About to finish my kegerator...a few questions.

Hey kegerator experts!

I'm going to finally complete my kegerator that I've had all the parts for over a month for. I just have a few questions.

First is regarding my tap tower. I got one of those cheap chrome ones, a dual tap. It said "insulated" in the ad on the website but that "insulation" was nothing more than black foam pipe insulation around the beer lines. I was imagining the inside of the tower being lined with 1/2" rigid foam insualtion or something.
Will this "insulation" keep the beer on my beer lines cold enough or will it spoil? I keep my kegerator in my basement and it's always quite cool down here, even in the summer.

The other question is what to mount my tap tower to or how. I've seen people put 5/16" or 3/8" MDF or plywood in there to to mount the screws in, but is wood a good idea with the moisture? I bought a small plastic cutting board that's 3/8" thick thinking that it's 100% resistant to moisture, rot and mildew, but I wonder if it would hold the screws as well as wood would. (would wood? lol)

Any other pieces of advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm *really* nervous about drilling a hole through the top, even though I am almost 100% certain there are no lines running through the top. I did the rubbing alcohol/corn starch test with no results and it seems that all the lines are maybe located behind this metal cooling plate that's located at the back of the fridge? (it's a mini-fridge by Whirlpool, 4.4 cu ft)

Thanks!

Nick

CanadianQuaffer said:

Hey kegerator experts!

I'm going to finally complete my kegerator that I've had all the parts for over a month for. I just have a few questions.

First is regarding my tap tower. I got one of those cheap chrome ones, a dual tap. It said "insulated" in the ad on the website but that "insulation" was nothing more than black foam pipe insulation around the beer lines. I was imagining the inside of the tower being lined with 1/2" rigid foam insualtion or something.
Will this "insulation" keep the beer on my beer lines cold enough or will it spoil? I keep my kegerator in my basement and it's always quite cool down here, even in the summer.

The other question is what to mount my tap tower to or how. I've seen people put 5/16" or 3/8" MDF or plywood in there to to mount the screws in, but is wood a good idea with the moisture? I bought a small plastic cutting board that's 3/8" thick thinking that it's 100% resistant to moisture, rot and mildew, but I wonder if it would hold the screws as well as wood would. (would wood? lol)

Any other pieces of advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm *really* nervous about drilling a hole through the top, even though I am almost 100% certain there are no lines running through the top. I did the rubbing alcohol/corn starch test with no results and it seems that all the lines are maybe located behind this metal cooling plate that's located at the back of the fridge? (it's a mini-fridge by Whirlpool, 4.4 cu ft)

Thanks!

Nick

Click to expand...

Hi Nick. I have have a kit much like yours. First, don't worry too much about the tap. There is only a few inches (10-12") in the beer line that is actually in the tap assembly. To be sure you don't get some bad tasting beer, I suggest that you take off the ball lock from the keg and then open the tap. Any residual beer will fall out the tube under gravity. Another method is to place a keg of plain water and then pressurize the water to clean out the lines. I take apart the taps every time I change kegs and run plain water except for the occasional BLC.

The only problem I see with your set up is that leaving beer in the lines makes the taps stick.

Every 6 months or so I use BLC (Beer Line Cleaner) in the lines. Let me tell you, this stuff works! I suppose you could make some BLC just with TSP or some weak caustic.

Now for mounting the tap. Believe it or not, I mounted mine directly on the top with NO reinforcement. I mounted in the far right corner. I think it's a GOOD IDEA to reinforce it, but I got a nice freezer 7.5 CUFT for $150 off Craigslist!

For securing the tap, I would suggest stainless steel screws or even treated deck screws. I just used the screws that came with the tap and they are SS. They work fine. You can get SS screws at any hardware store. I suppose Zinc coated would work, but they are ugly! EDIT: If you use wood, get Pressure treated lumber or coat it with Red Guard Coating. Guarantee it will never rot if you do one or the other.

The top has no chiller lines. Drill away. Most chest freezers run lines in the sides and back panel. BTW, this does void all your warranty! LOL!

My tower column came lined with 3/8" thick neoprene and I've never seen any condensation on the outside of the column, so I assume it's doing the job. Pipe insulation of similar thickness should do pretty much the same, but if you doubt it, and there's space to do anything about it, pick up some neoprene and line your column with it.

For the mounting problem, you could put the cutting board on the inside of the lid and run bolts through the lid/liner/cutting board then fender washers before adding the nuts.

fwiw, I actually cut out about a 12" x 18" area of the lid insulation under my tower and epoxied a likewise sized 3/4" thick sheet of particle board to the lid, ran bolts through the tower base, lid and board to washers and nuts, then covered it with closed cell foam sheeting that brought that area up to the same thickness as the original insulation, and reinstalled the liner.

Had to go big 'cuz it's a six faucet t-style tower, all stainless steel and pretty darned heavy with a long moment arm to boot. Didn't want to bend the keezer lid just opening and closing it...

Cheers!

I am pretty sure i have the same set up as you.


I got sick of stuck taps and went and got some perlicks (sp?) You will be stoked not dealing with stuck taps. I get a lot of head on the first pint i pull, after i chill the lines is all good after that.

I put a section of plywood under my tower to secure it to.

Espi said:

I am pretty sure i have the same set up as you.


I got sick of stuck taps and went and got some perlicks (sp?) You will be stoked not dealing with stuck taps. I get a lot of head on the first pint i pull, after i chill the lines is all good after that.

I put a section of plywood under my tower to secure it to.

Click to expand...

+1 I did the exact same.