Goon
Well-Known Member
Hello All
After a couple year hiatus from brewing beer (I have a list a mile long of excuses that prevented me from brewing) I am getting back at to it in 2015. Along with brewing beer I am going to build a kegerator!
I picked up a Danby compact refrigerator (DAR440) on craigslist the other day. Poor college kid had no idea what he had. It was essentially brand new and I got it for a steal. I want my kegerator to have a 2 tap tower. I have looked at a bunch of conversion kits online and none of them seem to be the complete package for what I am looking for. I essentially would like to upgrade the tower to be stainless and include all stainless Perlick Faucets. I also want to upgrade the regulator to be able to control the pressure in both kegs to keep one under pressure to poor while carbonating the other. So since I seemingly can't purchase a kit "off the shelf" I would like to build a parts list that I can either shop around online with or slap on my LHBS and have them fulfill the order.
So I have some questions to aid me in my parts list:
How many kegs will a 5lb CO2 tank last for? Do any of y'all who have 5lb tanks wish you had a larger one?
MY LHBS sells refurbished corny kegs, I assume I need to know what they have in inventory before identifying which kind of tap I need (pin lock vs. ball lock)
I think that I will probably want to get a tap that will fit a commercial 1/6th keg. My understanding is the HB taps will not work on a 1/6th commercial keg? True? If so what kind of tap do I need?
I think I want to go with quick disconnects on the lines? Good idea?
What's the general conclusion on the best inside diameter of the tubing? 3/16"
Is the gas line and beer line made up of the same tubing or are they different types of tubing. Length of each?
Has anyone successfully wired in a thermostatic switch to control the tower cooling fan so it is not running 24hrs/day?
Eventually I am going to relocate the tower to a bar top once I build the bar in my basement in a year or so. Is there anything that I need to consider? Just extend the pipe insulation from the fridge to the relocated tower?
Sorry for the long post and all the questions. I like to jump into a project with both feet and not look back.
Thanks in advance!
Toben
After a couple year hiatus from brewing beer (I have a list a mile long of excuses that prevented me from brewing) I am getting back at to it in 2015. Along with brewing beer I am going to build a kegerator!
I picked up a Danby compact refrigerator (DAR440) on craigslist the other day. Poor college kid had no idea what he had. It was essentially brand new and I got it for a steal. I want my kegerator to have a 2 tap tower. I have looked at a bunch of conversion kits online and none of them seem to be the complete package for what I am looking for. I essentially would like to upgrade the tower to be stainless and include all stainless Perlick Faucets. I also want to upgrade the regulator to be able to control the pressure in both kegs to keep one under pressure to poor while carbonating the other. So since I seemingly can't purchase a kit "off the shelf" I would like to build a parts list that I can either shop around online with or slap on my LHBS and have them fulfill the order.
So I have some questions to aid me in my parts list:
How many kegs will a 5lb CO2 tank last for? Do any of y'all who have 5lb tanks wish you had a larger one?
MY LHBS sells refurbished corny kegs, I assume I need to know what they have in inventory before identifying which kind of tap I need (pin lock vs. ball lock)
I think that I will probably want to get a tap that will fit a commercial 1/6th keg. My understanding is the HB taps will not work on a 1/6th commercial keg? True? If so what kind of tap do I need?
I think I want to go with quick disconnects on the lines? Good idea?
What's the general conclusion on the best inside diameter of the tubing? 3/16"
Is the gas line and beer line made up of the same tubing or are they different types of tubing. Length of each?
Has anyone successfully wired in a thermostatic switch to control the tower cooling fan so it is not running 24hrs/day?
Eventually I am going to relocate the tower to a bar top once I build the bar in my basement in a year or so. Is there anything that I need to consider? Just extend the pipe insulation from the fridge to the relocated tower?
Sorry for the long post and all the questions. I like to jump into a project with both feet and not look back.
Thanks in advance!
Toben