Show us your Kegerator

Kayakr1988 said:

Chest freezer with removable lid on left and tap with plexiglass on right.

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Very nice. It looks like you bought it at Ikea!

Haha that would have saved me some time if ikea sold these.

My newest creation! A Sub-zero kegerator!

nice setup! inside pics!

The trash-o-rator ready to head out for St. Patty's Day:

wubears71 said:

I started with 4 taps and added 2 more last week. It's never enough?

Did you start with 8/4 cherry or is that 2' 4/4 board to get the thickness?

I routed a 7/16" rabbet on the bottom of my collar so it slips on top of the freezer. Nothing is needed to hold it in place.

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How much of a pain in the ass is it to add more taps later? I have a chest freezer and 3 kegs right now so I was gonna build a collar with openings for 3 faucets but I'm pretty sure I'll want to add a couple more.

Does it make sense to drill all the holes now and then plug the ones I'm not using or can I just drill more holes later? I'm just thinking if I stain/finish the collar in some way I could screw it up later by drilling more holes.

Or maybe not? I don't have much experience building stuff like this.

That's how I would do it. If you think you're going to eventually have five taps then I would drill all five holes and just plug the last two with insulating material behind a few rubber bungs or something.

Just picked up my new-to-me kegerator this week.

Can anyone help me put together a shopping list for a dual regulator setup. I just want to make sure I order all the right stuff from the beginning. The hose to the tower and the faucet have already been replaced and I have a new 5lb tank. I'm planning on ball lock cornys.

A few kegerator related tips I've picked up on:

Don't skimp on regulators, you'll likely be replacing them at some point if you do. I love the micromatic regulators, the big chrome ones with the knurled adjustment knob. Very solid.

I recommend using 3/16" beer line and 1/4" barbs for everything. You'll eliminate most gas leaks before they happen, and whatever line you have left over will be universally useful for whatever you might need to do. It's a little bit of a pain to assemble initially, but trust me, it's more of a pain to lose full tanks of gas repeatedly. NB: you'll probably have to swap out the barb that comes with your regulator for a 1/4" one, so be sure to put that on your list.

Once you get everything assembled, test for leaks by putting 30+ psi on the system without kegs connected, close the tank valve and let it sit overnight. If you still have full pressure, you should be good to go, as long as your keg lids are seated properly.

Make the serving lines longer than you need and you can shorten them later if you really want to.
Welcome to the wonderful world of kegging!

masonsjax said:

Welcome to the wonderful world of kegging!

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Thank you much.. I've been waiting to get it going for a while.. Been bottling forever.

This is the regulator I was looking at.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/double-co2-regulator.html

Premium regulators are not a whole lot more expensive. Here's the dual setup I was talking about:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-Battery.html

I'm currently serving 3 beers from a single body, single gauge version of that and it works quite well. I've had a few other budget and mid-level regulators in the past that all failed. Some barely functioned properly when brand new. I wish I had bought micromatic or similar right off the bat, it would've saved me a lot of trouble and money.

Have you read the review on the need for a check valve to keep beer from back-flowing into the regulator?

Many gas shutoffs are available with check valve built in. I use them on the regulators and my distribution manifold. Cheap insurance.

brewinchef_fairfax said:

Have you read the review on the need for a check valve to keep beer from back-flowing into the regulator?

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VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

I had a keg of ED Worts apfelwein that was pressurized at 40+ psi. Didn't think about it. Tapped it with 12 psi to serve. Apfelwein sprayed out of the regulator. I had to tear it apart to clean it out.

Micromatic deluxe regs. Keep in mind, most regs are designed with BMC kegs and couplers in mind. Those couplers have check valves built in.

Just got my Edge Star dual tap today. Totally psyched!

Upgraded to the dual gauge regulator and I'm gonna start looking around for a nice 1/4 of Guinness or some other tasty brew until I get my hands on some Cornies for my homebrew. Best investment from an income tax return I ever made!

P.S. Take notice to my HBT Decal at the base of my tower.

how about a future kegorator?
my grand parents coke fridge just stopped working and they offered it to me if i could make it run. Bottom half for kegging system, top half for bottle storage. Taps out the right side

blakiexcharles said:

Taps out the right side

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Be daring and drill the glass!

