Danby DAR125SLDD Kegerator Build

[DeNomad]

Hey guys, has anyone done one of these with the taps through the door instead of using the tower? Id like to make it using the shanks as they are cheaper and I wouldnt have to worry about cooling the tower or anything. Would there be enough room to have the 2 shanks go in just above the cornys? Also, I'd love to use this as my fermentation chamber but I doubt my 6.5gal ale pail will fit...its 12'' in diameter...What exact container could I use to ferment a full 5gal batch in the 4.4 Danby? Thanks!

I am not sure if you would have room for the shanks. The APPROXIMATE interior height of this fridge is around 85 cm (33.4"). It would depend on if you have pepsi or coke kegs. I would recommend buying the fridge first, then seeing if you have room for shanks and decide whether or not you want the tower. Personally I like the tower so I have somewhere good for the drip tray. Note: the front door of the fridge is curved, might make faucets and drip tray on the front look rather weird.

The largest fermenter you could fit in there would be 10.7" diameter, but I wouldn't push it past 10.5" diameter. Some carboys are small enough, some are not. I fended up getting a chest freezer is the best so I could serve beer and ferment beer at the same time.

 

[henryfdez]

I see...thanks for the input. Thing is, fermenting a 5gal batch in a 5gal carboy isnt such a great idea right? All Ive heard concerning fermentation is that it should be done in a container thats bigger than your batch size...how far up could I fill a 5gal carboy for it to still have fermenting room? 4.5gal?

For the shank part, IF I were to do the tower taps, is it completely necessary to have a fan pushing cold air into the tower or could I just make the hole, install the tower and leave it as is? Thanks.

 

[DeNomad]

I see...thanks for the input. Thing is, fermenting a 5gal batch in a 5gal carboy isnt such a great idea right? All Ive heard concerning fermentation is that it should be done in a container thats bigger than your batch size...how far up could I fill a 5gal carboy for it to still have fermenting room? 4.5gal?

For the shank part, IF I were to do the tower taps, is it completely necessary to have a fan pushing cold air into the tower or could I just make the hole, install the tower and leave it as is? Thanks.

I wouldn't fill a 5 gallon carboy past 4 gallons personally. I ferment in corny kegs regularly and they are about perfect at 4 gallons with minimal blow off.

You can do it without the fan no problem.

 

[um2uva]

Hey all! First time poster here. Has anyone been successful in converting this fridge into a dual tap tower that fits 2 sixtels and 5lb CO2 tank?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[starrfish]

I have 2 5gal ball lock kegs in mine along with a 5lb co2, a hop randall with bypass lever, and a 20oz back up CO2 paintball tank. Don't think I could get much more than a mouse fart in there but it fits!

 

[schreck]

bump* for a verification of a commercial 1/6th fitting in this fridge?

 

[hicsuget]

Great info! I'm trying to do basically the same thing, but I'm taking it in stages--I haven't drilled through the top yet; so far I've just removed the door liner to try to get the door to close. I'm having some significant difficulties with the weatherstrip seal, both on the hinge side, and on the non-hinge side.

On the hinge side, when the door is closed the weatherstripping catches inside the fridge, getting twisted around and in some cases preventing the door from staying closed at all. If I fiddle with it by hand I can get the seal to line up somewhat-normally. On the opposite side, at the bottom, the weatherstrip does not touch the fridge at all; there is roughly a 1/4" gap.

Right now I'm using a piece of cardboard in lieu of the puckboard the OP mentioned (I wanted to get a proof of concept before I went with a permanent solution); I'm not sure if the cardboard is the source of the problem or if I'll be in the same boat once I get the puckboard or Lexan. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[WaltDockery]

How necessary is the temp controller if just using this as a kegerator?


