1947 GE Kegerator build

Hey guys a few months ago i got an old fridge and decided to kegerator it.
Well after seeing Kerber on here with his awesome job restoring a very similar fridge I thought I would do it right and strip it down. so i have some of my paint job done so i am posting some pics to see what you guys think.

that was before when i just got done stripping the fridge here it is with some paint on it

Now that is just the black coat i plan on filling the ge emblem with red instead of white and doing some red pin striping for a finishing look but i think this is a good start and i gotta thank kerber for his help with a few little things on tearing the fridge down.

1947?
Please tell us you first made sure the mechanicals are sound!

Cheers!

yes gave the internals a tune up before stripping it down putting a new digital thermostat in. the mechanical thermostat that was in it originally was off by 15 degrees when testing it out so going with a digital one. also got these tap handles

well reassembly is now in progress then i need to decide on a kit or parts to turn this puppy into a 2 tap kegerator any sugestoins

Very nice. I'd love to get an old fridge. Great paint.

I found some more tap handles almost got the fridge done

Looking good... I have always wanted to do this with an old fridge. I have a newer one as my kegerator now, but I love the lines of the older ones.

This looks awesome! I can't wait to see more!

kerber said:

This looks awesome! I can't wait to see more!

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Thanks man

I hope to have it built in a few weeks

I found these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00437WYPU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I am wanting to start my kegerator as sanke and put these in line to be able to switch to pin lock easily they sell brewing one for like 20$ i was thinking these camelback ones would do just fine i am looking for pressure specs to be sure atm whats are your guys thoughts

** edit appears they are made by the same company but i cant find actual specs I think Ill order them and try it out

So here is a little update.

First i have finished rebuilding the fridge but it ran for a bit the the compressor blew. good news is i just got another compressor so ill have it back running soon then ill install the taps but it is looking great

Here

Looking pretty sweet!

Craghunter said:

[...]First i have finished rebuilding the fridge but it ran for a bit the the compressor blew. good news is i just got another compressor so ill have it back running soon then ill install the taps but it is looking great

Click to expand...

Well, 1947, what's surprising is it ran at all
Glad you're still all-in on it even though it needs a heart transplant, you've made it too pretty not to save!

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Well, 1947, what's surprising is it ran at all
Glad you're still all-in on it even though it needs a heart transplant, you've made it too pretty not to save!

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Yeah ill have an extra ge clasic around a 1952 model that is the donor just got it from claigslist for a good price im putting its freezer box in mine then i am changing my compressor over to a new one running 134a luckily i have a friend with his epa license so its just gonna cost me beer and parts the donor is in amazing shape on the compressor parts all still shinny from it being basement kept but has a little rust on the outside when i get it running i think ill make it white and put them side by side or maybe ill sell one not sure yet lol

So new compressor is in and i got it down to 30 degrees for a test run.
Now i am gonna replace the door seal and get my taps in the door then ill get some more pictures up

Ok Finally finishing the post with a final product.

I used a manifold inside and kept my co2 outside of the fridge.

I also set up both taps with disconnects in the lines so I can quickly and easily change between sankey, pin lock, ball lock just whatever comes up when I start brewing

the ice cream bucket I put on the tap I am using at the time to catch over spills

The sign I am putting magnets on and I wanna stick it to the right of the taps above the door handle.

The thermostat I used was a loves TS-2 and it works great

All and all I love it and i kinda wanna do another build in the future. but this is an awesome first kegerator

Great refinish job! Not sure if I missed it or not...but how did you apply the paint? Is that automotive enamel or what? Looks amazing.

That came out looking excellent!

AJinJacksonville said:

Great refinish job! Not sure if I missed it or not...but how did you apply the paint? Is that automotive enamel or what? Looks amazing.

Click to expand...

It is automotive paint actually the same color code as my truck needed to touch my truck up so yeah that's what I went with. I did the painting in my friends garage turned out great.

prep time was around 6 hours of sanding and filling paint time was about an hour tho

I'll say it did. You inspired me to start watching CL a little more closely for vintage fridges. My buddy has a vintage one in his garage for beer (not as a kegerator) and I'm always jealous when he hands me a cold one out of it. Seems a bit sexier to pour one out of that thing versus my current chest freezer setup. Hahaha. Don't get me wrong...homebrew is homebrew though!

Did you end up replacing your door seal? If so, where did you find it?
I'm gearing up to work on mine. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=634206