Danby kegerator (my first DIY project)...

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.

kman42

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
82
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego
Sorry for the new thread, but I'm damn proud--this is my first DIY homebrew project and it turned out fantastic. I got the Danby at Walmart and the 3" tower with Perlick faucets form Keg Connection. I drilled a 2" hole with a brand new hole-saw from HD and sealed it with aluminum foil tape. Easy as pie. I've removed the door paneling, but don't have the whiteboard yet to replace it; tomorrow's trip to Staples will solve that. Thanks to all that have come before! I couldn't have done it without the great community here.

BTW--Sorry about the Corona. Trying to finish up the leftovers from a party last weekend :)

IMG_2236.jpg


IMG_2237.jpg


IMG_2239.jpg


IMG_2241.jpg
 
Looks good! Mines almost identical.. Except I've got Perlick 425SS.. Really wanting to upgrade to the 525 creamers.. Hard to justify the purchase when the 425s work just fine.. Now ya just got to a drip pan installed!
 
Any recommnendations on a drip tray? I've googled around and there are an infinite number of choices and a HUGE price range.
 
Wow... They are expensive! I must have been on a kegorator high when I bought mine! I've got a 12" stainless surface mount with drain.. It drains into one of those half gallon juice bottles that sits on the back shelf with the co2 bottle.. Love the drain, but it has a tendancy to halfway freeze. It cast me about $55 from beveragefactory.com

ForumRunner_20120411_073510.jpg
 
Wow... They are expensive! I must have been on a kegorator high when I bought mine! I've got a 12" stainless surface mount with drain.. It drains into one of those half gallon juice bottles that sits on the back shelf with the co2 bottle.. Love the drain, but it has a tendancy to halfway freeze. It cast me about $55 from beveragefactory.com

Is the drain offset to one side? If it is in the middle, I think I would be drilling through the thermostat/light box.
 
Nice work!! Did you do the fan assembly to blow cold air into the tower?

Not yet. I plugged it in to test it and it seems to work fine, but the tower was warm. Turned out I forgot to tape the light switch in the off position and the light generates quite a bit of heat right next to the tower. I'm going to move the unit upstairs tonight and plug it in again to see if the tower stays cool when the light is off. I've heard mixed reports on whether the tower needs a fan. I used a 2 inch hole, so I'm hoping I won't need one, but will make or order one if I have to.
 
I've heard mixed reports on whether the tower needs a fan.

I went ahead and built the fan as part of my project. I had most of the parts anyway except for the Radio Shack project box and the connector for the power adapter. Works like a charm and the tower doesn't sweat so long as you put the insulation foam in the tower (that it ships with). For the light bulb, I just took it out. I didn't want the tape visible.

Happy Pouring!
 
Just found this good deal on a drip tray, and having just built a kegerator like this myself, I think I'll pick it up. 12x5" is perfect for a two faucet setup like this.

http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/produ..."-Stainless-%2d-Counter-Top-%2d-No-Drain.html

Edit: looks like it'll be $12 to ship, but even after that the total is ~$40, which is still a great deal given the usually $55+ price of similarly sized trays.
 
I disabled the light last night. I couldn't get the lightbulb unscrewed so I worked on the switch itself. It just pops right out of the side of the fridge and I disconnected one of the leads and then pushed it all back in. No more light problem and I didn't have to mar the aesthetic by taping it in the closed position.
 
No, Its a center drain... I went a little overboard with mine.. I took out the light/t-stat assy. Got a little 110v PID controller connected directly to the "unswitched" leg for power. The PID controller kicks on a solid state relay.. And the relay activates the compressor.. So that way I've got more precise control over my kegerator temp.. As well as a digital readout.. Pretty sweet. With the stat/light removed, I had plenty of room for the center drain..
 
No, Its a center drain... I went a little overboard with mine.. I took out the light/t-stat assy. Got a little 110v PID controller connected directly to the "unswitched" leg for power. The PID controller kicks on a solid state relay.. And the relay activates the compressor.. So that way I've got more precise control over my kegerator temp.. As well as a digital readout.. Pretty sweet. With the stat/light removed, I had plenty of room for the center drain..

Sounds great. I'd need some pretty detailed instructions to pull that off. I like the idea of precise temp contral though.

On another note, my pepsi-sytle ball-locks just arrived today. They appear clean and were under pressure, so I'm pretty excited. They fit well in the fridge, unlike my pinlocks which will now find a new home via craigslist. I'll probably order two more pepsi kegs so I have enough for a decent rotation.
 
Just put my first keg in the fridge. Really hard to wait a week for it to carb, but looking forward to cracking it next sunday on brew day for a Coconut Porter.

I forgot that my local gas place swapped my 5 lb tank for 10 lb tank last time around. Sadly, it doesn't fit with two kegs so I need to figure out how to switch it out for a 5er.
 
I have a 10lb tank as well. I drilled a 1/2" hole on the side and ran the line in the fridge. Then, I split the line with a manifold that has valves.

Mine only takes a day or two to carbonate.
 
I'm getting ready to do this conversion myself. Had a question about the panel - once I remove it, how do I re-attach the door molding and the attach the whiteboard?
 
I assume you found the screws that hold it all together.. If not you just pull back on the seal, and they are tucked up underneath it.. Once you get all the screws out, the shelves and seal come off as one piece.. (easiest to do after removing door from fridge)(You also may want to mark the top hindge position with a marker or tape so that you reinstalll it in the same postion) Pull the seal off of the shelf panel and set it aside for a minute. Use the existing shelf panel to find the dimensions for you're whiteboard. I recommend using it to predrill all of the exsisting screw holes as well Once you have the whiteboard cut to size, you must reattach the door seal in the same fashion that it was attached to your shelf panel.. (slight stretch around the outside in the proper grove) Then line up all your screw holes and reattach to the door.. I recommend using a star pattern similar to tightening wheel lugs on a car to insure the seal lays down properly.. Finally reattach the door to the fridge.. It is an adjustable hinge.. Usually you can tell where it was sitting before, but if not, take time to realign the door so your fridge seals properly.. Otherwise the thing will never shut off.. Good Luck
 
Thanks. However the one I bought must have been a slightly different model. There were no screw holes. In fact, all of the inner door was completely molded and injected with foam. A sawzall took care of that. :) After cutting everything out, I glued the whiteboard in place with some industrial liquid nails type adhesive. I just finished putting it all back together. Looks pretty cool!
 
Here are some pictures of how it went...

Brand new fridge!
2012-11-30_18-18-38_720.jpg


Lots of storage in that door.
2012-11-30_18-19-53_298.jpg


Doh, now where will I put cans of Sprite?
2012-12-01_09-57-35_20.jpg


Nice and flat:
2012-12-01_22-14-09_543.jpg


Ready for some tasty homebrew:
2012-12-01_22-15-14_546.jpg
 
Back
Top