Fridge Conversion & Faucet Comparison

This is my first contribution after having learned so much from all of you. I am going to document my piece-meal conversion of an old used fridge into a shiny new kegerator. Why did I chose to convert a fridge and not a chest freezer you ask? Well, I see that many people in fact use chest freezers (keezers) for this, but

1. loading/unloading a chest freezer with 50lb kegs is not the easiest thing in the world for my minions... errrr... kids, who aren't strong or tall enough yet,
2. you have to use a temp controller to maintain serving temperatures that a fridge handles normally. I'll spend that $70 on a cool brewery sign instead!
3. quite often the design of the keezer (with the tower on top) requires that you move the full unit away from a wall in order to access the kegs inside. Sure you can put it on casters, but that's more work and less time to drink my creations. Plus it's a wee bit heavy for the aforementioned minions.
4. but MOST IMPORTANTLY, the people from whom I bought my house left me a old beat up POS fridge for free! :rockin: No matter how you look at it, free beats Craigslist ANY DAY!

OK, so the fridge is truly a piece of junk, but it works. It's in my basement, where I plan to keep it. It's in a room that few guests will visit so I plan to make this project more utilitarian versus the WHAM-BAM sweet gitup. But... being the only family member that is in proud possession of a Y chromosome, I am sure it will be hard for me to NOT tweak it up at least a little.

So here's what I'm working with...

As you can see, it holds 6 kegs nicely, which is ANOTHER bonus over a keezer (unless you want to blow in excess of $500 for a new bigger one).

So... the plan... 6 kegs, 6 taps on the door. Modify the inside to stagger the front and back rows a little. Keep the freezer working and use it perhaps to store glasses for serving. Single CO2 tank stays outside the fridge, with a 6 way distributor on the inside. Make the front facade presentable, and perhaps get it to a point where I (more importantly my dear wife) won't mind having it someplace in the house that guests CAN see. I like shiny... Maybe something shiny on the outside...

Now... during my initial research into converting a fridge to a keg serving machine of pleasure, I found one piece of information to be lacking. I noticed that when it came to serving beer, I couldn't get much useful information on the choice of faucets, except the obvious recommendation to avoid the cheap ones. Ummm duh! I don't make cheap beer, so I won't buy a cheap anything... Inexpensive... YES... cheap... NO!

Anyway, I found that everyone has strong opinions about one faucet over another (typically the Perlick), but I haven't found any reliable information from anyone that's tested more than the one they claim is the best... So I decided that I will be the community guinea pig and order a number of different faucets and let you all know what I think of each. Feel free to bang away with questions regarding performance, price, look, flow, taste, magnetic resonance, etc... Yes... I am putting my time and wallet on the line, just for you... all of you, because that is the kind of selfless and modest man that I am! When I'm done, I'll eBay the ones I don't want (or sell them to my fellow brewophiles here). Hell, maybe I'll just keep them all hooked up and use them all anyway. Who knows what we'll all learn!

Stay tuned for my shopping list that will get this ball rolling...

BTW... the magnets came with the fridge... Yeah... That's it... NOT mine, definitely... nope... they were from the previous owner. Yep!

And NO... That is NOT Dr. Pepper. Though minion #1 would surely appreciate if it were! Was just too busy to clean that particular keg prior to bottling. That is my first lager... pilsner.

Finally... the middle keg is called "Southern Girls Got Wit"... I feel I have to clarify, as my dear father misread the last word as "Wet"... TOTALLY different!!!

I placed the order for a bunch of crap. Few hundred dollars just got forcibly removed from my back pocket. I got the distributor, hoses, and all the gas side connections for 6 kegs. I got liquid side connections for 3 kegs.

We're going to play with three faucets to start with (links for ref only, not the place I bought them, or the cheapest place for each faucet):
1. The obligatory Perlick Perl SS525

2. The NADS Stout Faucet

3. The uber-sweet European Chrome Faucet


Now the rationale for the choices... I don't need to get into why I ordered the Perlick because clearly they rock according to everyone. But sine I like different and don't want the same thing you all have...

I also ordered the European faucet for its COOL factor. It is NOT SS like the Perlick, which sucks... I guess... I dunno, does it? Not even sure if it's forward or back sealing. Dunno yet... Let me play with it and I'll tell you. But you gotta admit, it's sweet as pie ain't it? It's like the faucet that goes to 11!

The Stout faucet... Ahhh yeah! Who doesn't like a nice creamy stout? "But I don't brew stouts," you may say. Well... have you ever had a Boddignton's? Stout faucets are not just for stouts! I plan to use this for my Blonde or my Triple. I had not planned to get a mixed gas cylinder with N, and will try it with straight CO2 to see how it works. If it's a loser then I might sink the cash into a mixed gas cylinder too, but that will require a slight modification to my gas setup in the fridge.

