Moving the CO2 out of the fridge

I Decided to undertake the project of moving the CO2 tank out of the beer fridge. Since the fridge is tucked in between a wall and 2 stacked drawer units, there is nowhere convenient less than 4' away from the fridge to put a tank. So I ran 1/4" copper tubing from the regulator to a bulkhead I made out of brass fittings, which has a barbed fitting on the inside of the fridge. I replaced the barbed fitting on my regulator with a 1/4" flare fitting. Materials cost was about $40, but I did have to buy a $25 flaring tool and I probably had over $10 worth of leftover brass fittings that I didn't need. There's also a spring pipe bender tool that Home Depot has for $10, which is helpful for avoiding kinks, but not absolutely necessary. The whole project took only about 3 or 4 hours. The pictures are low quality due to the low level of light I keep in the beer room, and my old cellphone. SWMBO doesn't know yet that the fridge can now fit another keg without removing shelves on both sides... :cross:

thats cool. I have been wanting to do that for a while now. may have to do that soon.

I did mine with a 1/4" MFL bulkhead fitting and some beer gas line/tubing with swivel nuts.... Hardest part, for me, was getting the nuts on either side of the bulkhead tight. I put that on the door side of the fridge, so that the tank would be out of the way. With the gas line on the outside (4' of it) I have the flexibility of putting the tank where I like without fear of kinking the tubing. It also means I can use three different sized CO2 tanks with ease (I have one 20#, one 5# and two 2.5# for use with the brew fridge). I did connect the inside end of the bulkhead with my manifold (3 port) so that I can feed three kegs easily.

I initially went with the PVC reinforced gas line inside the fridge, since that's what I could get for the swivel nut side. I should have more 5/16" swivel nuts waiting for me at home. I plan to change that reinforced line with standard, two wall, red gas line early in the week.

BTW, my setup took less than an hour to get everything together and working.

Im actually heading off to home depot in a little bit to get parts to do this same thing. I'm gonna go through the collar on my keezer. I figure it will keep things neater on the inside and allow me to fit 1 extra keg that I can have on deck when one kicks.

I've now completed the second phase of this project, pimping my regulator using a Wye, a 90, a nipple, and another valve.

I now have a 'station' for force carbonating, by closing the valve to the current keg and opening the valve on for the one I'm carbonating, then I can purge the system through the disconnect and reset the regulator for serving beer.

New to all of this. Is relocating it out of the fridge only for space savings or is there more to than that ??

redrider736 said:

New to all of this. Is relocating it out of the fridge only for space savings or is there more to than that ??

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Space savings, or more room for kegs, is why I moved mine. Plus, IMO, it's easier to see the pressure when it's outside the fridge/keezer/kegorator/etc... I can check the gauges at a glance, without opening the fridge door this way.

Plus, I'm waiting for the puzzled looks when people see my CO2 tanks outside the fridge... I don't have any taps installed yet, so there's no other visible evidence of beer being available via keg in my place. Well, other than the slew of brewing/beer related hardware all over the kitchen (and creeping into the livingroom)...

I'm thinking about getting a second regulator, and either a single or dual body model, so that I can also carbonate kegs outside of the fridge. Plus, it will go to good use once I have the space for a keezer. If I go with a dual body regulator, I could send one feed to the fridge, and have the other for carbonating outside of the fridge. Later, I'll be able to feed two different manifolds, at different pressures, to carbonate to different levels as desired. Right now, I'm getting a similar effect by having the kegs at slightly different temperatures (via placement). I have thermometer strips on each keg, so I have a pretty solid idea of their temperatures. Such as the ones at the bottom of the fridge are at 40F, while the one on the shelf is at 42F... Might not seem like much, but it's enough to get them to where I want them.

Very nice. What did you do to avoid hitting a coolant line when you drilled through?

Not sure about the OP, but I checked the drawings of the fridge I'm using to make sure there were no coolant lines going through the sides. On mine, everything is on/off the back.

Golddiggie said:

Not sure about the OP, but I checked the drawings of the fridge I'm using to make sure there were no coolant lines going through the sides. On mine, everything is on/off the back.

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I Did the same thing. Find the model # for your fridge and search a parts website. They'll have blown up diagrams of how everything is put together.

Thanks!

Golddiggie said:

...I'm thinking about getting a second regulator, and either a single or dual body model, so that I can also carbonate kegs outside of the fridge...

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I also have an upright fridge and would like to keep an external line, but I was planning on using it to transfer beer around and such... Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to chill the beer to force carbonate it properly? If you wanted a line at a different PSI to force card, I think it would have to be inside the fridge.

Jeff, just need higher psi levels to force carb at non-fridge temps. I might not carbonate the keg fully outside the fridge, but it will at least be on its way to being carbonated. If I get the dual regulator now, then I'll be ready for when I setup the keezer with two carbonation ranges. Just thinking ahead too. I could then use the regulator I have to carbonate outside of a fridge. Or use it in the current fridge for 'overflow' brew. :rockin:

I did a similar set up where I put my CO2 outside and Gauges inside....

I mounted the gauges on the wall an clocked them so I could see them.



Then I put in a bulkhead and put foam sealant to help with R-value.






It's handy this way as I can serve or carb 4 kegs with 2 presure options. One thing I did have to change was the black hose on the inside of the kegerator... I wasn't thinking about it still being high pressure before the regulator. So I went to the hardware store and had a custom 5000psi hydraulic line made for $25. Work great now!

Looks nice, what did you use to attach the pressure hose to the tank?

^^ Looks like it's that high pressure blue hose. I use the same one. Look on eBay I got mine for $10, they are closer to $40 new

I'd have used flexible PVC hose for the gas line. Copper + CO2 + moisture (backed up beer perhaps) = copper carbonate. Don't know how fast or how much if will create but I wouldnt want to chance it. If you really want a harder line see if you can find some flexible stainless tubing.

I might be overly cautious here. There are opinions in the thread linked below.

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=12042

Yes! sorry, been away... It was the high pressure blue line. It came with the Kegerator, and the previous owner just had a hole drilled through the side and ran the line through the hole. I changed it up to clean up the install more. When I looked for another blue line they were $75 online or more in some places... hydraulic is stronger and I can get custom lengths.

Worked for me...

I happened to be working with our plumber yesterday (my boss & I are renovating the kitchen, he was installing a new gas line in the basement of this house) and I asked him if he knew of any known issues with CO2 and Copper. I showed him the pictures of my setup and he thought it was pretty cool. He said he's never heard of CO2 making copper corrode.