Any definitive word on whether two 1/6 draft kegs will fit? I seem to be finding confliction info on this question

thanks

 

[DustinBrimer]

The fridge holds the temperature perfectly for 2 kegs if you keep it down close to the bottom of the dial. As for 1/6 size kegs I'm not sure

 

[Wobbegong]

How necessary is the temp controller if just using this as a kegerator?

thanks

It holds temps really well on its own. The range of the dial on mine is from 48 degrees on the warmest setting and 34 degrees on the coldest. This is what I get on my thermometer sitting on the floor of the fridge between the two kegs.

 

[starrfish]

It holds temps really well on its own. The range of the dial on mine is from 48 degrees on the warmest setting and 34 degrees on the coldest. This is what I get on my thermometer sitting on the floor of the fridge between the two kegs.

I'm getting similar range of temps using stock dial.

 

[WaltDockery]

thank you for the answers on temps guys that's very helpful.

Just ordered the Danby and a 2-tap conversion kit last night. If only one 1/6 fits (sounds like that's the case), I guess I'll just have one 1/6 keg to start with the option of going to 2 cornies if I ever get into home brewing.

 

[el_horno]

So this is my dilemma. Reading the OP's thread, he spent $400~ total on this kegerator conversion, including the fridge and parts / kit costs. If I dont have much experience with this kind of work should I just purchase a kegerator outright?

 

[starrfish]

IT'S A PRETTY EASY BUILD. I just kept stock temp gauge as I'm no electrician! Had it complete in less than 8 hours, and I added trim rails (stainless drawer pulls), cut plywood sheet for extra support under plastic top cover, and made shims to attach rails to under plastic cover.

 

[jigawatts]

Thanks for the build! After toying with the idea of a kegerator for a couple of years, I finally pulled the trigger when I saw this model of fridge at Costco for a good price.

I'm going to go in stages. I'm going to start with a single line with a picnic dispenser (until I can justify getting a tower for the bar - or someone gets one for me ). I'm not sure if I'm going to cut a hole in the top just yet, or wait until I'm ready for the tower, and keep the dispensing line in the fridge itself. Does anyone know why this might be a bad idea?

So the first stage should be relatively easy; ie removing the fridge liner, and then stuffing everything in. I was poking around under the door gasket, I couldn't find any screws. It appears to be a solid piece of plastic. I'm thinking I'll just cut the moulded plastic out as close to the gasket as possible. Any thoughts?

EDIT: Found this out about:

On these new ones, the door panel is glued and molded into place (filled with spray foam). I ended up having to cut it apart rather then simply removing it, in the end it didn't turn out too too bad but I just thought I'd post so someone else doesn't get surprised.

 

[DeNomad]

I'm going to go in stages. I'm going to start with a single line with a picnic dispenser (until I can justify getting a tower for the bar - or someone gets one for me ). I'm not sure if I'm going to cut a hole in the top just yet, or wait until I'm ready for the tower, and keep the dispensing line in the fridge itself. Does anyone know why this might be a bad idea?

Jigawatts, you should not cut a hole in the top until you can cover it with a tower. You will be promoting condensation within the kegerator and it will be running constantly since you will be losing a lot of cold air through that hole.

As for the gaskets being glued in place on new ones, did not know that. I would say cut carefully, use a drywall spatula to remove it then use whatever screws you have lying around to attach the gasket on whatever plastic piece you choose to cover the insulation with (or glue it if you feel like it).

 

[PH1L]

Would a single ball lock keg fit in this unit with no modifications to the door? Looking for a unit to take to the office with a single tap on the door and still be able to use the other half (and door) as a regular fridge via a slim wood frame and modified wire racks.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DeNomad]

Would a single ball lock keg fit in this unit with no modifications to the door? Looking for a unit to take to the office with a single tap on the door and still be able to use the other half (and door) as a regular fridge via a slim wood frame and modified wire racks.

Thanks in advance!

No. If you look at the photos the kegs almost reach the end of the fridge, maybe 1-2" from the edge. The drink holders on the door would bump into the kegs for sure.

 

[henryfdez]

You have to remove the plastic mold on the inside door to be able to fit any kegs....if you do remove it (which is super easy and doesnt damage the fridge in any way) you will be able to fit up to 2 ball lock kegs, or one ball lock and one pin lock. If you only put one ball lock in there you would still have half of the fridge space for other stuff. Ive had it for some time now and I can honestly say its an awesome fridge.

