12 volt refridgerator or keg holder?

Does anyone have knowledge on a 12v mini fridge that would hold the 5 gallon kegs? I am thinking of ways to have a keg in my 5th wheel.

I'm pretty sure the dometic fridge in our RV would hold a corny. That's a guess, though, and I have not measured it.

You *could* try this new idea in kegging: It's a plastic chemical sprayer you can buy online or from a hardware store. You can adapt it to accept gas from a regulator and a liquid line out, just like a regular keg. They are cheap and come in a variety of sizes, like 1 or 2 gallons.

The idea is that they are cheaper than cornys and are more portable, and you can fit more in a kegerator.

I would be curious what that plastic is made out of....................

I understand. The picture is just an example. You might have to look at the particular model and see what they are made of. I'm guessing it's HDPE, like fermentation buckets.

They also make smaller SS kegs, but they are $$.

Of course the plastic keg idea is not for LONG term storage, but at 1-2 gallons it should be drank in a week or two, depending on your thirst.

1-2 gallons in a week or two??!! It really would only last one evening of camping..........

REPO said:

1-2 gallons in a week or two??!! It really would only last one evening of camping..........

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HA! True, if you have friends to help!

Well, like I said, the fridge in our camper is probably tall enough and wide enough for two kegs, but I have never measured, and I already know my wife would NOT go for kegs of beer in the fridge when she already PACKS the food into it for a weekend long camping trip.

You might be able to find a DC model at an RV place, or online, and then make a kegerator out of it.

Our Dometic also runs on the propane and can run for a very long time on a trickle of gas.

Yes, our fridge inside our holiday trailer is the same. Propane or 12V. Wouldn't work for the keg, as its usually full of food, etc for the week. May have to consider running a 110V one off of an inverter I guess, or going with some sort of cooler setup.

A cooler setup is pretty easy to do. I have seen a trash can kegerator in use a few times and it works well. I've personally used a kitchen trash can to great effect, but the one I want to build is a square cooler with a hole cut in the top to set the keg in. I think it would really make the ice last longer!

I read a "how-to" where they built the tap and a 20' (or was it 10') coil of copper tubing inside a small cooler. So the keg would have been warm, but with ice in the cooler it kept the beer inside the line cold. How well would this work?

Well, for starters, copper is not recommended for POST fermentation use. The theory is that the acidity will leach some of the toxic copper from the coils and deliver it to your body. If this happens pre-fermentation the yeast eat the trace copper.

That said, there are COLD PLATES you can buy that accomplish the same thing, but safely. They are made from Stainless. Hook up the hoses, put it in a cooler, add ice and water, and start pouring cold beer. Most people mount faucets right in the cooler, or very close just outside in a board or whatnot.

Google Jockey Box for more info.

EDIT: When I check google images I see lots of them using stainless tubing, which is another option.

Curious on the copper leaching thing...............most houses built are running copper. Or is this a beer thing?

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Jockey-Box-Beer-tapcooler/

This is the one I was refering to.

REPO said:

Curious on the copper leaching thing...............most houses built are running copper. Or is this a beer thing?

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Household water has a pH of around 6-8. Not low enough to leach trace amounts.

Now I don't know if there is actually a danger in using copper for very short periods, say for the duration of a party of festival, as long as the beer was kept flowing regularly, but this is one of those safe-than-sorry things.

FWIW I've had excellent service from Stainless Brewing when I ordered a custom HERMS coils in stainless. They have a nice selection of stainless coils that would work great in this application and probably for not a lot more than copper.

I think 25 foot of 1/4" stainless runs about $25.


http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Coiled-to-customers-request-035-304304L-Coiled-Tubing_p_30.html

For short term use it would be fine. I wouldn't leave it with beer in the coils for long term though. Pre-fermentation wort has a ph of above 5, whereas post fermentation the pH is well below 5. This increases the amount of copper being leached. Now this you do not want to do: http://hbd.org/brewniversity/engineering/conical/

EDIT: Ideally you should use stainless though.