$20 Kegerator Project

(Well, it will be a LITTLE more than $20.)

I'm off 11 days for xmas, so I need a project to keep me off the kegs occasionally (three will be online, with a fourth coming online).

I was at Home Depot, and they have the huge, 4x8 sheets of 2" pink foam for $22. I have a spare 1.7cf fridge in the attic, so I'm thinking of trying a kegerator idea I mentioned earlier.

I'm going to make a foam box big enough for 4 kegs, or two 6 gallon Better bottles. One side will have a hole big enough to mate up with the little fridge (with the fridge door removed). The tight fitting foam top will be removable for access to the kegs. I am working on ideas for a trap door in the lid that will allow access to the party taps without removing the lid. I am going to use glue and aluminum tape (REAL duct tape) to hold it all together.

Since I have the kegging setup and fridge, the cost will not be much more than $20. This will probably only be a temporary kegerator, to keep from having to go into the cold garage for a pint from the big fridge out there.

When I track down a cheap CL freezer, I'm going to build a keezer. Then, this foam rig will become a nice fermentor.

American Science & Surplus : Electric Styro Knife best 14 bucks i spent. its 20 now but its worth it. if you have a hobby lobby around they have the things there.

You might want to try a cheap surplus fan inside to circulate the cold air.

EdWort said:

You might want to try a cheap surplus fan inside to circulate the cold air.

Click to expand...

Great minds think alike.

I was thinking about a muffin fan attached to the freezer, blowing into the keg area. The nice thing about those muffin fans is that, even though they are rated for 12 volts, they will run on 7.5 volts. It does the job of moving the air, but is almost completely silent. Those cheap, wally world wall-wort adjustable power supplies have a switch position for 7.5v.

i used the 120mm fan running 5 volts. ill try to take some pics this weekend and post them

pen25 said:

i used the 120mm fan running 5 volts. ill try to take some pics this weekend and post them

Click to expand...

Was it a 12v fan? I didn't think they would run on less than about 6v.

I would appreciate the pics.

This is exactly what I was planning to do, except I was going to use it for a fermentation chamber, not a kegerator.

The reason being I don't think the little 1.7 fridge has the power to get that big of an area down cold enough. Or, even if it could, it would have to cycle on a hell of a lot in order to get it down and keep it there.

I figure it can handle getting the chamber down to 65-67 a lot easier, and won't have to cycle on nearly as much. I was also thinking of getting a small fan (walmart) and plugging that into the same extension cord the fridge is plugged into. That way, when the Ranco turns on the fridge to cool things, down the fan flips on as well. The fan will probably fit in the doorway of the fridge nicely.

I'll post some pics once I get some money again. (Christmas is a terrible holiday...)

The 1.7cf fridges supposedly use the same compressor as the larger, 4cf or so fridges, about 390 BTU.

Some here who have adapted a 1.7cf fridge for use as a fermentation chamber have said they lowered the temp to about 35* without any issues.

Cpt_Kirks said:

Was it a 12v fan? I didn't think they would run on less than about 6v.

I would appreciate the pics.

Click to expand...

yes standard 120 muffin fan. it will run all the way down to 1 volt. granted it wont be turning very fast. just bought a new cam sat and didnt get a chance to take any pics. when i put the fan in i was able to keep my temp consistent to 35* with 3 kegs. remember my fridge is also a bigger fridge. i was mistaking this thread with another thread but same would apply. put the fridge up high to the cold drops into the chamber.
i found some taken with my other cam. sorry about the clarity.
http://flickr.com/photos/49232357@N00/2793578879/sizes/m/
http://flickr.com/photos/49232357@N00/2793577183/sizes/m/