Sanyo 4912 Build

[Summoner12]

Hello! I am new to this forum and wanted to give back to a forum that has been helpful for me. I was in search of which mini fridge to buy to build my first kegerator and was able to find some very helpful info here, so I wanted to pass it along with my own build thread. I hope this isn't beating a dead horse for some of you! :smack:

A little intro about me and this project. I do not brew beer, I do not have the space or even the time. I truly wish I did though! Maybe I can get into it later. The reason I finally pulled the trigger on this project; my GF of many years and I are getting married in July. We are trying to be as DIY about the wedding as we can, so this seemed like a perfect excuse to build a kegerator as a way to serve tapped beer at a much lower cost than paying someone else. Our wedding/reception is going to be at a big home we are renting for a few days. The idea is that our out of town family (everyone, pretty much) will have a place to stay when they fly in. This also saves from people driving places after the party, don't need grandma getting a DUI :cross:

So, as the title states, I am using a Sanyo 4912. I plan to buy a tower conversion kit. However, I was looking through builds and at how people change their parts out... Is it worth it to buy stuff piece by piece? I sort of feel that for now, a conversion kit will work fine as I am not even exactly sure on what stuff to buy individually. If anyone has any pointers, feel free! I have not purchased the conversion kit yet. This is the kit I am looking at from Amazon: Link

Finding my mini fridge was interesting, as most Craigslist adventures are. At first I didn't really know what I was looking for. I found this forum and was able to figure out what models to look for. Once I knew what I wanted, I started having more luck with Craigslist. Of course the Sanyo 4.9 cuft units are highly sought after, so prices were high and there were 'lines' to wait in from each seller. After contacting a couple sellers with other candidates, I just waited. As to be expected people flaked on the sellers and my turn was up. Luckily two guys local to me had the fridge and the closest guy had what I wanted and $35 cheaper than the farther drive. I felt bad for flaking on the second dude, but as a buyer, you need back-up options.

Here is the fridge I picked up (next to a box of lanters for the wedding....)



And the inside:




This is a list of items I wish to accomplish in this build:

• Have a flat door (cut off plastic shelves or install my own plastic sheet)
• Have a cooled tower.
• Considering electric thermostat in place of stock unit.
• Functioning spill tray.
• Caster wheels for ease of moving the unit around.
• Interior LED lighting.
• Circulation fan.
• Create or purchase rails for top of fridge.

I plan to gut the door of the plastic shelves. I think I might either cut off the door plastic stuff, or just remove it and make a template of the door and use another sheet of plastic to hold the door seal.

Depending on how well the stock thermal regulator works I might replace it and use an electronic thermostat. I just need to test things out. I will for sure be using a squirrel cage fan to force air up into the tower. I was thinking of using a piece of plastic pushed up into the tower to divide the space into two halves.

I do like the idea of having the rails on top of the fridge so items don't get knocked off. I am not really sure how I would build them... but I was thinking I could remove the lid and then drill up into the rails as a way of securing them. I even have thought of making a whole new top using a sheet of plywood.. Either tiling it or just stain. But a small sheet of stone would be cool too!

 

[Arty76]

that looks like a great project, I did one out of a mini fridge too, I was able to save half of the inside door panel/ shelves to use, and fit two corny kegs in it, here is a link to my you tube video of it, check it out maybe give you some ideas, good luck

http://youtu.be/fXpkoAI4DA8

 

[CorwinGraves]

I converted a 4912 a few years ago and it's still going strong. I can't remember where I purchased my equipment from, but I did purchase a kit of some sort and followed a tutorial I found somewhere online. The project was rewarding and I was so happy to get away from bottling, even after bottling just one batch!

Good luck with your build. Sounds like you're planning to deck yours out a bit more than I did, as I left both the door and thermostat intact and didn't add rails or a fan to cool the tower. Works great as is, though I'd recommend using 10' serving lines and 3/16" tubing. My foaming issues went away entirely once I made that switch.

 

[Summoner12]

that looks like a great project, I did one out of a mini fridge too, I was able to save half of the inside door panel/ shelves to use, and fit two corny kegs in it, here is a link to my you tube video of it, check it out maybe give you some ideas, good luck

http://youtu.be/fXpkoAI4DA8

Very nice, thank you for the link! Have you made any changes since the video was made? Do you have some better photos of your beer tower? It was hard to see in the video.

I converted a 4912 a few years ago and it's still going strong. I can't remember where I purchased my equipment from, but I did purchase a kit of some sort and followed a tutorial I found somewhere online. The project was rewarding and I was so happy to get away from bottling, even after bottling just one batch!

