DIY 4 tap tower

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weizen

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My on going project of turnin my old kegerator into a kegerator for 4 corny kegs with a tower. My kegerator is old kenmore model that will hold 4 cornies and 5# CO2 tank. I worked on this a little this winter trying pvc pipe but can't find a glue that works good enough for my approval. Next Phase... bought a length of 4" tail pipe and a length of 3" tail pipe. The 3" will be used for the riser and the 4" for the cross at top to hold the taps. Fortunately I have access to a wire welder (the same one used for my three tier stand) I know this will hold to my standards and metal is much more fun to work with than plastic.

First phase: was cutting the hole in the top to take the stand pipe and cut them to length. So far I'm happy with the look but still need to find a way to cap the ends that nice and neat.
towerstage1.jpg


Idea for ends:I'm thinking of refinishing the entire kegerator. Right now its dark brown. I'm thinking of painting entire thing black and putting a maple top on it with a black tower. Maple end caps may look nice. Use something like this:
1860ap1s.gif
1860A21 Push-to-Open Magnetic Catch 2.5 lb Pull, Black/Black, 1-3/32" X 1-19/32" X 5/8"
$3.09 Each McMaster-Carr (I love this place)to attach the ends put a small metal plate on the inside of the cap and epoxy 2 of these inside the tower on each end. You just push the end cap and it will release enough to grab it.

Second phase: drilled holes for the shanks and tested 3 of 4 faucets (the other is in use right now). So far I like the way its shaping up. No I wasn't drinking, still not welded so it may appear a little unbalanced
towerstage2.jpg
 
links require logging in, and I'm sure not being registered/logged in is responsible for us not being able to see the pictures.
 
This is a damn good idea. What did you use for the bottom of the 3" tail to screw it onto the kegerator?
 
You couldn't find a glue good enough for your approval on PVC? Did you try PVC Cement The stuff made for joining PVC?
I actually work with the stuff every day....hrrr PVC glue is made to glue actual pvc joints together with various couplings not too itself with out a coupling for the nice clean finish that I will accomplish with the metal.
 
This is a damn good idea. What did you use for the bottom of the 3" tail to screw it onto the kegerator?
It fits very tightly over a 3" PVC toilet flange that will be hidden under the top. I have a broken one holding it in the picture just not slid all the way down.
 
I actually work with the stuff every day....hrrr PVC glue is made to glue actual pvc joints together with various couplings not too itself with out a coupling for the nice clean finish that I will accomplish with the metal.

Ah, Gotchya, makes sense now. I just wanted to make sure the obvious wasn't overlooked.
 
I actually work with the stuff every day....hrrr PVC glue is made to glue actual pvc joints together with various couplings not too itself with out a coupling for the nice clean finish that I will accomplish with the metal.

I won't dispute that a joint with a coupling is stronger, but in building my tower, I have found that pvc primer and cement has performed extremly well in bonding two pieces of pvc together at a 90 degree mitered corner without a coupling. A little sanding to remove any excess cement, and a nice clean finish is easily attainable.

Full write-up with photos:
Wort-O-Matic: Custom Draft Tower and Kegerator
 
the way that is with 2 down legs I'm sure it works fine (probably a little more structurely sound) but with a "T" tower it didn't take much pressure from one side or the other and you could see the flexing and I'm sure after a few beers and some big drunk leans on it for whatever reason it was sure to break.
 
So I worked on the end caps for a bit yesterday and this is what I came up with. Still need to weld it up, paint metal and stain the end caps. Then we move on to mounting it to the kegerator.
Side view:
towerendcap.jpg


Front view (I painted a little just to see what its going to look like):
towerendcapfrontview.jpg


Inside view of magnetic holders:
towerendcapinside.jpg


Push to open for access:
towerendcapopen.jpg


Inside of cap:
towercapinside.jpg
 
Finally welded it and put a thin layer of high gloss black paint on it to see any flaws. Some more sanding needed and maybe a little filler here and there but otherwise I'm really happy with the out come so far.
towerwelded-1.jpg
 
I like it and it looks great, just a note. Are you going to cut the tops of those handles. Personally I think I would always be opening the cabinets above and spilling a lot of beer.
 
