dilligafbrewing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2016
- Messages
- 74
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For (all of you) those who don't know me, I'm a tinkerer of sorts....I've made a career in manufacturing from the age of 17. That career and various hobbies I've picked up along the way have allowed me to grow a very broad and useful skill set. This project will test some of those skills.
My vision is to solve the problem of the 5 liter mini keg and it's accompanied party star draft system. The assembly works fine, it just takes a lot of room in the fridge and is so tall that it renders one of the shelves in my fridge useless. There are expensive countertop units that keep a mini keg cool and with some tinkering will incorporate a co2 system. And then there's my idea.
I hope this will become an ongoing build thread. Today I received in the mail most of what I need to create this project. A 720 watt peltier unit with heat sinks and fans, 12v 6a ac/DC transformer, an Arduino nano pro, a digital heat sensor, a 16x2 LCD screen and some other electronic devices.
The goal is to build a compact counter top kegerator that self-regulates temperature through a programmable microcontroller. After experimenting with the peltier unit I have learned that it is not designed to be used in a vertical orientation and that it results in condensation turning the cold side heat sink and fan into a block of ice. This shreds my plan of using a 2 gallon insulated water thermos as my housing, but now I have a new mash/lauter tun for small batch brewing.
I will construct the enclosure from rigid insulation board and MDF unless anyone has a better idea, then its on to build the circuitry that will monitor and control the cooling, plumb in the tap I've built from hardware store plumbing parts and integrate a 20 oz co2 bottle and regulator.
Pics to follow once serious building commences.
My vision is to solve the problem of the 5 liter mini keg and it's accompanied party star draft system. The assembly works fine, it just takes a lot of room in the fridge and is so tall that it renders one of the shelves in my fridge useless. There are expensive countertop units that keep a mini keg cool and with some tinkering will incorporate a co2 system. And then there's my idea.
I hope this will become an ongoing build thread. Today I received in the mail most of what I need to create this project. A 720 watt peltier unit with heat sinks and fans, 12v 6a ac/DC transformer, an Arduino nano pro, a digital heat sensor, a 16x2 LCD screen and some other electronic devices.
The goal is to build a compact counter top kegerator that self-regulates temperature through a programmable microcontroller. After experimenting with the peltier unit I have learned that it is not designed to be used in a vertical orientation and that it results in condensation turning the cold side heat sink and fan into a block of ice. This shreds my plan of using a 2 gallon insulated water thermos as my housing, but now I have a new mash/lauter tun for small batch brewing.
I will construct the enclosure from rigid insulation board and MDF unless anyone has a better idea, then its on to build the circuitry that will monitor and control the cooling, plumb in the tap I've built from hardware store plumbing parts and integrate a 20 oz co2 bottle and regulator.
Pics to follow once serious building commences.