Hahaha I kind of like the idea of not having lines swing out with the door since I have so much space on the right...

Yep - I was just being silly...

I just finished my keezer. Though it copies several others but I figured why change a working thing.

Kenmore 8.8 freezer
Beveragefactory.com 2 keg picnic set
Added two Perlick 525ss with ss shanks
Triple gas manifold so I can carb and serve
Quick disconnect so I can take tank and keg out to use bottling gun in kitchen
eBay aquarium controller
Twin computer fans wired into lid power
4 coats of chalkboard paint
Stained the Red oak
(Pending) White Labs Vial tap handles

Only issue I have is my Kegco regulator seems to slowly lose pressure in the keg and I have to adjust it every few hours. But Beverage Factory came through and is sending me a new one and said I can keep this for parts. Maybe ill tear it down and see if I can fix it. If I can ill link the two and have a dual pressure setup

Cheers!

blakiexcharles said:

how about a future kegorator?
my grand parents coke fridge just stopped working and they offered it to me if i could make it run. Bottom half for kegging system, top half for bottle storage. Taps out the right side

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My buddy used one of these. He replaced the glass with a whiteboard, and then pinned the lines neatly to the side and door so they weren't in the way. Very nice set up.

blakiexcharles said:

how about a future kegorator?
my grand parents coke fridge just stopped working and they offered it to me if i could make it run. Bottom half for kegging system, top half for bottle storage. Taps out the right side

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If a conical can fit in there, I think its highest best use is a fermentation chamber. Let us know if you do get it working. My old keezer would have cost too much to fix so I had to scrap and rebuild.

More of a beer collection than kegerator, still need to drill some holes and get that damn co2 outta there to clear some space

ja09 said:

More of a beer collection than kegerator, still need to drill some holes and get that damn co2 outta there to clear some space

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Oh my God, talk about excessive.... Lol
....The truth is I'm just jealous

ja09 said:

More of a beer collection than kegerator, still need to drill some holes and get that damn co2 outta there to clear some space

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Let us know if you need any help "clearing space" in that fridge...

masonsjax said:

Premium regulators are not a whole lot more expensive. Here's the dual setup I was talking about:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-Battery.html

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Additional benefit of premium regulators (Micromatic, Cornelius & Norgren) is that you can buy rebuild kits for them if needed.

masonsjax said:

Many gas shutoffs are available with check valve built in. I use them on the regulators and my distribution manifold. Cheap insurance.

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Ditto - check valves on both! I keep the CO2 outside the fridge and the distribution block inside. I use clear lines on the CO2 so that I can visually see if there was ever any kick-back.

Here's mine!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/keezers-never-get-old-do-they-my-build-399259/

My nostalgic went out so looked around for something to replace with and found this Beverage Air UR30GE.. best thing is the air circulating fan that keeps my tower ice cold. Worst is the noise since its a little louder than the nostalgic. Still happy with the price of $100 for it off of the classifieds!! I use my deep knockout punch on it for the tower.. Easy and painless in less then and hour!! Working like a charm

JonW said:

Additional benefit of premium regulators (Micromatic, Cornelius & Norgren) is that you can buy rebuild kits for them if needed.

Ditto - check valves on both! I keep the CO2 outside the fridge and the distribution block inside. I use clear lines on the CO2 so that I can visually see if there was ever any kick-back.

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Taprite also has rebuild kits and if you email them with a problem they will usually send a kit for free. There is really no reason to spend the extra cash on a "premium" regulator. They all have rebuild kits and a cheap check valve will prevent most common problems.

orion7144 said:

Taprite also has rebuild kits and if you email them with a problem they will usually send a kit for free. There is really no reason to spend the extra cash on a "premium" regulator. They all have rebuild kits and a cheap check valve will prevent most common problems.

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I would add Taprite to the premium regulator category - should have had them in the named list I had above. There are so many cheap Chinese regulators out there now (as generics and house brands) that have inferior quality, soft metals and no parts. Taprite, like the others I listed above, stand behind the product and supply parts should you need to repair it.