Good luck with your build. Sounds like you're planning to deck yours out a bit more than I did, as I left both the door and thermostat intact and didn't add rails or a fan to cool the tower. Works great as is, though I'd recommend using 10' serving lines and 3/16" tubing. My foaming issues went away entirely once I made that switch.

Thank you for the tip on the tubing length. I had read something about length helping, but kinda scanned over it. Do you secure the hose in a certain way or just let them hang out on top of the kegs? I suppose I could zip-tie them into a coiled bundle.

I think I might ditch the railing idea.

As for keg fitment... Will the unit hold tall 1/4 kegs? I imagine one will fit if the door is shaved.... but not sure about two... or maybe a 1/4 tall keg with a corny keg?

 

[CorwinGraves]

Thank you for the tip on the tubing length. I had read something about length helping, but kinda scanned over it. Do you secure the hose in a certain way or just let them hang out on top of the kegs? I suppose I could zip-tie them into a coiled bundle.

I think I might ditch the railing idea.

As for keg fitment... Will the unit hold tall 1/4 kegs? I imagine one will fit if the door is shaved.... but not sure about two... or maybe a 1/4 tall keg with a corny keg?

I just let the tubing hang out on top of the kegs. It's not necessarily pretty, but it works and I'm sort of lazy. In terms of capacity, I have two corny kegs in mine and it's a tight fit. I also have a 5 lb. CO2 tank inside that I've secured to the cooling plate with a bungee cord. I thought about drilling out the back in order to keep the CO2 tank outside of the fridge, but I didn't want to risk hitting a cooling line.

 

[Arty76]

Sure, ill post a couple pics later today

 

[Arty76]

Here's a couple pics, my mini fridge and a regular size one I started to convert

 

[wilserbrewer]

As for keg fitment... Will the unit hold tall 1/4 kegs? I imagine one will fit if the door is shaved.... but not sure about two... or maybe a 1/4 tall keg with a corny keg?

A tall 1/4 keg is 12 1/4" wide, I don't think it will fit in a fridge like this.

 

[Summoner12]

A tall 1/4 keg is 12 1/4" wide, I don't think it will fit in a fridge like this.

I have not personally measured one, but I saw a different measurement online: Link

I am sure there are variations, and I have no idea of the 1-1/8" will matter in my case.

My next purchase is to get the conversion kit. Still deciding between a beer tower or building a box for shanks.

I take inspiration from this build: Link

 

[Summoner12]

I wanted to get some opinions on a decision I am likely to go with.

Tower, or door taps

I have been thinking all along that I would go with a tower tap for this build. But I have been looking at all of the conversion kits out there and because the kit has a tower, the taps are chrome plated (lower cost). From what I can tell Perlick is the best tap, or seems to be the best?

Beverage factory has kits that you can customize...

If I go with the tower kit, and upgrade it, I'm in the $350 range.

If I go with the door mount I am in the $290 range. I would like to be below the $300 mark.

My thoughts on door mounting is that the mini fridge is obviously going to be awkward. Having to bend over to pour a beer. So then I thought about making a nice wood stand or pedestal for the fridge to stand on. That way the taps aren't so low and then the whole fridge sorta becomes a counter top. I've always kind of thought that they were a bit short.

So what do you guys think? Raise up the fridge, put door taps on it, for slightly cheaper up front cost or go with the tower, but with upgraded taps, or standard chrome plated?

Also, what do you guys do for CO2 tanks? I have read reviews on Amazon that the nice looking tanks you can buy there aren't certified, so companies won't fill them and that you'll have to exchange the bottle. I called airgas near me and they said if I come in without a bottle, ill need to buy one from them and that out the door I'm looking at about $110?

 

[Summoner12]

I went with the door mount taps. I ended up with Perlick taps, 15' beer tubing, industrial regulator, ball lock taps and 4-1/8" shanks.

I've been collecting some beer tap handles from eBay.

I am also planning to make my own beer handles. I am a pretty big Anaheim Angle's fan... HUGE Trout fan as well. So I purchased a Mike Trout and Jarred Weaver garden gnomes (I have one of each already, but im not gonna hack them up)and plan to make beer tap handles out of them. I also was thinking of getting one of those mini baseball bats and making a tap handle out of that as well. We shall see!

So far I haven't done any work on the fridge, time has been tight lately. When I get some work done I will share some photos!

