Danby DAR044ABDD kegerator build

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Hedo-Rick

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I'm not doing anything ground breaking but wanted to share my build so far.

I cut the molded shelving brackets out and covered the cuts with a couple layers of aluminum tape.

I wanted to keep the C02 tank outside so it could be changed out easier and used to purge carboys and kegs. I mounted the air distributor in the upper left corner, and drilled a hole in the lower left part of the hump for the 2.5" threaded pipe and 5/16" barb x 1/4" female NTP on top and bottom.

I still need to run the shanks through the door and mount the faucets.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459106368.683532.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459106490.985373.jpg
 
Nice. I actually put a 2-way valve on the back of the fridge, one valve going inside and the other to another ball-lock adapter on the outside. This allows me me to purge carboys and kegs without opening the door, and I decided if I want to go the way of a beer gun, I could attach the air line to the outside as well.
 
Thanks for the great thread! :mug:

I've got a Danby like this and have some questions for you.

1. What size shanks did you use? I don't think there is much room to close the door so I'm thinking no longer than about 2 or 3"

2. Can you describe what you did with the door? I see that the plastic has been cut off next to the door seal. I will do this as well but I noticed that you have some metallic tape covering a portion of the door. What is the tape covering? Will the door require additional insulation?

3. You ground off the plastic molded shelving brackets. Is this necessary? It seems like 2 kegs will fit without removing them.

I'm thinking about attaching two secondary regulators on the outside of the fridge and running two Co2 lines into the fridge like you did from the bump-out where the compressor is housed. I want to do this to eliminate having to remove kegs in order to fiddle with the regulators. I want 2 secondary regulators so I can force-carb one keg and leave the other at serving pressure.
 
Can you go through the top also with a tower?
 
RichBrewer said:
Thanks for the great thread! :mug:

I've got a Danby like this and have some questions for you.

1. What size shanks did you use? I don't think there is much room to close the door so I'm thinking no longer than about 2 or 3"

2. Can you describe what you did with the door? I see that the plastic has been cut off next to the door seal. I will do this as well but I noticed that you have some metallic tape covering a portion of the door. What is the tape covering? Will the door require additional insulation?

3. You ground off the plastic molded shelving brackets. Is this necessary? It seems like 2 kegs will fit without removing them.

I'm thinking about attaching two secondary regulators on the outside of the fridge and running two Co2 lines into the fridge like you did from the bump-out where the compressor is housed. I want to do this to eliminate having to remove kegs in order to fiddle with the regulators. I want 2 secondary regulators so I can force-carb one keg and leave the other at serving pressure.
Click to expand...

I've built a kegerator from this same fridge, I can answer some of your questions. I did not cut off any shelf slots, but did cut off the can supports and the lower ridge on the door. This allows to kegs staggered slightly. The tape covers any cuts to reduce moisture in the insulation. My regulators are outside too, I just carefully drilled two holes in the hump and threaded the line through, sealing it with RTV. I like separately adjusting the kegs from outside. My taps are on top in a tower, so I can't answer about the shanks.
 
JohnSand said:
I've built a kegerator from this same fridge, I can answer some of your questions. I did not cut off any shelf slots, but did cut off the can supports and the lower ridge on the door. This allows to kegs staggered slightly. The tape covers any cuts to reduce moisture in the insulation. My regulators are outside too, I just carefully drilled two holes in the hump and threaded the line through, sealing it with RTV. I like separately adjusting the kegs from outside. My taps are on top in a tower, so I can't answer about the shanks.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response. Looking at it again, I can see where the door was cut out where the beverage holders go. I think I will do that as well.
 
RichBrewer said:
Thanks for the great thread! :mug:



I've got a Danby like this and have some questions for you.



1. What size shanks did you use? I don't think there is much room to close the door so I'm thinking no longer than about 2 or 3"



2. Can you describe what you did with the door? I see that the plastic has been cut off next to the door seal. I will do this as well but I noticed that you have some metallic tape covering a portion of the door. What is the tape covering? Will the door require additional insulation?



3. You ground off the plastic molded shelving brackets. Is this necessary? It seems like 2 kegs will fit without removing them.



I'm thinking about attaching two secondary regulators on the outside of the fridge and running two Co2 lines into the fridge like you did from the bump-out where the compressor is housed. I want to do this to eliminate having to remove kegs in order to fiddle with the regulators. I want 2 secondary regulators so I can force-carb one keg and leave the other at serving pressure.
Click to expand...


Sorry about the delay but I've been traveling.

1) the shanks are 4". The shanks clear the tops of the kegs so the length doesn't matter. However, it would be a problem if they were centered more and would hit the thermostat dial and light fixture housing.

2) I simply cut the inner shelving out of the door so it didn't interfere with the kegs. No need to trim the bottom or top as it does not get in the way. Everything (cut) was covered with aluminum tape to keep moisture away from the insulation to avoid mold forming.

3) the shelving brackets were cut out with a utility knife and covered with aluminum tape. In retrospect I think I could have simply trimmed the left side and and left the right alone. But I like things to be uniform so I trimmed both. With that said, there are wires that run up the right side, so use caution if you do cut the right.
 
JohnSand,

I assume there are coolant lines going through the top of this fridge. Did you get some drawings to show where they are? How did you determine where to drill if not? Did you do the plywood base under the plastic top or just go straight through? Any issues with stability if you didn't use a plywood base under the plastic top?

Thanks,
Jason
 
How did you mount the air distributor?

I'm working on a similar project and I'm scared to death of hitting a line mounting the distributor or regulator inside the fridge....
 
sunsetCervezas said:
How did you mount the air distributor?



I'm working on a similar project and I'm scared to death of hitting a line mounting the distributor or regulator inside the fridge....
Click to expand...


Epoxy...actually, cut a piece of wood to match the the mounting plate of the air distributor, used epoxy to attach the wood to the inside of the fridge, and then attached the air distributor once the epoxy dried.
 

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