Bottom Freezer 22.1 cu.ft. Kegerator Build

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JJPicardo

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I went a bit overboard and bought this large bottom freezer Whirlpool refrigerator today for around $1100. I'm planning no putting this is a nice finished basement, and I wanted the extra freezer space, so I splurged.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpoo...hromatic-Stainless-Steel-WRB322DMBM/205065350

I want to build a 4 tap system using this fridge, but really am not sure if this is a good idea. Based on my research, I'm looking at having to spend another $400 - $500 to build a nice, high quality, all stainless steel, Perlick system.

Does this sound reasonable? Any advice or suggestions as to how to go about this? I don't want to regret drilling into my brand new $1100 fridge.

Thanks!
 
Just for comparison I spent $300+ on 5# CO2 tank, dual body regulator, lines, fittings, stainless shanks, 2 Perlick 630SS's, and other miscellaneous parts/items turning a single tap Nostalgia kegerator into a 2 tap all stainless system. Your estimate of $500 is probably a minimum if your going for stainless and high quality components.
 
How has this bottom-freezer kegerator held up for you? Does the bottom of your whirlpool fridge support the weight of 15+ gallons of beer? Did you do any modifications to help with support?
 
this is one of the few posts that I saw when i searched for bottom freezers, so thought I'd give it a shot. he might have email notifications turned on and potentially come back to respond, right?
 
It could happen...

fwiw, 3/4" plywood with suitable bracing underneath can hold a heck of a lot of beer. I've had six full kegs on this platform - so a bit over 300 pounds - and it's pretty much resting on plastic liner all the way around. I think something similar could be cobbled together for a bottom-freezer model...

fridge3_platform_sm.jpg


Cheers!
 
fwiw, 3/4" plywood with suitable bracing underneath can hold a heck of a lot of beer. I've had six full kegs on this platform - so a bit over 300 pounds - and it's pretty much resting on plastic liner all the way around. I think something similar could be cobbled together for a bottom-freezer model...

Nice. Is there a freezer below that platform? I agree that the plywood can help evenly distribute the weight, but I was worried more about the structural support below that plywood, hah.

That platform is a good idea to get a bit of extra storage. I like how you seemingly got tired of cutting dados halfway through. :D
 
That's a 21cf top-freezer. Point is, the weight bearing members rely on the integrity of the liner, and in that picture there's literally over 300 pounds resting on it.
The minimalist implementation was just me being lazy. My original shelf used the sidewall shelf supports but that put the tops of the kegs so tight to the top of the fridge section as to be untenable. So I trimmed the shelf to drop through the supports then cut the bottom support pieces.

I also have two 17 cf top-freezer units in the brewery with similar platforms. One rests entirely on the liner bottom, the other utilizes shelf mount points molded into the side walls. These things are remarkably capable of supporting serious loading. And looking at the 4 door bottom-freezer Samsung unit in our kitchen I'm confident the fridge section floor could handle the same weight as long as it's spread out using a sleeper like that shown...

Cheers!
 
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