tank gauge but for it to go down so much in 2 days is a slight worry. If I weigh it and there’s 4 or 5kg left I’ll assume the loss is due to my initial mishap.

I have a Sodastream for back up but don’t really want another 35mile trip for another tank, especially as they are closed for the next week.
 
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