Might add some metal cornering and a gloss finish, but here you go

Very nice capone

gmcapone said:

Might add some metal cornering and a gloss finish, but here you go

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Digging the game/comic theme. I'm guessing by the name, you lead adventurers to untimely deaths once in a while? What do you have on tap?

gmcapone said:

Might add some metal cornering and a gloss finish, but here you go

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i would've put link on the door and bat symbol on the side. Stellar looking keezer.

Thanks! I'm a huge Batman fan and I got lucky with finding a perfect sized decal for the top. I do love me some Legend of Zelda too though obviously.

On tap right now I got a black IPA right now, a brown porter, Irish Red, and egg nog ale that didn't quite come out how I wanted but still is good. I was dumb and used too much water and it only ended up being like 1.07 OG instead if the 1.10 I wanted. Next time though....

What did you use to attach your drip trays to the freezer? I was thinking self tapping screws 3/4" but didnt want to screw anything up.

JDGator said:

What did you use to attach your drip trays to the freezer? I was thinking self tapping screws 3/4" but didnt want to screw anything up.

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I glued some elbow brackets to the the front and put some velcro on the side so its attached to the kegerator. Keeps them in place but you can take them off to clean if you want to. I haven't tested the weight limit extensively, but it can support a full pint I know.

You can find this conversion elsewhere, but I did it differently because of the under counter application. I think this technique might be helpful to others in the same boat. What you are seeing is a loop of 1/2" copper pipe fed up thru the fridge into the counter top and into the tower. The tap line comes thru a T fitting in the copper pipe. The copper gets cold in the fridge and cools the tower, which comes insulated. It works very well (thanks to my brother for the idea). The advantages are:

1) you only have to drill a 5/8" hole in the fridge and countertop.
2) I think it's easier to line that up with the countertop than a piece of conduit.

I lined everything up by first making the cooling pipe, then marking where the T is in the fridge. Then I simply drilled up from inside the fridge. When I hit the underside of the countertop I removed the fridge before going the rest of the way thru the countertop.

This Danby will actually hold two corny kegs with a CO2 tank in the back on the shelf, but in that case you need to take off the door panel and replace it with flat plexiglass or something because as those pop bottle holder projections poke too far into the fridge to allow the second keg. But if you're happy with just a single keg you only need to remove the racks, and then put your CO2 tank on the right hand side. The door panel projections won't bother that. That's what I do for now. Maybe someday I'll add a second keg.

Just finished mine...

phschimpf said:

You can find this conversion elsewhere, but I did it differently because of the under counter application. I think this technique might be helpful to others in the same boat. What you are seeing is a loop of 1/2" copper pipe fed up thru the fridge into the counter top and into the tower. The tap line comes thru a T fitting in the copper pipe. The copper gets cold in the fridge and cools the tower, which comes insulated. It works very well (thanks to my brother for the idea). The advantages are:

1) you only have to drill a 5/8" hole in the fridge and countertop.
2) I think it's easier to line that up with the countertop than a piece of conduit.

I lined everything up by first making the cooling pipe, then marking where the T is in the fridge. Then I simply drilled up from inside the fridge. When I hit the underside of the countertop I removed the fridge before going the rest of the way thru the countertop.

This Danby will actually hold two corny kegs with a CO2 tank in the back on the shelf, but in that case you need to take off the door panel and replace it with flat plexiglass or something because as those pop bottle holder projections poke too far into the fridge to allow the second keg. But if you're happy with just a single keg you only need to remove the racks, and then put your CO2 tank on the right hand side. The door panel projections won't bother that. That's what I do for now. Maybe someday I'll add a second keg.

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Actually, I have this fridge with two kegs in it. All you need to do is cut this shelves off the door. I used a reciprocating saw. They are plastic and filled with insulating foam. It's pretty easy. That gives you the room you need in the fridge.

I installed mine under the counter too. Remember this thing vents out the back. I put a floor register in the counter to allow heat to escape. Make sure it's vented, or the fridge won't last long.