The plan: Install these three to start. Then try each, one at a time, on the SAME kegs with the SAME brews and see what we get. Right now I have a Pilsner, Blonde, Chimay clone, Triple, Wit, & Blackberry White in there. So I'll try each beer passed through each faucet and try to objectively gauge flow, head, taste, etc... Any other suggestions on what metrics I should be measuring?

What other faucets should we try? I got room for 3 more. I was going to test the Perlick Creamer, but I understand that this is essentially the same faucet as the 525... Thoughts?

Love what you are doing! I am about one step behind you on getting set up. Nice to see you fit 6, as I was worried about getting four in a fridge. I should be able to fit 4 and my CO2.

Would have liked to see how a low end unit compares pour wise and such.

Don't forget that you'll have to fit your co2 tank in the fridge, or drill a hole in the fridge side/back to run tubing to the regulator.

neut2004 said:

Don't forget that you'll have to fit your co2 tank in the fridge, or drill a hole in the fridge side/back to run tubing to the regulator.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was actually thinking to leave it outside the fridge and run the hose from the side, near the back. It's a little bit of Russian Roulette hoping to not nick any lines, but I think the odds are in my favor.

Got the Perlick 525 and the shanks today from Farmhouse Supply. DAMN they ship fast! Too bad my gas side isn't here yet, I would have liked to start with that this weekend... I'll post my materials list and pictures once I have everything in hand.

Got the rest of my parts yesterday. Construction is a GO for this weekend. I'll post pictures of the progress as well as all the parts beforehand. I plan to lay everything out in a "dry run" to make sure I have everything I need before I begin cutting holes in the fridge!

Well, I got everything in hand that I need and started putting everything together last night before I drilled the fridge to make sure I have everything. The darling wife picked up a 6 pack of Hex Ourtoberfest from Magic Hat for the occasion. It was good.

So here is what I've bought for my fridge conversion and faucet test:

1. (1) Perlick 525 SS Faucet $ 30.49
2. (1) European Chrome Faucet $ 72.99
3. (1) NADS Chrome Faucet $ 94.99
4. (3) 1/8" SS Shanks w/ Nut, Washer, and 1/4" tail pieces $17.89
5. (3) 1/4" barbed Liquid Side Ball Lock Disconnects $ 5.99
6. (2) 6" SS Drip Trays $ 29.99
7. (1) Hex/Faucet Wrench $ 7.99
8. (12) 3/16" PVC Beer Line (more on this later) $ 0.70/ft
9. (18) SS Tubing Clamps $ 0.50/ea
10. (1) 3-Way CO2 Distributor $ 39.95
11. (6) 1/4" Barbed Gas side Ball Lock disconnects $ 5.50
12. (1) 5/16" Barbed Swivel Nut $ 2.50
13. (1) Ball Check Valve $ 2.50
14. (25) 5/16" Gas Line $ 0.70/ft

Total cost to me including delivery for all this came out to: $ 486.34 (thankfully my wife doesn't read my posts)

In addition to this I already had a 10lb CO2 tank, CO2 regulator, and one 3-way CO2 distributor. Here is what the setup looks like:


Had I bought this all from scratch I would have gone with a 6-way distributor for inside the fridge, but since I already had one 3-way, I figured why not just get another 3-way and link the two since it's cheaper than one 6-way. That is why I bought the swivel nut and check valve. In fact you don't need a check valve to make this connection as each shut-off already has one built it, but the problem with doing your shopping online, is that sometimes it's hard to find the right piece by browsing the virtual isles... It'll work, but it's over kill.


As you see I already removed the stop bolt from the opposite end of my existing 3-way and replaced it with the check valve and swivel nut. This BTW... is NOT easy! They have used a sealant on this that has the connection on there REALLY well. I stripped the hell out of the nut trying to remove it, but I finally jimmied it out of there!


The liquid side seems like it will work just fine as layed out below. The only problem are the tap handles. Not sure I like them much, which is why I didn't list them above. Since I plan to use the freezer part of the fridge, these 6" handles will have me place the faucets lower than I'd like. I might get shorter European style handles so that I can mount the faucets a high up as possible. We'll see... I am going to make do with these for now.


Stay tuned... more to come!

I already thought of a fix for this. Put a stop on the fridge door so the freezer door cannot be opened without the fridge door opened first. You can open the fridge without the freezer, but this will stop the freezer from hitting the handles. Unless you are in your freezer a lot, it should be fine.

lou2row said:

I already thought of a fix for this. Put a stop on the fridge door so the freezer door cannot be opened without the fridge door opened first. You can open the fridge without the freezer, but this will stop the freezer from hitting the handles. Unless you are in your freezer a lot, it should be fine.

