Fridge for Kegerator!

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Brewsmith

Home brewing moogerfooger
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I'm getting my fridge that will be my kegerator this saturday! It used to be my grandmother's spare fridge, but she is moving while a new house is being built. I'm picking it up saturday some time. The conversion will start shortly after!:ban::ban::ban:
 
After parts slowly being delivered and me being gone for the better part of a month, the kegerator is almost done. The shanks annd the drip tray in installed and the CO2 manofold is put together. The faucets were supposed to come on friday, but no one was home when UPS came, so I'll get them on monday. It looks like the Ultra Flo faucet problem is gone. All I have left to do is mount the manifold, run the lines, and attach the faucets. Only a few little parts are left. All the big stuff in here or will be here on monday! :ban:
And I have two brews ready to go in with another about done in the primary. :mug:
 
hey when you get the chance, you think you could post up some pictures of the conversion please?
 
I'm documenting the progress. Will post at completion. Manfold was installed today. All that's left is to run the lines and attach the faucets. Countdown to UPS delivery of faucets somewhere between 5 and 6 pacific time. :rockin:
 
Faucets in and 2 kegs full. Those Ultra Flo faucets are beautiful! :rockin:I just need the lines and tap handles. LHBS is open on Wednesday and I will get everything else. Almost done....
 
mind if i ask where you bought your faucets from? and how long did it take for you to receive them?
 
Well it's just about done. All that's lacking is the tap handles, but that doesn't stop me from using the taps anyways! So I've got two kegs inside and another almost ready to be filled. Now just to decide on what to put in the last spot.

Many thanks to tnlandsailor for his inspiration on the great fridge project.
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2009
Your photos and instructions on what you did made me feel cconfident that I could do something similar. I even printed out your PDF file and bound it like a manual!

Now for the pictures that everyone has been asking for. I already posted pics of the CO2 manifold here:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7283
Most of the manifold parts were ordered from McMaster-Carr using part #'s from tnlandsailor. It is a four-port manifold using quick connect fittings for the gas. I also purchased the quick connect fittings for the gas-in on the ball lock. I got these from tnlandsailor himself.

The faucets are Ventmatic Ultra Flo VM's. I got four of them, so these were the single most expensive part of the build. The drip tray is a 13'' model that I got from Northern Brewer. The shanks are 3'' long that I got from Beer, Beer and More Beer. The kegs were used from homebrewing.org with a new set of gaskets all around. All of the miscelaneous parts came from the LHBS (ball lock fittings, clamps, beer line), Home Depot (brass parts) , or Lowes (rubber gromets where manifold goes through wall of fridge).

Here's a quick rundown of the price (Including tax and shipping, not including the fridge):
Kegs and gaskets: $108.35
Manifold: $80.94
Drip Tray and Tap Handle Parts: $62.14
Shanks: $68.85
Faucets: $171.98
Beerline, Ball Locks and Clamps: $71.01
Other Misc. at Home Depot, etc.: $50

The total comes to over $600, but many items are a one time ever purchase, like the faucets, kegs and manifold (I can even expand my manifold if I find that four kegs is not enough!). Price was never really a factor from the beginning, and drawing the project out over a few months helped spread the cost around.

I'm still figuring out my new mac system, so if someone can PM me on how to shrink the size of photos in iphoto I'll get around to posting pics...:rolleyes:
 
gnef said:
mind if i ask where you bought your faucets from? and how long did it take for you to receive them?
The Kegman, and total from order to delivery took about 2 weeks. I could have got them from Beer, Beer and More Beer for the same price when I ordered the shanks, but oh well.
 
I started making the tap handles last night. I bought some Bolivian rosewood and started turning them. They're going to be beautiful when they're finished.
 
For anyone interested in pics of my fridge and setup, I added more to my gallery. The pics show the install of the faucets, drip tray, manifold and two kegs. I now have a third in there and will have a fourth shortly. I'm also still working on the tap handles. Still turning them out of Bolivian Rosewood. One is about finished, another is about 75% done, and I have 2 more chunks of wood for the other two. I will post more pics when everything gets done.
 
The rosewood is beautiful. I'll try to get a pic soon, even if it's not installed yet.
 
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