Upgrading to a 3 faucet tower

I'm upgrading to a 3 faucet tower soon. SWMBO ordered this for my birthday coming up soon.



Anyone ever upgrade a Haier Kegerator to a 3" diameter tower before? I'm going to take the old tower off, but I think I need to drill a larger hole.

YOu should not need to drill a bigger hole. the 2 lines I have running through it still have plenty of room.

Did you drill new holes for the bolts?

My Heier didn't have bolts. They were screws. Just srewed them back down.

kornkob said:

My Heier didn't have bolts. They were screws. Just srewed them back down.

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Cool. Sounds like this is going to be easy. I'm going to cut off the Sanke fittings before shoving them down there and installing MFL connectors on each so I can change out whatever fitting I may need. Thanks.

I've seen a post around here a while ago where someone used a computer fan to push cold air up into the tower. Something to look into to keep that first glass as cold as the rest.

I got a 3", 3 tap tower from ACU to replace the cheesy plastic single tap that came with my Sanyo kegerator. I have 3 lines coming up through the original hole with room to spare. However, the flange on my new tower was larger in diameter so the screw holes did not line up. I just had to mark the screw hole locations on the new tower onto the top of the kegerator and drill them out.

John

Nice rig! Is that a 10# bottle? Did you mount the other regulator and manifold to the side?

I've got a 3" tower on my Haier as well. I just used a template to drill some 1/16" pilot holes in the particle board top. I have noticed that my first two pours tend to be a bit on the warm side, so I'm thinking about installing a fan like someone else mentioned here.

The rest of my setup:
I use a 20 lb CO2 bottle standing next to the keg with a brass bulkhead fitting through the side. The stock thermostat was a piece of junk, so I recently wired up a Ranco ETC-111000 and set it at 36 degrees (you can find them on eBay for way cheaper than most brew shop prices).

36deg beer? Don't your teeth hurt from drinking beer that cold?

Exo said:

36deg beer? Don't your teeth hurt from drinking beer that cold?

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I use a Turbotap, and the recommended pour temp is 36-38 degrees. It usually warms up to the mid 40s by the time the pour is finished, making for a nice crisp, cold beer.

Gah!! Its rare for me to drink beer colder than around 50-55deg. No taste for me below that temp. The exception is hot days...then I drop the temp to around 40deg.

Yuri_Rage said:

I've got a 3" tower on my Haier as well. I just used a template to drill some 1/16" pilot holes in the particle board top. I have noticed that my first two pours tend to be a bit on the warm side, so I'm thinking about installing a fan like someone else mentioned here.

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I wonder if that is because the hole to the tower is constricted at the fridge plus with 3 lines through it. Perhaps I do need a 3" hole saw to increase the size of the hole to allow more chilled air up in the tower...

EdWort said:

I wonder if that is because the hole to the tower is constricted

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I was wondering the same thing, but I also think that because my 3" tower is so much bigger in height and width, my fridge just might not be efficient enough to cool it properly.

I just picked up a 4.9 cuft fridge for 130.00 brand new. i am about to embark on the process of converting it to a kegerator with a tower tap. Is there any pointers anyone can give me?

Thanks

Reverend

EdWort said:

Nice rig! Is that a 10# bottle? Did you mount the other regulator and manifold to the side?

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Thanks Ed. Yes, that is a 10# bottle and I did mount my secondary regulators to the inside of the fridge with self tapping screws. No need to worry about piercing a refrigerant line with this Sanyo model. There are none embedded in the side.

In response to a warm first pour due to the tower not being cooled, a larger hole may help, but since cold air does not readily rise without some help, like a fan for instance, not too much more cooling will be provided to the tower through a 3" holes as opposed to a 2.5" hole. 2.5" was the size of the stock hole in my Sanyo BC-1206 kegerator.

Another factor to consider is how well insulated the inside of the tower is. The cheap tower that came with my Sanyo was insulated with very cheap and thin open cell foam. The insulation that came in my 3" tower from ACU was very thick walled Armorflex. Given that, and the fact that 3/16" ID beverage tubing only holds 4.9 ml of liquid per foot, and my tower only extends 14" above the inside of the fridge, there is not much volume to warm up. After only about 2 seconds I am getting cold beer from the keg.

John

johnsma22 said:

No need to worry about piercing a refrigerant line with this Sanyo model. There are none embedded in the side.

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FYI, there are no lines or wires in the sides or top of my Haier model either.

Reverend JC said:

I just picked up a 4.9 cuft fridge for 130.00 brand new. i am about to embark on the process of converting it to a kegerator with a tower tap. Is there any pointers anyone can give me?

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Here's a couple pointers.


Making a Sanyo Kegerator

Sanyo 4.9 Cubic Feet Fridge Questions - Kegs Thread

Thanks Ed, huge help!

Reverend