Kegorater Conversion

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bconsidi

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hello,
I have a Kenmore fridge with a small built in freezer unit on top. In converting this fridge what to I do with this cooling unit/freezer on top? I need to do something with it in order to get my kegs in. Thank you.
-Bryden
 
I've read that some guys have successfully bent the shelf down and out of the way. Personally I wouldn't have the guts to try that unless it was a cheap CL find or something. If you break that one little cooling line that runs into the shelf you're done for!
 
Interesting. Does that cooling line break easily? Is there no way to take it apart? Thanks
 
Well, like Brad said, if you can bend the little freezer without hurting that line, it'll be ok. I've had so-so luck with that- not making a kegerator, but defrosting it!
 
Yea, i could try that. I don't even know if I can fit 2 kegs in this fridge. What fridges have you found to work well?
 
Yea, i could try that. I don't even know if I can fit 2 kegs in this fridge. What fridges have you found to work well?
Probably the most common mini-fridge is the Sanyo SR-4912M, but that seems to have been discontinued. You can order them from bestbuy.com or costco.com, but it makes it a lot more expensive - close to $300 - due to shipping. I went to the local Best Buy and had them transfer one from a nearby store - I got it for about $150, but that varies from store to store. I think it was going for $120 in the store it was transferred from. If you can find one of those, there are tons of conversion instructions online. This is one of my favorites as far as finishing/details go. That's a link I found around here somewhere.

A new possibility is the Oster OR5005M3M which you can also get at Best Buy. There's at least one conversion that somebody's put online. It's a little more work, but it's an easier to find fridge. For minis, ideally you want something with no freezer and at least 4.6 cu. ft. (the Sanyo and Oster are 4.9 and 5 and it's still a tight fit with 2 soda kegs and a 5# CO2 tank). Check your keg dimensions and take a tape measure when you go shopping.

If you aren't set on a mini-fridge, you can use pretty much any refrigerator or freezer - chest or upright. I went with a mini-fridge because it's mini and I think it'll look better in my dining room. It does limit you to two small kegs though; with a chest freezer you could easily store/dispense four or more kegs - plenty of examples here and elsewhere on the web.

Jeremy
 
Back
Top