Mah Kegerator Build.

Sure lots of folks build kegerators, but I though I'd share my build experience anyway...

I've had the fridge for 9yrs, it was in the 1st house my wife and I bought when we moved in. It's OLD! Late 50's/early 60's GE and certainly not efficient by today's standards. I'd always wanted to make it into a kegerator so I wouldn't leave it behind when we sold that house. Now it's been sitting in the basement of our new house for the last 5 years and I've decided it was time to do this project.

I took the basic measurements and ordered a conversion kit online. While measuring the door I decided to pull the butter door/pocket out. That thing had a heating element wrapped around it! (no wonder they aren't very efficient) And the heating element had continuous 120v power running to it.

What does a slightly skilled and overly ambitious guy do w/ something like that?!

"Make back-lit faucet flanges!"

That was my initial thought. Then I considered how much nicer it would look w/ a wider dual outlet flange. Since I happened to have picked a piece of bullet-proof lexan from a construction dumpster and work in a machine shop it was going to become reality. Figuring out the spacing of the faucets was easy, the hard part was determining how I wanted to style the light, and how to set-up/cut the lens.

After completing the lens shaping a fitted hole needed to be cut into the refrigerator door. Using 3/8" bolts dropped into 18mm sockets as locating pins I traced the lens shape onto the door (covered it w/ painters tape first) and carefully cut w/ a 32tpi jig saw about 1/16" inside the line. Then file, file, file, file, file, file, file, file, file, file, file, test fit, file, file, file, etc. till the lens just slipped into place.

Here's the hole.


As I'm sure everyone knows kits come w/ black plastic faucet flanges. Those wouldn't do. So I made some from aluminum. And I made some REALLY THICK ones for a friend who likes his tapper handles BIG.
Here they are:


So now everything has been test fitted and I'm waiting for 40 blue LEDs to arrive in the mail.

Oh. I couldn't bare the thought of bottling my latest batch. So I whipped up a temporary door that is ratchet strapped to the fridge while the beer carbs...


I'll get pics of the lens up after I get all the forward facing surfaces covered w/ chrome automotive tape, and have a working light array.

oh man cant wait to see how this turns out!

I also had a few old lawn mower pistons and connecting rods laying around.

So one became a faucet handle...


I'm not sure if I'm going to make a matching one or find an old gear or U-joint. The piston face will make a nice place to write beer names on though. Hmmmm.

So that's why you made that oval flange

I'm wondering if you could mill a pocket out of the face of the piston and use the ring groove to slide a card in there to display what's on tap. Or use chalk board paint on the piston surface. I have some left over from my tap handles if you need it.

H2oWerker said:

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That one pic makes this thread full of win! I've heard of impatience, but you my friend, rule.

Ki-ri-n said:

So that's why you made that oval flange

I'm wondering if you could mill a pocket out of the face of the piston and use the ring groove to slide a card in there to display what's on tap. Or use chalk board paint on the piston surface. I have some left over from my tap handles if you need it.

Click to expand...

I'm sure I could mill a 'dish' into the piston but I don't know how I would be able to gain enough clearance to slide a card in. Instead of trying to slide a card in through a ring groove an acrylic lens over a label set into the 'dish' would be easy (if I hadn't already glued all the bearing into place w/ green Loctite)I've considered chalk board paint (thank you for the offer) as a definite option. Grease pencils are another route I may attempt, although that may be difficult to clean off.

wildwest450 said:

That one pic makes this thread full of win! I've heard of impatience, but you my friend, rule.

Click to expand...

Hahaha

On quite a few occasions my impatience has cost me dearly. I prefer the temporary door to 'quick carbing'. But my impatient nature may force me to connect a faucet through the styrofoam door to get a sample soon.

I like the pistons for handles, I did one with a MC throttle and one with a Triumph connecting rod.

I still need to run a small bead of caulk around the outside edge of the lens to seal off the light that is creeping through the gaps...and my camera isn't too good at capturing images of lighted objects.

But I'm just too damn excited about the way this turned out and have no patience. So I'm going to post what I've got anyway.

Without a flash.


With a flash.


Neither picture does it justice. But I hope y'All like it anyway.

Hellz Yah! That's pretty dope Ryan! When is the beer going to be flowing through it?

This thing kicks ass. Love the lights and the piston.

Love the lights looks great

Ki-ri-n said:

Hellz Yah! That's pretty dope Ryan! When is the beer going to be flowing through it?

Click to expand...

Thanks Tim! It's exactly how I envisioned it and I can't wait for my 1st pour. I'm going to hook-up a line to the American Cream Ale that's been carbing and taste it this weekend (possibly sunday). I'll also be kegin' the IPA and putting it under pressure. Gotta figure out if I can hold BLC in the line for a week or if I should just sanitize it when the time is right to taste it.

I still can't decide if I should do a matching piston for the other handle...or a fuzzy dice. 8ball shifter perhaps?

H2oWerker said:

Click to expand...

One word: TRON.

Ok, two more: bad ass.



-Joe

nostalgia said:

TRON.

Click to expand...

lol

I didn't even think of that. Now It'll never be the same...

And just in time for the Tron 2.0 movie coming to a theater near you.
It looks great. Maybe more art deco than Tron but a little of both.