57 dB for fan noise might be pretty loud. Rock concerts see 90-95 dB, and you're pushing better than half that with a fan to cool the tower? That just seems a bit too much noise for this guy. I'd rather not have a semi-jet engine cooling a tap tower. haha
 
I like it and it looks great, just a note. Are you going to cut the tops of those handles. Personally I think I would always be opening the cabinets above and spilling a lot of beer.

:drunk: I think that little glamor shot was the tower posing on top of a kitchen counter rather than in its final home....
 
57 dB for fan noise might be pretty loud. Rock concerts see 90-95 dB, and you're pushing better than half that with a fan to cool the tower? That just seems a bit too much noise for this guy. I'd rather not have a semi-jet engine cooling a tap tower. haha

Well, it is going to be inside a insulated box which will mitigate the sound a bit. He could always run it at 9 volts too.
 
57 dB for fan noise might be pretty loud. Rock concerts see 90-95 dB, and you're pushing better than half that with a fan to cool the tower? That just seems a bit too much noise for this guy. I'd rather not have a semi-jet engine cooling a tap tower. haha

The dB scale is logarithmic, not linear. This means that half the number is not half as loud. Here's a good comparison chart. 57 dB is still loud for a fan, but nowhere near half a rock concert.

Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart
 
:drunk: I think that little glamor shot was the tower posing on top of a kitchen counter rather than in its final home....

That was indeed a glamour shot.

I doubt I run the fan at full 12 volts don't think i need that much air movement.
 
57 dB for fan noise might be pretty loud. Rock concerts see 90-95 dB, and you're pushing better than half that with a fan to cool the tower? That just seems a bit too much noise for this guy. I'd rather not have a semi-jet engine cooling a tap tower. haha

Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB So it's not as loud as someone talking....
 
That was indeed a glamour shot.
I doubt I run the fan at full 12 volts don't think i need that much air movement.

Sorry, just double checking.
Sometimes it is easy to miss the tree in the forest, but may I again say it looks really good.
 
I have that fan, it is ridiculously loud. It may be okay if it tucked away in an insulated area, but out in the open air..... I hate it.
 
Painted up, end caps and handles stained. Might have this thing ready by the end of the month depending on work and weather

capsstainedcloseup.jpg


capsstained.jpg


handlesstained.jpg
 
well after a long weekend of fitting measuring , measuring, measuring, and cutting I think I'm done with it for now. All thats left is repainting entire unit and making a new top.

Fan unit before installation
fancloseup.jpg


Fan mounted
fancloseinside.jpg


Decided to keep CO2 tank outside... Gas barb going in
gasin.jpg


Gas barb on inside
gasout.jpg


Flange that holds actual tower in place.
flangemount.jpg


Still need to hook up out sides of kegs but other than that its ready to pour (after it cools down atleast)

Complete picture
closedview.jpg


This is the guts of my project. Thats right count 'em 1,2,3,4 kegs in such a little unit.
openview-1.jpg
 
Well tried pouring the first beer today and must say not too bad. The fan only keeps the tower around 50 degrees so I might need to add some intake hoses to go towards the bottom where its colder than the top.

virginpour.jpg


virginpour2.jpg
 
I've got the same unit sitting in my garage. Hadn't tried to fit four kegs. Looks like I am going to need to move my CO2 tank outside the unit and get some single handle kegs or did you reomve the handles?
 
I've got the same unit sitting in my garage. Hadn't tried to fit four kegs. Looks like I am going to need to move my CO2 tank outside the unit and get some single handle kegs or did you reomve the handles?

I have the single handle kegs. I still had to remove them for the back 2 kegs to fit under the ledge. You can actually fit a 5lb co2 tank in the middle of everything but makes it a little tight and I already had it apart so spent $10 in fittings and extra hose to put it on the outside.
 

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