 

[Black_Z28]

If I may ask....how much did you end up buying your fridge for?

 

[Summoner12]

If I may ask....how much did you end up buying your fridge for?

It was on Craigslist for $115. The guy was super chill and easy to meet with so I didn't haggle with him. He had a pretty shocked face when I asked "so you have it listed for $115? Here you go!" and handed him the money.

Tonight I have an update. SO... wish I had done more in store research before I had ordered my kit. The D couplers are what I should have gone with... I got ball lock thinking I would be getting corny kegs. Now I need to spend the extra money Does anyone recommend which coupler brand to go with? Any input helps.

I've been collecting tap handles as well.

I'll get some pics going soon.

 

[Summoner12]

I got some photos uploaded:

Here is a tap I made from a stadium give away at Angel Stadium, Jared Weaver garden gnome. I have a Mike Trout one as well, just didn't make it yet:



This is a few of the handles I have ordered. It was a bit of a learning curve with the New Belgium handles. There are ones with reflectors, some small, some tall... I now know what to look for when I am snooping on eBay. I only got these seasonal handles because I figured I'd collect them, bummed about the short one.



I modified the door last night after going to Hi-Times and learning about their kegs. I wanted to see where I could place my shanks on the door without them running into the kegs.

The door plastic was suprisingly thin. I used a utility knife and cut through it pretty easily. My next move is to install a flat sheet of plastic onto the door to give he shanks more stability.








Here are a couple photos of where the wedding is being held at:

This room is off of the kitchen (photo taken from the kitchen). We'll have board games in there and video games on the TV.



This is from the same spot as above, just turned aorund looking at the kitchen. We will have dancing in here, and maybe the bar to keep off the carpet.



This is the "bar room" but we're concerned about red wine spills on the carpet. There are two of those bar table stands.



This is the entry way. The ceremony will happen out in front of the house:

 

[Black_Z28]

It was on Craigslist for $115. The guy was super chill and easy to meet with so I didn't haggle with him. He had a pretty shocked face when I asked "so you have it listed for $115? Here you go!" and handed him the money.

Tonight I have an update. SO... wish I had done more in store research before I had ordered my kit. The D couplers are what I should have gone with... I got ball lock thinking I would be getting corny kegs. Now I need to spend the extra money Does anyone recommend which coupler brand to go with? Any input helps.

I've been collecting tap handles as well.

I'll get some pics going soon.

Sounds good, I have a fully converted one that I'm thinking about selling and I have no idea what to even ask. I have no use for it, since I made a Keezer. That'll give me a good starting point. Thanks

 

[Summoner12]

Sounds good, I have a fully converted one that I'm thinking about selling and I have no idea what to even ask. I have no use for it, since I made a Keezer. That'll give me a good starting point. Thanks

Will you be selling it as a complete kegerator or just the fridge?

 

[Summoner12]

Alright guys! I got it going!! I had beer on tap last night!

It was late so I just took photos and went to bed after a couple of sample pours. A couple of things I need to do still: Figure out how to get the airlines into the fridge, I want the CO2 outside, under the fridge. I also want to test out this control device I got from a friend, wondering if any of you have seen it before (might post in the electronics forum to get more attention on it).

In the post above where I mentioned that I should have done more research at the keg store on what types of couplers I should have gotten.... A couple of weeks ago I stopped in at Hi-Times Wine Cellars. It's in Newport Beach, about 10 minutes from me . I wanted to get a feel for the place and see what they might have in stock as far as kegs go. They sell couplers and tap handles and can get pretty much any beer you want within a couple of days. The store offers a cool CO2 exchange program (maybe other stores do the same?) You pay $25 for a 5 year 'membership'. Your CO2 refill is $20 once you're a member. This works out compared to the gas shops I called around to that wanted $100 for the bottle and $20 to refill. MAYBE in the long run buying the tank makes more sense, but I'm not locked into just one size bottle, pretty sure I can request a 10# if I need it.

Last night I dropped into the store to see what kegs they had on hand and was going to get one if something sounded good. I settled for a Bayhawk Hef. Signed up with the CO2 program and headed home to finish my kegerator.

Saturday my GF and I made the kegerator platform I intend to use. It elevates the fridge to 10.5", it will provide storage on the bottom for the CO2 and a drain catch tank. We still need to sand and stain the wood, we also have some trim pieces we cut to cover the edge of the plywood.