Click to expand...

Explain... what do you mean a "stop" on the fridge door?

Just a plate attached to the fridge door that extends up over the freezer door would do it (front of fridge, just right of the handles). If you tried to open the freezer without having the fridge open first it wouldn't open or, most likely, would open the fridge too.

That or just connect the two doors with a bracket so they open as one.

Good call TomSD. I was thinking of putting something ornamental on the freezer door, like my logo as well as places above the tap handles for beer labels. But as I said before I want to get the utilitarian aspects of this all setup first, then focus on the faucet comparison, THEN I can make it look purty(er)!

TomSD said:

Just a plate attached to the fridge door that extends up over the freezer door would do it (front of fridge, just right of the handles). If you tried to open the freezer without having the fridge open first it wouldn't open or, most likely, would open the fridge too.

That or just connect the two doors with a bracket so they open as one.

Click to expand...

That is what I meant by a stop. It keeps the door from opening unless the fridge door is opened.

Well it was a busy weekend. I completed work on the fridge conversion and kegged my Triple. In the process I killed my keg of Wit, and bottled off the last of my Pils. All in all, a GREAT weekend!

So here is the documentation of the fridge conversion for anyone thinking to do the same thing. First of all, I removed all the shelves and drawers from the fridge and ended up with the following.


Note the nicely sloping bottom to accommodate the compressor and bits and pieces beneath. I was hoping it would flatten out near the back so that I could rest a shelf on it, but alas... it's never that easy is it? Anyway, the aluminum that I ordered for this did not arrive in time, so determined to finish this weekend, I used wood that I had hanging around the house. Now... Using press board in a cold, damn, often beer drenched environment like this is NOT a spectacular idea. But it's a good stop gap measure until the Al arrives and I can finish it properly. Yes it will rot and warp, but will last long enough. Nevertheless, if you do the same thing, either use aluminum, pressure treated wood, or I guess a really good marine grade polyurethane on top of the wood to seal it in.


As you can see I had to fashion some L-brackets to hold the shelf in place. The back of the shelf is just sitting on the top edge of the slope and since it doesn't flatten out, the entire shelf wants to slide down the slope and near the front of the fridge. So I got a couple of L-brackets and used self-tapping SS screws to secure the shelf to the bottom of the fridge. Actually, I didn't even have L-brackets... I cut a set of extra curtain rod holders for the job... shhhh, don't tell Mrs. Turk... Tested the shelf with three full kegs, viola!


That concludes the physical interior construction. Here is the fridge fully loaded with 6 easily-accessible kegs, ready to be enjoyed!

Once the physical construction was finished, it was time to move on to the gas side setup. For this, I planned to keep the CO2 tank on the outside of the fridge. I wanted to have the line come in as close to the back of the fridge as possible. Also given the configuration of my two 3 port distributors, it made sense to mount them on the inside right side of the fridge so that the keg tubing would be pointing upward.

I debated for a while on how to bring the gas into the fridge. I thought at first to use a solid copper tube then attach threaded connectors on both the inside and outside. I settled however for simply passing the tube through the fridge for two reasons: 1) fewer connections = less chance of leaks, and 2) if done right, the tubing would act as a seal for the cold air inside.

I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole with a titanium bit and enlarged it to 1/2". As the interior of the fridge is a REALLY hard metal, I used a Dremel with a grinding bit to smooth the edges of the hole. Remember, I'll have plastic tubing passing through here, so I wanted to make sure that there was little chance of cutting or nicking it. The 1/2" hole is a REALLY tight fit for the 5/16" ID gas hose, which is what I wanted... but it was a real ***** getting the hose through the interior and exterior holes. After a lot of sweat, a little bit of blood, and enough swearing to make a sailor seem holy, I got the hose through and it formed a nice tight seal against the hole. I plan to use some spray insulation around it later, but it really doesn't need it. I then attached the first distributor to the inside with 3/4" SS self-tapping screws (for which I had to drill 1/8" pilot holes, that metal is THICK!).

The image above is distorted, that distributor is level dammit!

On the outside, I cut off the end of the hose that I passed through the hole as I mangled part of it in the process. I then attached a connector that will feed directly to my CO2 tank on the floor.


The rest of the work was pretty easy. I attached my second distributor a little lower since the front row of kegs are lower and it gave me extra working room. Oh and kids... let me say this once more because I did not repeat it enough to myself that day: measure twice, cut once. When I first attached the second distributor, I didn't measure clearance and mounted it too close to the front of the fridge and the damn door wouldn't close. Following even more gratuitous and creative uses of the word "f*@k", I measured and moved it to it's final proper location...


