Collar for Kegerator?

[Pale Ales and Such]

Hello all you fine home brewers and home brew enthusiasts. I recently acquired a 5 gallon corny keg and a 5lb CO2 tank. The problem I’m having is I don’t really have a place to keep it cold.

I do have a beverage cooler but it’s like most mini fridges and there is this step like thing in the back that house the motor assembly. This step causes the keg to not fit all the way into the fridge.

im thinking of creating a collar for the door (much like that of a keezer), but am unsure if this is a wise way to go or not. I do plan on investing time and energy into creating a keezer but until that time, I need a way to store the keg and keep it cold. Would a collar on the beverage cooler work? I’m assuming it would but wanted some advice.

thoughts?

 

[Sunfire96]

Are there shelves on the door blocking your space? Can you gently peel back the rubber and unscrew the panel? And then replace with something flat, like whiteboard material or hardboard

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

Are there shelves on the door blocking your space? Can you gently peel back the rubber and unscrew the panel? And then replace with something flat, like whiteboard material or hardboard

unfortunately no. It’s a single glass door (see through). No shelves or anything like that. The only way I can use this Is if I can extend it somehow. This is the exact product, it seems like it’s going to be wide enough right? However, that darn motor housing takes up just about half of the space on the very bottom.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insign...ooler-stainless-steel/6191309.p?skuId=6191309

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Do you have extra vertical space that you could build a shelf to make the whole depth of the fridge a flat surface?

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

Do you have extra vertical space that you could build a shelf to make the whole depth of the fridge a flat surface?

unfortunately…no

 

[day_trippr]

Seems folks don't have an image of what the OP is dealing with. A picture would help.
But, it's clearly a mini-fridge that is not deep enough in front of the compressor hump to fit a keg with the door closed.
And as it's a glass door, there aren't any molded plastic "shelving" that could be removed to provide depth.

So....yes, a collar can solve the problem, and it has been done before.

Cheers!

 

[odie]

Yes it has been done before to make a ferm chamber. Don't see why it would not work as a keezer.

However you may have issues getting the door to stay closed. Many vertical door gaskets contain a magnet to hold the door closed against the metal skin of the cabinet. You may need to fashion a door latch of some type.

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

Seems folks don't have an image of what the OP is dealing with. A picture would help.
But, it's clearly a mini-fridge that is not deep enough in front of the compressor hump to fit a keg with the door closed.
And as it's a glass door, there aren't any molded plastic "shelving" that could be removed to provide depth.

So....yes, a collar can solve the problem, and it has been done before.

Cheers!

Thanks for the update and info. Yeah, sorry about the lack of pictures. You are correct though, glass door with no molding plastic or shelving that can be removed. It is not deep enough due to the molded plastic thats covering the compressor hump. Its about 4-6 inches too shallow for the keg to fit.

I will try a collar then, just have to get my measurements right!

Thank you for confirming what I need.

 

[day_trippr]

I know there are kegerator collar examples extant in the forums - the "Similar threads" shown below may lead to some. Hopefully any pics that were provided are still visible.

But here is one thread worth checking out: mini fridge collar

Cheers!

 

[slurms]

I had to do this for a mini fridge fermentation chamber. The fermenter needed a few extra inches of floorspace, so I took the door off, made a 2x4 frame and mounted it to the fridge with some flat brackets and screws. Also got some magnetic strip tape and put that on the wood to hold the door in place when it's closed (kinda messed that part up, but I don't care as much for heat loss since it's not maintaining cold temps).

This works well for what I need. I'm sure it'll work fine for you as well.

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

thanks all for the replies

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

Ive decided to buy a simple chest freezer and turn it into a keezer.