Mini Fridge with through-the-door taps -- anyone?

Has anyone ever done through-the-door taps with a mini fridge? I have a lake house and would like to keep a keg there in summer. It has a perfect built-in space that it would fit if I don't use a tower. Going through the door would also eliminate any worry about puncturing a coil or cutting a wire. I've just never seen anyone do this.

Yes, it's common. Get a shank, punch a hole in the door, and be done with it. There's no harm in putting a hole in the door. The body is another story...

My brother has a mini-fridge with a regular faucet and shank through the door, and he keeps the 5# co2 tank/regulator, pony keg inside. There is a drip tray epoxied onto the door. It works quite well.

Should be the same as a full sized fridge. I have a waist high fridge with a hole in the front for co2 and a hole in the side to the tower mounted next to the fridge.

Unplug first

Thanks for the really quick replies. Yeah I should have said I've seen it on a full-size, just not a mini. I just didn't want it to look weird. I'm going to Home Depot to do some measuring.

Thru the door no problem thru the body cost me 150 dollars!

ChelisHubby said:

Thru the door no problem thru the body cost me 150 dollars!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I knew the door was safe and sometimes the top is. I built a coffrin keezer a few years ago and going through the lid was easy. It made the lid heavy with all the wood and tile up there but I had a lot of worry-free room to drill holes through that lid and she is still running well. Sorry about the $150

I did this with an Igloo mini frig. Two ball-locks barely fit, but they do fit. I built a stand for it (I think it's about 20" tall) so that I'm not bending down to pour a beer. I've been really happy with everything about it except for the capacity. Would like to have room for more kegs, but that was just poor planning on my part. For a 1 or 2 keg system, the mini-frig's are tough to beat. Going through the door makes for easy, stress-free construction and cuts down on the foaming issues associated with towers. One thing to keep in mind is the length of the shanks and the placement of your faucets. It will be a tight squeeze in there so make sure they'll clear the top of your kegs when the door is closed.

Cheers and good luck with the project.

I found a taller one for $35, so a 5 gallon keg easily fits. The only mod I made was to cut some of the plastic shelving on the door since it protruded into the fridge space, and then cut the hole. It took less than 1/2 hour for the whole project!

Thanks for the tips about shank clearance. I'm also looking at taller ones of at least 4.3Cu ft. I also have 4 of the 2.5 gal kegs from Adventures in Homebrewing. I hope I can get two inside, but they are a little bigger in diameter and when stacked, they are also taller. I can set one on the hump in my keezer. But since this is for the lake, I think one keg will be more than enough. Thanks for the photo Yooper.

I forget what size my mini fridge is, but it's too small for two 5 gal ball locks, so I have a 5 gal in front, and a 3 gal pin lock on the hump. I had to shave a tiny bit of insulation in a few places, but if I'm careful I can get a 5# CO2 tank in there as well. There's also room for a 1 gal jug for the drain in the drip tray. I wish the drip tray itself was a little sexier, though.

NathPowe said:

I built a stand for it (I think it's about 20" tall) so that I'm not bending down to pour a beer.

Click to expand...

Bumped mine up a little too, but mostly because it's in a small mud room and had to get it over a radiator.

nice...and if the drip tray fills you can put some rubber boots under it to catch the overflow.

Well done. Thanks for the photos. I did decide to buy one of the Danby 4.4 cu ft models from HD. I saw another thread where someone mounted a tower to the top and did not hit any wires or cooling coils.

I have the Danby 4.4. I'm still using picnic taps, but I fit 2 2.5gal kegs in it. I had to trim the can racks off the door with a utility knife. I also trimmed the kegs. The rubber flares out around the steel cylinder. I just trimmed the rubber back on opposite sides of both kegs. Now they fit tightly side by side. I used a drawknife, most people don't have one. A razor scraper should do it.

JohnSand said:

I have the Danby 4.4. I'm still using picnic taps, but I fit 2 2.5gal kegs in it. I had to trim the can racks off the door with a utility knife. I also trimmed the kegs. The rubber flares out around the steel cylinder. I just trimmed the rubber back on opposite sides of both kegs. Now they fit tightly side by side. I used a drawknife, most people don't have one. A razor scraper should do it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. My 2.5g kegs don't have the rubber bottom or top. They were originally sold at Adventures in Homebrewing and I got them when he had an introductory sale. I think he now sells the ones with the rubber bottoms.

Good, maybe yours will fit!