Danby DAR044A1BDD kegerator build

Has anyone converted this exact model into a tower kegerator? I'm planning on drilling my tower hole in the center of the roof towards the back, between the light and the back wall. Just need to make sure there aren't any coolant lines in that area.


I can't find any confirmation online and Danby's customer service team keeps giving me vague responses. If anyone's done this successfully, your advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Drill away there are no coolant lines there


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Good to know! Thanks for the reply.

I'm at the stage where its time to drill a hole for the tower tap on this exact fridge.

I asked Danby to provide layout drawing of the coolant tubing and their response was along the lines of, "if you damage the coolant tubes, you void the warranty". They never would tell me exactly where the lines are in the top of the fridge.

Bowman - Thanks for the info.

I asked the same question on Amazon and reddit and got a few more responses. The consensus is that it's safe to drill in the back center between the light fixture and the back wall. I'm still going to doublecheck before I drill all the way through the insulation, but sounds like it shouldn't be a problem with this model.

As far as I know, the coolant lines in the roof are closer to the door.

Agreed.

Plan on cutting the hole tonight after work. Will try and post the outcome after.

Thanks. Either way, try to let me know if you run into any problems. What are you using to drill and how big of a hole do you plan to make?

Just finished and got my first keg in the kegerator and on CO2!

Did not run into a single issue drilling a hole for the tower. No lines or wires were found in the center of the top panel between the light fixture and back edge (just move the wire for the light out of the way when you drill). I used a 2.5" metal/PVC/wood hole saw and drilled from the INSIDE.

I would recommend going with a 2" hole saw. The 4 bolt holes for the anchor bolts were a little close to the 2.5" hole I drilled.

Take your time and use a utility blade to feel around in the styrofoam for tubes and wires before you drill all the way through and you should have no issues.

Fridge will easily hold two ball lock corny's and a 5LB CO2. Now it's time to clean up that door!

Good luck, post back here if you have any questions.



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Looks good! Glad it was a success. I'm probably drilling mine on Saturday and going with a 2" hole like you mentioned.

As for your door modification, I'd recommend getting some waterproof aluminum tape and putting it over the exposed insulation, if you haven't already. Same with the hole in the top. Otherwise, the insulation will soak up moisture over time and could develop mold.

Good call. Will be sealing the exposed foam today, probably with some kind of silicon-based sealant.


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Was considering getting this same exact fridge for a ferm chamber while working on the DIY BrewPi. To any of you who own this, does it fit a 6.5 BB carboy? Can you simply unscrew the door paneling? The previous model DAR440BBL seemed to be pretty easily modifiable in that way. Thanks

IanJ said:

Was considering getting this same exact fridge for a ferm chamber while working on the DIY BrewPi. To any of you who own this, does it fit a 6.5 BB carboy? Can you simply unscrew the door paneling? The previous model DAR440BBL seemed to be pretty easily modifiable in that way. Thanks

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I just got this fridge today. The depth of the floor is 10-1/4 inches. You would definitely have to remove the door panel because there is a bottom projection that sticks into the fridge about 2 inches. This panel is held in with adhesive, not screws.

I have a BB 5-gallon carboy that is full of cider, so measuring the diameter is tough. I'm guesstimating that it is about 10" in diameter. As for inside height of the fridge, conservatively you have 26-1/2" before you hit the light, but the light is not dead center over this floor footprint, so you may actually have 27" of usable space. My BB with a 2-part airlock is about 22" tall. I suppose in a pinch you could use a silicone airlock/vented stopper, if you're not doing so already.

HTH!

Erika

asimee said:

just finished and got my first keg in the kegerator and on co2! ...

Fridge will easily hold two ball lock corny's and a 5lb co2. Now it's time to clean up that door!

Good luck, post back here if you have any questions.

Click to expand...

I just got this fridge today, and I'm freaking out because I didn't realize that this newer design has plastic slots for the shelving that project into the interior space, effectively making the usable width about 1/2" to 3/4" narrower than the prior model. Were you able to fit 2 standard (not low-profile) kegs into this fridge without removing some of that plastic shelf support? (Obviously I do not have 2 standard Corny kegs in my possession to try this)

Thanks!

Erika

I only have a 2.5G ball lock and it fits on the left side without any cutting... however, if I were to put a second keg on the right it would require cutting out the door... which I'm pretty much forced to do at this point. Still not sure if they'll both fit side by side either, don't have a second one to test yet. Although I'm planning on ordering one in the next few weeks.

My 6G BB carboy won't fit, but it may after I cut out the door... I hope.

I have a low-profile keg (9-inch dia.), and it is obvious that 2 of them will not fit. So I've ordered a couple of used standard corny's (8-1/2 dia) after messing around placing two 8-1/2 cardboard circles on the floor of the fridge to try to visualize if this will work. I am 95% sure this will work once the guts of the door have been removed as I'm guessing that will add about 1/2" to 3/4" of space front to back. I'm hoping then that the kegs will fit in slightly staggered, one slightly behind the other rather than side-by-side.

I've read a couple reviews on Amazon saying that they managed to squeeze 2 kegs into this fridge, but I'm certainly not going to start chopping up anything before I try it myself.

Erika

Haven't had time to measure, but here's a shot with the 2.5G keg and a soda bottle for reference.

Yay! Two STANDARD (not low-profile) kegs will fit side-by-side, though they have to be staggered slightly. The door obviously needs to be gutted still. These kegs are about 8-1/4" diameter by 25" tall (though they are advertised as being 8-1/2" in dia). There is 4" of headspace in the fridge, so no issues there. Low-profile kegs are 9" in diameter, and there is no way 2 of those will fit. I just tried a LP with the standard keg and it might fit, but I wouldn't count on it.

I thought I had read that the 2.5 gal. kegs are 9" in diameter, so I can't see how 2 of those will fit unless you start carving into those plastic shelf brackets (yikes!)

Erika

just bought this fridge last weekend and my two 5 gal. corny kegs fitted nicely along with the CO2 tank; as everybody said the only mod I had to do was to shave off the door compartments.

Any tips on removing door parts?

A dremel cutting tool works great.

I'm also attempting to fit 2 low-profile cornies in this exact unit. I'll let you know how it goes, but it's super tight right now.