I also needed to drill holes for the shanks and install my plastic door backing that covers the door foam. I used 1/16" PVC plastic sheet from McMaster Carr. The plastic makes the fridge not close perfectly because now there is a bit less space.... but if you give it a push the magnets in the seal latch the seal to the fridge. (yeah, there is a magnet in the seal, pretty cool!)



The booty:



I am bummed I didn't use a smaller drill bit for the shanks. I had the bit on hand... it seemed OK, but I didn't figure in the wobble that hole saws ALWAYS have. Glass cutting buts do the same thing, always cuts slightly bigger than what the bit measures. So my shanks can move around if you try. Because of the plastic backing I was able to really crank the shank locking nut down. Not crazy tight, but you can't really turn the tap unless you're trying.



The kit came with two drain catch trays. I did a 4" space on the taps to make the single 6" tray work.



The backside. I have a plan for the tubing. Not sure if I mentioned it before... Planning to use a PVC pipe drilled and threading the tubing through it to hold a nice coil. The plastic working out well on the back of the door.



The first pour!



I have the CO2 tank on the inside for now:



I need to cut the shelving ribs off... I don't think I'll be able to fit two kegs without it. Staggered they should be OK... but I want to try for a 1/4 tall keg and a 5g. I think there might be room ::crossing my fingers::

 

[Black_Z28]

Will you be selling it as a complete kegerator or just the fridge?

It'll be complete. Except for the CO2 tank and kegs.

Here's a picture.

 

[Summoner12]

So I tried to put two Bay Hawk 5.2g kegs into the fridge with no luck. It seems I need to trim the plastic off on the inside of the fridge. I was hoping I wouldn't have to, because I like the clean look... But I'll just trim it out neatly and order plastic like I did for the door. I'll update later.

 

[Summoner12]

Oh and on another note. I added this small blower in the fridge. It is attached to the beer line on the door and blows back against the cooling element. It has seriously improved my beer chilling abilities. Keg reads 23*f and the beer line reads slightly higher at 28*f. The beer pours a bit warmer though... the head reads 42*f... but I think I'll try water and a regular old thermometer in the fridge. I did my above readings with a high end laser temp gun.

 

[Summoner12]

Here's a bit of an update.

Well the reason for this build was to make a kegerator for my wedding in July last year. That worked out pretty well, minus the bartender we hired talking trash to my quests about how slow the pours were (I like the slow pour, keeps the head to a minimum). He also didn't switch kegs over after one ran out... oh well. The DJ sucked too, so you live and learn. :smack:

Now the kegerator sees a lot of action. We moved to a new home (renting a house, used to rent an apt) and our place has a pool. So we have people over quite often and the beer on tap is a big hit .

So, this kegerator will soon be going to a new home, however. Time for a new project.

A buddy of mine was given a 6 tap T tower and all of the gear that goes with it... but didn't want that big of a project. SO, we're trading. I will give him my setup and he's going to give me all of the stuff he has plus $100. Considering new, the equipment he's giving me would cost well over $3-4k I am sure this is fair.

When I get my build going, I'll include a link to the thread of the new build.

Here are some updated pics... The second photo is a CO2 tank holder I had planned to install on the outside of my kegerator. But I think I am going to save it for the new build.

 

[Summoner12]

BTW, a bit off topic sorta.... In July we went on a trip up to Portland. We drove, so we stopped in San Fransisco. Near our not so great hotel, we needed to find some dinner. I jumped on Yelp and just up the street (litterally, it was one of those CRAZY steep streets...) I got a boot of beer.... that's a lot of beer... lol But I handled it like a champ.

When you find yourself in San Fransisco, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this place. Yelp

Best food ever. Wish I had taken pics of the food, but we were having too much fun with the beer





Once up in Portland we went to a lot of beer related places... and I got growlers and my wife got annoyed at how many. But come on, you go to a brewery, you go home with a growler of their beer, that's what you do. :rockin:

So at Rogue, went home with a Growler or something, don't even remember. But we also got a case of Dead Guy Ale for $24.... that's a damn good price.



We also stopped at a place called The Beer Den. A cool tap house/growler fill station.








Since I couldn't get a growler fill of the Boneyard Notorious at The Beer Den.... I got the Venom, then went to Bend, OR to get a fill of the Notorious Boneyard was pretty neat.



We stopped at a couple of other places... but yeah. it was a fun trip.



Favorite place we stopped at on the way home was Crater lake. Super cool! We want to go back and check it out more. We only stopped for a little bit in passing, then headed home. It would be cool to stay at the lodge there. Even in July, still snow up there and only access to half of the perimeter road because of the snow.