After calming down and having a nice tall pint of Pils, I attached the 6 gas lines and ball lock connectors. Turn on the gas, turn on all the gas lines, and checked for leaks on ALL connections using soapy water. Had a few leaks near the regulator, but all my connections were A+. Should have been a plumber! Oh, I did use teflon tape on all the gas connections to help me get a better seal on all the threaded connections. And of course SS clips on all pronged connections.


Once all the connections were checked and leak-free, I loaded the fridge and connected up the gas side. NEARLY done!!!

What are your fridge's interior measurements? Want to check them against mine to see how much room I am going to have. Yours seems more open than mine (a newer model).

With the gas side all done, a few beers already drank... it was time to begin work on the liquid side. I decided that even though I have a 6 keg capacity, I would install just 5 taps. The major factor in this decision is that I brew in 10 gallon batches, so it's rare that I ever have 6 different brews to serve. But I could have easily gone with 6 if needed as there is plenty of room to mount the faucets.

The first thing I did was math. I am sure we all realize that there are three things you should never do when drinking: drive, operate power tools, and math. This day, I was guilty in the violation of two of those rules. I found the center of the fridge and based on what I thought looked nice visually decided to mount the faucets 5" apart on center. Likewise I mounted them 5" below the top of the door, which gave me good working room in the back of the door for the shanks. Now, I realize that my 6" handles will hang over the freezer door, but thanks to suggestions from the group, I'll eventually put a stop on the freezer door to prevent it from opening and draining brew dry!

As you recall, part of this conversion was to also test various faucets and write up a review, post some pictures and video, and run some performance tests. To that end, I am starting with three faucets and will order another two soon, but wanted to prep the fridge for all 5. As I said, I found the center of the fridge and marked 5" down. I used a Sharpie to measure 5" out and marked all 5 locations accordingly. As first I was using a level to make sure that the 5 taps were all in line. Do NOT do that, unless you are 100% sure that your fridge is level. Mine was not, and it looked visibly off, so I made sure to measure 5" down from the top of each hole as well to make sure they were all in line.

I drilled 1/8" pilot holes on the outside for the 3 taps to be installed. I didn't bother going all the way through to the inside, as the interior is just a plastic lining anyway. After the pilot holes, I drilled a 1" hole using a hole saw drill bit.


Next, step is to install the shanks. Now, there is a lot of nasty insulation between the fridge door exterior and the interior plastic, and I didn't want to get my nice shiny shank dirty or clogged with goop (double entendre intentional). I used some painters tape over the shank opening before passing it through the fridge door to make sure nothing nasty got lodged in there.


Repeat the steps 2 more times for the other 2 faucets and viola, we have three shanks installed in the door, all in a pretty nice line.

You can see the marks for the other two future faucets on either side...

Here are the shanks from the inside. BTW I thought the 4 1/8" shanks would be too long as the thickness of my fridge door was just shy of 2 1/2", but they ended up being the perfect size by the time you attach the tail piece and nut...


After this was done, I simply attached my 3/16" beer line to the tail piece and then to a pronged ball lock liquid side connector. The fit is REALLY tight, and you'll have to use some hot water to soften the tubing enough to get it to fit right. After that, simply attach the faucets to the shanks, tighten all your connections and enjoy you some homebrew!


For the moment, I decided to serve (left to right) Pils, Double Blonde, Wit. Construction done, beer on tap... next I'll begin really evaluating the faucets and give my review of each. But until then...

Cheers!

lou2row said:

What are your fridge's interior measurements? Want to check them against mine to see how much room I am going to have. Yours seems more open than mine (a newer model).

Click to expand...

It's 26" wide and not sure about the depth, but probably about 18-20" with the door closed and accounting for the built-in shelves on the inside of the door.

Apparently, there is a science to the length of tubing you will need from the keg to the faucet to provide you with the perfect pour. Too little tubing = too much foam, too long = trickling beer... I used the formula on BeerSmith for this.

Now there are two practical choices in tubing: PVC and Polypropylene. Honestly, I prefer polyprop because it is inert and safe(r) for food contact. I have a partially unsubstantiated phobia of PVC and the fact that it leeches volatiles over time. Anyway, I had a hell of a time finding polyprop tubing, so used my existing 3/16" PVC in the interest of getting it done this weekend, but will switch it soon.

But for now, I used 4' of tubing per keg because I keep my pressure at about 13psi. According to the beersmith calculation of a loss of 3psi/ft of 3/16" PVC tubing, 4' was the suggestion. I will attest that this is nearly dead on! I am getting perfect pours with just a LITTLE too much foam. I might add 6" or so to see if that helps a little... or I guess I can ratchet down the pressure to 12psi and see if that too helps.