Old kegerator gave up the ghost...Time for a new one!

Waaaay back in 2008 I got my hands on a 5 cu ft Haier chest freezer. In April 2009 I finally put a nice, stained oak collar on it, complete with 3 Perlick faucets. Not 6 months later, it develops a refrigerant leak. So, needless to say, I've been without beer on tap for some time now (related to dropping 30 lbs? Naaaaaaaah).

After relentless scrounging on Craigslist, somebody finally posted up an old fridge that served the one purpose I needed--getting cold--and didn't want an arm and a leg for it. In fact, the good fellow selling it quite possibly helped me save an arm--he and his buddy helped me get it back to my place, which I couldn't have done with a recently dislocated shoulder. But that's another story .

True to 'beer fridge form', the fridge had a fair bit of exterior surface rust, and wee bit on the interior of the freezer. So first order of business was sanding it down with 80 grit sandpaper, then slopping up a layer of Rust-Oleum Rusted Metal primer. That stuff went on thick, I used a better part of a quart in just one coat! After a 24 hr dry time, I went at it again with 120 grit sandpaper, trying to even out the worst crevices in the textured surface. A layer of paint, 220 grit, another layer of paint, 600 grit gave me a fairly even surface. More coats would have been beneficial, but by this time I have spent probably 7 hours sanding, so I called it good 'nuff!

Why all the effort sanding, you ask? Because the paint was not 'ordinary' paint, oh no. But rather it was the Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint. You can leave it rough, but then it becomes fairly difficult to erase. So I decided to put more of the elbow grease in doing it right the first time .

The faucets are the same Perlick forward sealing ones used in the old kegerator; the drip pan was scavenged as well. I did upgrade the magnets holding it to the fridge, though; when I pulled the pan away from the chest freezer, the magnetic tape stayed behind! Apparently the stainless steel mud pans at Home Depot aren't very high quality stainless, since the new magnets were perfectly able to stick to it without chemical assistance. But I haven't had corrosion problems either...Can't ask for more from a $14 drip tray!

And now for the part you've actually been waiting for....Pics! I apologize in advance for the terrible picture quality...the light was terrible and the only 'camera' I have is my Droid.

After painting and sanding:


After installing the taps and 'preparing' the chalkboard surface; you can see the old kegerator in the background:


Figured out what to do with one side; I'll fill it out as I fill 'er up!


The other side currently the Ben Franklin "Beer is proof" quote on it, and I'll be putting up an illustrated guide to properly pouring a beer. Suggestions on future inspirational beer quotes?

Overall this project was as close to dirt cheap as they come and actually pretty fun. Being pretty hard to screw up maaay have factored into that just a little bit . I hope that my small success may push a hesitant person over the edge into action...man, it feels good to have a kegerator again!!!

Thoughts, comments, or questions?

//I'll post up the obligatory 'first beer being poured" pic once the lines are cleaned . Not sure what it'll be when it comes out...I have a mystery keg from back when the old kegerator failed. I'll have to do some tasting soon...For science!

 

I like the idea of the chalkboard surface. Boldness points for doing the ENTIRE fridge that way.

Any plans to mount one of the external digital temperature gauges?

 

Glad you like it .

I was thinking about iadding a temp sensor--I actually have an old indoor/outdoor temperature sensor that would work pretty darn well.

I do still have my old temperature controller as well. Can you use one of those bad boys with a fridge/freezer, and not just a freezer? I'm worried that the freezer section might end up getting too warm.

 

the freezer would be kaput as far as i knows. did one quart cover the fridge?

 

Nice I like it!

The same thing happened to me but SWMBO bought me a 5.1cu ft freezer. That project is dragging on way too long though! Too much

Have fun with it!

 

Dang . Ah well, I suppose I don't need perfect temperature control...41*F +/-3 is probably fine.

One quart did indeed cover the whole fridge. I put only one coat of pimer, but used up more than half. Pro tip--just give up on a roller after that stuff; the paint is simply impossible to remove! Have plenty of mineral spirits and pumice soap on hand to get it off your hands. The chalkboard paint went on a bit thinner; after two coats I still had enough left over to put another coat on. The 90-120sqft coverage spec seems pretty accurate to me. I used a foam roller with it and enjoyed fair success.

My freezer worked really well for me...when it worked at all, that is! Took me a really long time to get going on that one--once you get used to having cobra taps, it gets harder and harder to get rolling on finishing it! Is yours upright or chest?

 

thanks for the info!

 

No problem .

 

Action shots! Sorry for the blur--apparently the Droid does not excel taking pictures one handed .

The Pour:


Mystery solved--it's a pale!


Now that's sexy! Beer should clear out after a few more pints.