Avanti 5.0 Cu. Ft. Compact Refrigerators

[Eric_Leifermann]

Just competed my keggerator here are some pics of the process. I haven't moved the thermostat yet though i have unscrewed it, i am planning on just balancing it on the keg that will be right up against it when it is full and re screwing it in if i only have 1 keg on tap.

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

here are the rest of the pics

 

[NoNothing]

Looks nice! I like it!

I'll have to come have some of your beer soon.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Looks great! My tower is on the way hopefully I'll get mine completed over xmas break... its okay, I don't have any beer ready right now anyway.

 

[dgoldb1]

Does anyone know if a 6/6.5 gal carboy or Better Bottle will fit in this fridge?

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

Does anyone know if a 6/6.5 gal carboy or Better Bottle will fit in this fridge?

It won't fit in unless you do some modification to it.

 

[dgoldb1]

What type of modifications are need to make a 6/6.5 gal carboy or Better Bottle fit in this fridge? Anything major of just pulling plastic off of the door...?

Thanks

 

[bmorgan]

You could probably get away with just trimming some of the shelves, but I did this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/arduino-temp-probe-k-type-rtd-171492/index3.html#post2299692

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

Getting rid of the plastic in the doors MIGHT work but i doubt it. The best bet would be to create a collar like they do for the keezers and add some cubic footage to the fridge.

 

[bmorgan]

Removing the shelves from the door does work. See my liink above. That is a 6 gallon Betterbottle in the pic.

 

[cincybrewer]

Eric, what kind of wood did you use to support your tower? From the picture it almost looks like a paneling or is it plywood?

 

[dgoldb1]

Removing the shelves from the door does work. See my liink above. That is a 6 gallon Betterbottle in the pic.

I don't see any pics bmorgan.

 

[bmorgan]

Sorry, I was referring to previous post #98 which had this link:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/arduino-temp-probe-k-type-rtd-171492/index3.html#post2299692

Also, the post above the one linked here^ has details on the fermentation controller if you're interested.

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

Eric, what kind of wood did you use to support your tower? From the picture it almost looks like a paneling or is it plywood?

It's just a piece of cheap plywood, I did tape it up with some waterproofing tape though.

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

Sorry, I was referring to previous post #98 which had this link:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/arduino-temp-probe-k-type-rtd-171492/index3.html#post2299692

Also, the post above the one linked here^ has details on the fermentation controller if you're interested.

I want to remove the door shelving but i don't know how to remove the door seal without damaging so I can reuse it once the shelving is gone. How did you do it?

 

[bmorgan]

The rubber seal is just wedged into a slot in the door. Pull straight up. It's easy once you get it started.

 

[dgoldb1]

Just to confirm. My 6 gallon glass carboy has a diameter of 11.5" and a height of 22.5". Would this work if I remove the door shelving? Would hate to order this thing and find out it won't fit...I guess I could always put a 6 gallon Better Bottle instead though.

Thanks all.

 

[bmorgan]

Slightly over 12" will fit with the door shelving removed. Height is not an issue.

 

[cincybrewer]

It's just a piece of cheap plywood, I did tape it up with some waterproofing tape though.

Sorry for such a late reply but I'm working on my own conversion and am now to this step.....Is your tower pretty sturdy with the plywood? I am using a piece of engineered wood and am debating whether to use the screws that came with the tower and screw through the wood and all the way through the refrigerator, or screw into just the wood. If I screw into only the wood I was thinking I needed to secure the wood to the top of the fridge (not the very top that comes off) but it seems like you just taped it to the very top piece of the fridge. Was this sufficient for you? Thanks.

 

[K-netic]

I followed the steps in this thread for cutting a hole in the top and it went fine. I didn't even use the cornstarch method, I just felt around on the styrofoam with my hand and could feel warm spots towards the rear of the top. Then using a razor I just carefully cut a hole into top center of the fridge through the styrofoam. As far as I can tell, I never came close to a coil. I just ended up finding the plastic top of the inside of the fridge. So, thanks to everybody for the detailed descriptions! I was nervous about drilling through the top knowing there was a coil in there somewhere.

 

[brewershelper]

So, I'm quite clueless in the keg conversion arena but I'd really like to get the Avanti mini fridge for my husband for Christmas and convert it to a kegerator for a bar we are building. Does anyone have detailed instructions from start to finish on how to convert this fridge?

I'm located in Cincinnati, Ohio and if you know of anyone locally who can convert it for a good price, I'd be interested in that as well.

Thank you so much for your help - as I'm kind of late in the game considering Christmas is less than a week away!

 

[cincybrewer]

So, I'm quite clueless in the keg conversion arena but I'd really like to get the Avanti mini fridge for my husband for Christmas and convert it to a kegerator for a bar we are building. Does anyone have detailed instructions from start to finish on how to convert this fridge?

I'm located in Cincinnati, Ohio and if you know of anyone locally who can convert it for a good price, I'd be interested in that as well.

Thank you so much for your help - as I'm kind of late in the game considering Christmas is less than a week away!

is your husband handy? Maybe just buy everything and let him put it together. I'm sure he'll still love it. I'd love to help but unfortunately I don't have any time from now until Christmas. However, with that being said, it really isn't too hard. Once you get the materials it's just a few cuts and drills and your done. Plenty of good info on here once you know for sure what kind of fridge you'll have. If you have specific questions post away and someone here will help.