1939 GE Kegerator

[cruckin78]

Many months ago, my wife and I came across a 1939 General Electric refrigerator on craigslist it was in pitiful shape...but working....

So we took it down to bare metal and brought it back to life....

Then I made it mine!!! My other shank is on order at my local homebrew store.

Behold the 1939 GE kegerator!

and for good measure, my rolling, mobile kegerator!

^^I served out of this at a charity event on Saturday!! Over 1,000 attendants and 50 brewers brought 300+ gal on beer (North Florida Brewers League), all $$ was for the local Animal Shelter.

 

[SD-SLIM]

Very Nice!

 

[jamesseth]

Very nice, I attended the p4p this weekend for the first time. Thanks for putting it on!

 

[cruckin78]

Did you?

Did you see a dude that was 6'5" with a beard wearing a shirt that said "Fish Naked" and serving Blueberry Pale Ale? Well that was me!

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

Great work on refurbishing that fridge! Is that bottom part (of the fridge) a freezer or for the compressor or something else?

 

[brewmcq]

My question would be.. how is it on electricity usage? I have a MINT 1940's-1950's era fridge in my basement that I've been contemplating making into a kegerator, but am scared to plug it in and watch our meter go round and round double-time.. lol

 

[cruckin78]

The cover was just not on correctly in the pic...it just covers the compressor.


The electric usage is actually lower then a new fridge. It's wired for 1939....People could not pull tons of power in their house at the time, or they would blow every fuse they had...So it actually pulls less amps then todays fridges...

 

[nightstrm]

Very interesting! I've been considering doing something similar with a vintage hotpoint fridge that a fellow brewer gave me. I'm a little worried about it only having a 2-wire plug, but I have been using it as a fermentation chamber for a year or so now with no problems. With a new coat of paint, im sure it would make an awesome 3-4 tap kegerator. Power consumption doesn't seem to be too bad either.

 

[brewmcq]

The electric usage is actually lower then a new fridge. It's wired for 1939....People could not pull tons of power in their house at the time, or they would blow every fuse they had...So it actually pulls less amps then todays fridges...

Good to know. Maybe I'll plug in our old beast tomorrow when I get home from work and see what happens.

 

[TravisT]

Very well done. I have a fridge project in the garage right now. I'm not going to make it into a kegorator but my swmbo want it for a everyday fridge. my question is how did you get the paint off? I've been using paint remover and sand paper but it take forever!!! I'm thinking of just ruffing up the rest of the paint, then prime, then paint(vet red!). what did you use to for paint? car spray paint in a can or did you use a paint gun(for cars).

 

[jamesseth]

Yeah, I tried your brew. It was great! Glad to know we have so many brewers in this area!

 

[cruckin78]

Very well done. I have a fridge project in the garage right now. I'm not going to make it into a kegorator but my swmbo want it for a everyday fridge. my question is how did you get the paint off? I've been using paint remover and sand paper but it take forever!!! I'm thinking of just ruffing up the rest of the paint, then prime, then paint(vet red!). what did you use to for paint? car spray paint in a can or did you use a paint gun(for cars).

To take the paint off my wife and I took shifts using an angle grinder with the sanding pads, and an attachment for our drill that was like a wire brush after the paint was off to smooth the metal. Then we went to ACE and bought spray can primer, and spray can appliance epoxy and sprayed it. @ cans of primer and 4 cans of Appliance Epoxy did the trick.

Yeah, I tried your brew. It was great! Glad to know we have so many brewers in this area!

Thank you!! Are you a member of the NFBL (North Florida Brewers League)? You should come by Beef O Bradys (on Thomasville Rd.) on June 9th at 7:30p. That is the next meeting.

 

[bottlebomber]

Did you?

Did you see a dude that was 6'5" with a beard wearing a shirt that said "Fish Naked" and serving Blueberry Pale Ale? Well that was me!

So far I've seen several people here describing their size... the guy who taught me to brew was 6'3" 265, and im 6'6" 250. Are brewers large?

 

[jamesseth]

I'm not a member yet. I'll be out of town for the June meeting, but really hoping to make the July one after the P4P!

 

[brewmcq]

So far I've seen several people here describing their size... the guy who taught me to brew was 6'3" 265, and im 6'6" 250. Are brewers large?

I'm 6'4" and pushing 245#...


Kinda back on topic.. I plugged in my 1940's vintage fridge and it works like a charm. I've got a case of 12oz bottles in it right now, chilling for the weekend.

 

[JRems]

Nice work, looks very similar to my 1940 kelvinator refrigerator. I turned it into a 3 keg kegerator. I repainted mine as well. The plastic paint remover disc on the angle grinder worked the best to remove the old paint. Did you remove the old cardboard and wool insulation? I replaced mine with new foam.

 

[cruckin78]

Nice work, looks very similar to my 1940 kelvinator refrigerator. I turned it into a 3 keg kegerator. I repainted mine as well. The plastic paint remover disc on the angle grinder worked the best to remove the old paint. Did you remove the old cardboard and wool insulation? I replaced mine with new foam.

nah I didn't mess with the insulation, it's wool I found out when drilling the hole for the tap....I'll be drilling another one when my other shank comes in.

 

[cruckin78]

added a nice touch today.

 

[Transamguy77]

Nice job! I'v got a fridgeair that was made in the late 40's I was gonna turn into a kegerator, it has a 2 prong cord also, good to know it draws less than a newer fridge

 

[Wing Nut]

Looks great! I love those older fridges.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

I'm just blown away that a fridge built that long ago is still working, while the washer I bought two years ago has sprung a leak.

 

[cruckin78]

America used to take tons of pride in its industry. Now industry is fueled by greed.