Super Top Secret Hidden Mini Fridge Kegerator in the corner space between cabinets...

[noggins]

Anyone ever done or seen this done in a kitchen?

See image...

blue=current counter with usable cabinet space below.
red=current counter with no usable cabinet space(empty void between cabinets)
brown=floor
thick black=exterior wall
gray=interior wall

So why not stick a mini-fridge where the empty void is in red below, with some type access door either in one of the adjoining cabinets or on the wall in the next room. It seems too easy not to do. Can anyone with a construction/architectural background chime in before I start ripping holes?

 

[dustinboyd]

I think most houses have a usable and functional corner cabinet there... Typically with a lazy Susan.

 

[agrazela]

Not true. They all have kegs there. 100%.

 

[BrewCityBaller]

Just a thought, but have you considered what you are going to do with all the heat?? All the heat that fridge removes in order to make "cold" inside the fridge needs to be dissipated. Most mini-fridges dissipate it along the outside walls. If you surround it on all sides by cabinet I have to imagine you're going to have a hard time keeping things cold.

 

[noggins]

Just a thought, but have you considered what you are going to do with all the heat?? All the heat that fridge removes in order to make "cold" inside the fridge needs to be dissipated. Most mini-fridges dissipate it along the outside walls. If you surround it on all sides by cabinet I have to imagine you're going to have a hard time keeping things cold.

So for this plan to work some type of heat dispersal unit to the external wall would be in order. Or a black hole generator.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Or an air vent in the floor with a circulating fan Yes, in many houses the base cabinet space in the corner is not utilized or grossly underutilized. In my house one of the base cabinets extends behind to consume that space, but getting to it is a real gymnastics exercise. If I were planning to install a kegerator there, I'd need to determine where the taps would go, how I was planing to cool the beer lines to prevent foaming, and as stated before how to dissapate the freezer scrap heat. There are low clearance friges that are designed to be installed within enclosed spaces, but I suspect they are commercial grade and probably spendy. Also, how I was to gain access to remove and install kegs.(perhaps a removable countertop corner section? Finally, since the space is somewhat short for a kegerator, you would probably be limited to minikegs. All solvable, but unique isues. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Homercidal]

So for this plan to work some type of heat dispersal unit to the external wall would be in order. Or a black hole generator.

If you go with a Black Hole generator, you'll have to get a permit.

 

[backsideslash]

My setup is similar to that with the exception that there is no interior wall behind it. It is a two tier bar and I made a pop on pop off section of the trim so that it can be easily accessed. When the trim is in, it is impossible to tell the kegerator is there.

To dissipate the heat I drilled out holes in the adjoining base cabinets as big as I could to allow the heat to enter them and then placed HVAC baseboard grates on the toe kicks to allow it to escape to the room. To keep the tower cool I placed the beer line into a copper pipe extending well into the fridge and up to the tap and then sprayed foam insulation in there and I haven't had any problems with foaming. I initially tried to use a tower fan instead but it didn't quite work for me.

 

[joshesmusica]

Interesting idea. What's in the adjacent room? Possibly your access and heat problems easily solved, depending on what's there. Also, I would think that there's a baseboard that isn't actually on the floor. You could possibly remove that and gain a few inches.

@backsideslash do you have any pics?

 

[backsideslash]

I do, I'm out on the road today but can post pictures tonight... Any excuse to show off the kegerator!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

FYI, the cabinet referred to by the OP is called a blind corner cabinet.

 

[BrewCityBaller]

So for this plan to work some type of heat dispersal unit to the external wall would be in order. Or a black hole generator.

I will personally pay you $100 for the black hole generator

But yes, you'll need some way to disperse that heat. Maybe a quiet fan that draws air from the space and out the baseboard? Or something. Definitely a good concept, you'll just need to get creative.

Also... how are you going to get kegs in and out?

 

[noggins]

Also... how are you going to get kegs in and out?

Wormhole generator.

 

[Homercidal]

Wormhole generator.

Northrend, or Pandaria?

Oh, obviously Pandaria. Probably at the Stormstout Brewery.

 

[kh54s10]

Blackhole or Wormhole generators require permitting by the

Current backlog for permits is approximately 37 years.

 

[backsideslash]

The first picture is of the back of my bar and the kegerator is on the far left side against the exterior wall. The second and third pictures are of the removable section of trim on and off for access. The last picture is a view from the front of the bar and the tower coming through the lower tier of counters.

Hopefully this helps since it is kinda similar to what you were asking about. You could always put some type of Wainscoting in the room behind if you were worried about having an access panel on that wall.

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[robertus]

Northrend, or Pandaria?

Oh, obviously Pandaria. Probably at the Stormstout Brewery.

 

[joshesmusica]

The first picture is of the back of my bar and the kegerator is on the far left side against the exterior wall. The second and third pictures are of the removable section of trim on and off for access. The last picture is a view from the front of the bar and the tower coming through the lower tier of counters.

Hopefully this helps since it is kinda similar to what you were asking about. You could always put some type of Wainscoting in the room behind if you were worried about having an access panel on that wall.

Very cool setup.

Do you have pics of your workaround for ventilating it?

 

[thekraken]

Sub'ed. I had this same idea the other day as I was trying to decide where to put the new kegerator. Hopefully OP builds it and works out the kinks

 

[backsideslash]

Very cool setup.

Do you have pics of your workaround for ventilating it?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439326414.300190.jpg

Thank you. For the vents I just have two of these. I don't have any photos of the actual cabinet cutout though, sorry. I cut it up to the bottom of the first shelf so you can't see the openings from inside the cabinets at all. I also had a computer fan that was hooked up to my temperature regulator for the kegerator so that it would run whenever the fridge was cooling, but I haven't used it in awhile since I repurposed the fan to blow air throughout the inside of the kegerator and keep the temperatures even. It might be overkill, but that combined with the copper pipe has led to no more foam issues.