Condensation between doors

[RRL]

Hey guys,

Another condensation question / post... I know their common and pretty well all result to the same issue but well see....


I just re sealed my bev air BB72 3 door kegerator (caulked the floor and sealed up small holes I had on the floor)


My door seals did pass the light test but im still getting an abundance of condensation on the outside of my fridge all around all 3 of the doors seals.

The inside doesn't seem to have any water pooling and seems to be an isolated issue to the outside around the door seals.


visually the seals are sealed to the fridge and are not ripped, I also have a dehumidifier right next to the fridge to keep the air dryer around / near it and it still doesnt seem to be helping much.


I just ordered 3 new door gaskets to be safe as these are / seem to be the original gaskets but is there anything else I might be missing that could be the cause?

 

[pantherburn]

Is the kegerator outside or inside? I have an old beverage air two door club top I just rebuilt, new gaskets, etc... It is outside however and I get a great deal of condensation all over it-especially overnight when it is even more humid. Keep in mind, I live in the Deep South as well...

I can't machine having one of these in my house. Mine is loud!

 

[RRL]

yea this one is inside, next to a dehumidifier, I could see having it sweat / condensation over night outside esp as humidity fluctuates...

I got new door gaskets on the way as mine are a little beat up even though they did pass the light test.

I get small amounts of water build up on the floor but I know where its coming from... 1 spot is where theres a "cap" through the wall and the other is the copper tubes seem to be sweating a whole lot... but a properly placed rag picks up all that and I just change them out every week or two...

Ill be getting some eva dry stuff in there sooner then later though.... if I can find some room, shes pretty damn full at the moment. lol

 

[pantherburn]

Man that looks great! Mine is a dinosaur compared to yours. Is there no drip tray with that model?

 

[pantherburn]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1473376813.901417.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1473376832.209358.jpg

 

[pantherburn]

I am so glad mine is cooling great. Supposedly the previous owner changed the refrigerant to 134 from 12. If it didn't cool great I guess it would be a 3-400 lb brick! I put a lot of work into it. It was originally wood grain vinyl with lots of rust-through. Took some bondo, a LOT of sanding and cleaning, new lines and a couple of coats of hammertone gray paint.

Oh btw, the wet on my concrete is from just getting out of the pool, not from condensation, though there is quite a bit from it sweating, especially in the morning.

Best of luck to you! Cheers!

 

[RRL]

looks like you did a **** ton of work on yours its looking good esp for an older wood grain model!

mines pretty rought overall but it does the trick!

I did my own beer tower install.. this unit I have doesnt even have a counter top. Ill have to get a few bar mats and or a above the fridge drip tray.

Now I remeber why I was pro longing my tower build though... back to foaming BS and trying to fine tune the system... grrr

 

[pantherburn]

Oh wow, I should have realized you did your own top and tower install when you mentioned copper tubes-very good job! I can understand that in theory (copper tubes in tower), but I have to wonder why none of the commercial units have/need anything besides the air ducts blowing up into the towers?

Many, many years ago one of my first jobs was working for an Anheuser-Busch distributor, and one of my duties was draft accounts/festivals. Some of the most common issues I would see causing foaming problems were most always heat related.

Of course if your box is not cold you've got foaming problems. The other things I would see would be taps in the sun, tower air ducts blocked, cracked, not going up into the tower, and evaporator fan issues. One of the biggest problems would be when setting up parties, most people don't know how to pour beer. You should always slap the tap wide open and closed quickly. Time and time again I would get calls about foaming issues and I would show up and the "experts" would be gradually and gently opening the faucet!

The other thing would be people messing with the regulator or the tank valve. You should always have your CO2 tank outside the kegerator to maintain good steady pressure. We ended up having to get welded, lockable CO2 tank enclosure built for our portable units to prevent that.

Keep at it, it looks great and I'm sure you'll get it pouring perfectly.

 

[RRL]

Ive always had my co2 tank inside the fridge with no issues.. I used to use a regular fridge with a tap through the door 6ft lines at 10psi and it had a perfect pour, a bit fast but I got the hang of it and poured good, my friends on the other hand would get foamy pours lol.


A lot of things have change opting to the bev air kegerator though thats for sure. I was hoping I could of just used the same pressure and beer line length but doesn't look like it will be the case. The beer is separating in the line through out and comes out pretty well 100% foam.

Yea the copper cooling method might get me 1st beer foam pours, which I can live with, I usually pour a couple OZ's in a side cup and then pour my pint anyways.Which is usually enough to prevent excessive foaming. I tested it last night and I poured 3-4 pints and it was all foam, i got about half half at 8psi but the beer was separating too much in the lines.


Guess ill try my 8ft line at 10-12psi and hope it gets better.

Yea I would have to buy a separate blower to blow cold air up the tower, I had everything on hand to build the passive copper cooling mod, but if im still getting too many foamy poors after I fix the air gaps in the beer line ill be shopping for a blower for sure.

Another thing I need to try is using a different tap, the tap I have running is a cheapo 10$ chromed one, its new but there is a chance it can cause foam for one issue or another. Tonight is the weekend and ill be indulging so ill be able to really tinker with it.

But until I have the air gaps cleared up in the beer line not much I can do.

If I still get foaming issues I have a good idea on what the cause will be and that is the shank and faucet being too warm. Last night by the time I poured my 2nd pint the faucet was dripping with condensation

This was my old set up... it worked really well just wished I could of it 2 50L kegs in there.

 

[pantherburn]

I say spring for the blower and get that cold air up into your towers. Get those lines and shank cold.

Also, from my experience all we used to run were the cheap chrome plated brass faucets with absolutely no problems. They are bullet proof. You just need to keep the faucet clean. You would not believe the yeast buildup I would see in customers faucets that never cleaned their lines. I know a lot of people on these forums love the perlick foam control taps, but wow-$$$! I'm running the older style 525 style perlick faucets just because they came with my box. I replaced all the seals and orings and they work fine. If I had to replace them though, I would go with the rear sealing chrome plated faucets like you have.

Re: line link I used the calculator referenced on this forum here:

http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

For 12 psi and 36 degrees with my lift it recommended 9.6 feet. I ran 10' 3/16" liquid lines and seems to be working fine.

Best of luck, you'll get everything sorted out shortly I'm sure.

 

[RRL]

awesome well i guess i didnt let the keg sit long enough after transporting it.. was a 2 hour drive guess it got shook uo more then usual. cause i got home and got a good pour on the 1st beer and a perfect pour 2nd beer....

10 psi 6ft line perfect pour for the beer i have woop woop lol

good to know about the cheapo taps... those perlicks add up fast... i got one perlick 625ss if i remember right the other 2 are chromed forward sealing