Cheers!

 

[starrfish]

I love mine, but the door shelves have to go to get any kegs to fit.

 

[opusx11]

DeNomad, nice to meet you again yesterday, and great thread. I'm going to do my best to explain to my wife why this is a good idea!

 

[DeNomad]

DeNomad, nice to meet you again yesterday, and great thread. I'm going to do my best to explain to my wife why this is a good idea!

Thanks man. My method was to invite the better half to live with me AFTER I had built my kegerator. Best of luck using reason in that discussion. I recommend "think how classy it would look next to the TV". In all serious, it looks good.

 

[PH1L]

No. If you look at the photos the kegs almost reach the end of the fridge, maybe 1-2" from the edge. The drink holders on the door would bump into the kegs for sure.

Just to clarify on this one for others. I ended up buying the fridge anyways (DAR440BL from Walmart) and with only removing the right hand side door trays having a single ball lock fits with room to spare without having to take off the plastics.

Will post more pics when I finish the build but wanted (and am getting) a sweet single keg fridge for the office with plenty of room to still store food. Going to build a shelf system on the right side and will keep some cans in the door holder. Really wanted it to work this way so pretty stoked to say the least.

 

[JayStizzo]

Picked up one of these on craigslist today for $70, Its an older one with crews holding the door trim on too. It will be a slow process for me to build, but I cant wait to get started... Really appreciate the info on here

 

[PH1L]

Alright here's the pics of my completed build. My model was the DAR440BL from Walmart for $170 brand new. Objective of the build was to have a single keg so half of the fridge could still be used for my lunch as this will be going under my desk at work.

Mission accomplished to say the least!

• Single ball lock with center mounted Perlick 525SS
• 5lb CO2 tank on the hump
• Didn't have to remove door plastics, only trays on right side so still get to use the 8x can holders
• Will fit 6x bombers on the lower part of the right hand side as well leaving two shelves above for food

Great fridge and build totally exceeding my expectations!

 

[JayStizzo]

Alright here's the pics of my completed build. My model was the DAR440BL from Walmart for $170 brand new. Objective of the build was to have a single keg so half of the fridge could still be used for my lunch as this will be going under my desk at work.

Mission accomplished to say the least!

• Single ball lock with center mounted Perlick 525SS
• 5lb CO2 tank on the hump
• Didn't have to remove door plastics, only trays on right side so still get to use the 8x can holders
• Will fit 6x bombers on the lower part of the right hand side as well leaving two shelves above for food

Great fridge and build totally exceeding my expectations!

That's a cool build... Which my boss would let me have a kegerator under my desk

 

[xto]

Hi everyone!

So I'm about to start the irreversible part of the build and I would just like to confirm something. I've got the DAR125SLDD and after the cornstarch test, it would seem like there's no refrigerant lines running along the top except in the front edge of the fridge... Me being the insecure DIY-er, I'd like to confirm that I did the cornstarch test correctly, as there are no undos in drilling

Thanks !

 

[ObiDon]

So I'm about to start the irreversible part of the build

So how did it go? Inquiring minds want to know.

Don

 

[xto]

It went well, though I should have test-driven my work. Turns out I forgot to put back the plastic top before measuring the length of the screws I needed. I'll have to go back to the store to get longer screws.

That being said, I couldn't find 1" copper pipes at my local hardware store, so I bought some plumbing line insulation (black foam tube) for about $1cnd. So far the lines are kept cool since I use the same room to ferment and the temp is low (60F-68F). Once I'm done fermenting my latest batch, I'm willing to bet I'll have to install a fan like most Danby builds have.

 

[ObiDon]

That's great to hear. I will be picking my DAR125SLDD up ftom Costco this weekend. I'm anxious about the modifications but excited to start kegging my beers.

Did you have any trouble removing the plastic door panel?

Don