Kegerator from a small cube fridge

[ipopiad]

I decided to build a kegerator, and the only fridge i had was a small Chefmate dorm room fridge.

(keg used for scale)

The first step was figuring out the best way to extend the size of the fridge to fit a keg. The solution I came up with was putting the fridge on its back and extending the sealed area upwards.

I measured that the extension would have to be 14" above the top of the fridge to have room for a keg.

Got my materials: 4 sheets of 1/4" plywood, 2 sheets of polystyrene insulation (the kind with the shiny silver on one side), a handle, hinges, corner braces, polyurethane clear stain, and some spray foam insulation.

I cut the plywood into the right dimensions (17"x19"x32") and stained it. Using the fridge as a guide, I screwed the corner braces on so that it was a cube. I had to remove and cut the insulation after it was installed because the plywood was bulging out a bit. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the process because I was too busy swearing and pulling splinters out of my hands to take pictures, but here is the finished result:

Using the spray foam insulation to seal the cracks worked beautifully. I couldn't really get a good picture of it, but you can see it here

The next step is to drill a hole for the CO2 line and install a tap, but I have to wait for payday to buy the rest.

What do you think? I know it's not pretty, but it seems to work, and fit nicely into my budget.

 

[carlisle_bob]

Hi

Where are the "hot" coils on that fridge? You will need to keep air moving past them for it to work. The two normal answers are:

1) Hanging ugly on the back of the fridge. Look like a wire grid.
2) Inside the walls of the fridge out of sight, out of mind.

Either way you do *not* want to cover them up. The compressor pumps "cold" out of the fridge to the "hot" coils. No air on the "hot" coils and the compressor fires.

Bob

 

[ipopiad]

There aren't any coils visible, but there is a heat sink and fan on the back of the fridge, so they're on the bottom with this setup. I raised it a few inches so that there's space for air to circulate, but I'm not sure if it's enough.
Now that I think about it, pretty much every component of this thing is flammable. I might get another fan or something to put underneath it just to be safe.

 

[Brewfat]

I'm not sure the compressor should be run in that orientation.

 

[KPSquared]

X2 on the compressor orientation. . .usually setting them on their back means no oil means fridge go boom.

 

[strambo]

A simple answer...it looks like a 2.5-3 gal keg and a 2.5 or 5lb CO2 should fit w/o modification?

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

X2 on the compressor orientation. . .usually setting them on their back means no oil means fridge go boom.

Yeah, that won't work.

You're gonna have to attach a foam box to the front of the fridge. It MIGHT keep a single keg cool, but I doubt it.

Go onto CL and find a bigger fridge cheap.

 

[zachattack]

Agreed. Fridges need to be upright to run properly so the fluids flow down into the compressor. Even if you turn a fridge on its side to move it, you usually need to wait a day or two to plug it back in to let everything settle.

 

[ipopiad]

Well ****. You guys were right, it doesn't work. So much for my clever plans.

I may just use it as an icebox, it's a crappy fridge anyway. It's pretty well insulated, so I'm thinking a chunk of dry ice should keep it cold for a while.

Thanks for the feedback, next time I post something it won't be so stupid

 

[grumpywolf]

That's not being stupid, you learnt something from your attempts at trying something differant.

Being stupid is making the same mistake over and over again

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Well ****. You guys were right, it doesn't work. So much for my clever plans.

I may just use it as an icebox, it's a crappy fridge anyway. It's pretty well insulated, so I'm thinking a chunk of dry ice should keep it cold for a while.

Thanks for the feedback, next time I post something it won't be so stupid

Stupid? Nah.

Many great ideas have been brought crashing down by an inconvenient fact.

 

[Manon_Theedge]

Well ****. You guys were right, it doesn't work. So much for my clever plans.

I may just use it as an icebox, it's a crappy fridge anyway. It's pretty well insulated, so I'm thinking a chunk of dry ice should keep it cold for a while.

Thanks for the feedback, next time I post something it won't be so stupid

I appreciate you posting this thread - I have the same fridge and have been thinking of doing something similar. Do you think the problem was putting it on its end, or just that it was too small to get cold enough?

The bottom of my fridge appears to be just insulation. I was thinking of taking the bottom out and extending it down with an insulated box.

 

[ipopiad]

Just an update, I tried using dry ice, which worked but got expensive quickly. What I'm doing now is freezing gallon jugs of water and using those to cool it. They keep the beer at about 45° F pretty consistently, which is what I was shooting for anyway. So ultimately it worked out, but not in the way I intended. This certainly has been a learning experience if nothing else... do your research before you start projects.

 

[akadamia]

Manon- Would you let us know if that works. I have a similar fridge and would like to convert it.