computer fan/project box to cool draft tower; advice on size of fan?

[BeerCanuck]

I am contemplating on improving the overall coolness of my fridge. Prior to adding the tower to my kegerator it was around ~8 degrees celcius now with the tower added it around 10 to 11 C. I also have the Co2 on the inside of the fridge taking up space and make it a pain to adjust . I thought Uncle Argyle idea of running the C02 into the kegerator through the tower might serve dual purposes of cooling beer line and less holes. Not sure if this theory is sound?

BeerCanuck

 

[daddyGreenjeans]

I am having the same issues detailed above with the first pour foam. The blower seems to be a solid way to fix it, but how are you guys powering the computer fans? Typically these will run 12 VDC but the power to the compressor/fridge is 110 VAC. Do you just run leads from the fan through a hole in the fridge and then plug that into an inverter and then into the wall?

Thanks for any clarifications.

 

[Uncle Argyle]

Here is a couple of shots of what I ended up doing. You can see that the beer lines go into the plastic air tubing and is sealed with some electrical tape. It seems to work pretty well and I don't have an issue with foamy first pours. The only issue has been condensation during humid weather, I can deal with that.

I spliced an AC adapter that I had (an old external modem) that had similar amps and voltage to the computer fan. I run the power cord through an existing hole in the back of the fridge and leave it powered on all the time.

Hope that helps,

Mike

 

[BeerCanuck]

Uncle Argyle....looks good
If the fan was pulling instead of pushing probably get around the condensation issue in the tower you mentioned.

Just wondering if the co2 lines were fed into the tower with the corresponding beer out lines in some form of heat exchanger would work?

Still not sure if this theory is sound
BeerCanuck

 

[Uncle Argyle]

Just wondering if the co2 lines were fed into the tower with the corresponding beer out lines in some form of heat exchanger would work?

Still not sure if this theory is sound
BeerCanuck

Above in the thread there was some discussion about the cooled faucets (rather than the cooled lines) actually providing the most benefit. Not sure if the method you are thinking of would address this issue and might still result in the initial foam...have no idea either way, just thinking.

 

[ikc46118]

Don't rig it to the fridge light. When you shut the door the fan will go off.

I suggest getting a 4w, 115vac fan (see http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180208066702) and just rig it to the main power bus...no need to have a separate adaptor and outlet. If you also put a switch on the back of the kegerator you can turn the fan off if you get condensation in the summertime.

 

[dcgrp]

ikc46118, this is all well and good for those who actually know how to do that, but could you briefly explain the process behind tapping into the fridge's main power bus?

However, I have a rubber plug in the back of the fridge that just stays in at all times, so I think I will probably end up running a power cord through there to power a 12V DC fan.

 

[jmkratt]

I am looking into doing something very similar to this to cool by draft box which will be approx. 2 feet away from the keezer.

As it's been a couple years since you guys have posted, have you made any adjustments to your systems or offer any advice?

 

[zman]

I am planning on using a blower fan from an old PC. What you think about using one of these?

 

[jmkratt]

I am planning on using a blower fan from an old PC. What you think about using one of these?

Looks like it would work to me!

 

[zman]

Looks like it would work to me!

does the cfm rating matter?

 

[knotquiteawake]

I am planning on using a blower fan from an old PC. What you think about using one of these?

Did you ever hook this thing up? I have almost exactly the same fan, I plugged it into a 9v AC adapter and it was blowing hard and loud, not exactly what I want.
If you did end up using it were you able to control the fan speed and what did you use for the power to it?

 

[jcs401]

So i am making one of these box fan coolers, however when i went to get the tube up into the tower, i cannot fit a 1'' tube. Would this method still be effective using say 1/2'' or 3/4'' tubing up into the tower?? Or should i go witht the copper cooling method i have seen wehre they put copper insulated up in the tower and run beer line through????