Mobile kegerator build thread

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nostalgia

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So it begins...

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The keg will be chilled in ice, dispensed with a paintball CO2 tank and regulator and use a picnic tap for the first rev. A more integrated tap system will come later.

I'll update the thread as I go. Questions and speculation on the end product are welcome :)

-Joe
 
It would be nice if you could insulate yours somehow for the real hot summer days.
Fabulous idea. I happened to have this green funnel thing that's used for filling those paper yard waste bags. It's the perfect size! Gives me room for about 3/4" of insulation all around.

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So first I had to seal the bottom. Turns out I had a pre-cut circle from another project that precisely fit in the hole, popping under the lip and staying in place on its own. 14" egg-zactly.

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Then I cut a piece of pink hard foam to fit and used expanding foam to fill the gaps on the sides and hold it firmly in place.

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I'll be fiberglassing the inside to seal everything up water tight.

-Joe
 
Couple more progress pix. Putting the inner liner in place and spacing it out with foam blocks so I can use my expanding foam with the extendo-wand (tm) to start filling in the space. This crap gets everywhere. I wish I could find the two-part pour-in foam locally, but this'll have to do.

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-Joe
 
And so we continue. Here's the inner liner with the foam sprayed in.

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Turning some MDF disks on the lathe.

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The disks will seal the top of the bucket.

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Does this picture give too much away? ;)

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-Joe
 
A few more. Blocking out the round shapes in foam.

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Roughing the shapes out on the lathe.

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A double-check that the keg still fits :)

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Now I've got to figure out how to do the eyes.

-Joe
 
Thanks guys. The only thing in question is where does the beer come from. For the immediate future there will be a picnic tap under his antenna.

I was thinking the coolest would be for the beer to come out one of his fingers. But I'm concerned with the warm beer sitting in the line in his arm. Anyone have thoughts on that?

The other option would be to give him a cigar and have the beer come out that.

-Joe
 
this is an awesome build. i am currently using one of those giant rolling trash cans for my mobile kegerator. now you have me thinging of ways to customize it.
 
Sweeeet! :rockin:

That kinda makes my cube cooler portable look plain.

May need to work on that.
 
you might want to look into installing a drain so you dont have to dump it over when the ice melts.
 
you might want to look into installing a drain so you dont have to dump it over when the ice melts.
Once it's together and painted I'll be installing a drain.

Fiberglass work commenced. Man I forgot how annoying fiberglass mat is. It's much more unruly than the cloth.

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I'm no autobody man, but that should sure hold water.

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I also painted the underside of the lid with fiberglass resin to seal it against water.

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Next step: 'glass the head and shoulder areas.

-Joe
 
Not to burst your bubble, or anything, but I've seen someone build a benderator already. Well, not a beer server, but a fermentation chamber IIRC. And "had" plans to build an R2 unit as well, but after researching the thing I decided it was just too much for me to do. I'd love to see one done though.

Maybe someday when I get the mustang on the road I'll tackle one of these massive projects.
 
Not to burst your bubble, or anything, but I've seen someone build a benderator already. Well, not a beer server, but a fermentation chamber IIRC.
No bubble to burst: I never claimed to be the first person to build a life-sized Bender. I actually used some of his dimensions to help with my proportions. There's also someone who build a Bender as a PC case.

But I haven't found anyone actually dispensing beer from their Bender. His is just a holder for a plastic fermentation tank. So I win! :)

-Joe
 
Haha, nice work man. I did a bender costume 2 years ago. My friend was able to fit the top over a sanke keg for dispensing the next year through the mouth. Rock on!
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Ok guys, fiberglass work continues. In case anyone's curious how I do it, I start by spraying glue on the form so the 'glass cloth sticks to it. You can also wet the piece with fiberglass resin first (I'm using polyester resin here), but I find the spray glue makes life a lot easier. I can position and reposition the pieces until I'm happy without worrying about my resin hardening up on me. You've got 10-15 minutes once you mix in the hardener.

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Then I wet the whole thing out with resin. I went through a lot of resin :)

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While that's drying I went to the lathe and turned Bender an antenna.

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Next is body filler, primer, then paint! I'm going to use him for a party this weekend, so he may not get painted until next week.

-Joe
 
Do you think you could turn a profit on these at $1,000,000?
That's the only way I'd do it - this is a lot of work! :)

SavageSteve said:
So what's the inaugural "Benderbrau" going to be?
Well, it's going to serve a Belgian Wit this weekend, but I'm open to suggestions on a beer to brew specifically for him :)

-Joe
 
Cold Fusion Steam Beer - It's the only way to go.

I have a high-res BenderBrau label graphic if you want it. Having trouble uploading it at the moment, though.

Ah, here we are:
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