Danby DAR125SLDD Kegerator Build

[mtnagel]

Looks great!

I didn't do anything special to cool my tower and haven't noticed that the beer comes out warm. I also drilled a bigger hole (2 1/4" I believe). It's also in my 59F basement so maybe that helps too. Guess we'll see in the summer.

 

[JoesInBoston]

I finally got around to adding the tower to my Danby :rockin:

I will be drilling my Danby sometime this week for my bar build, too. Also - I like your Kurt Kinetic trainer in the last picture, though I am a Cycleops guy myself...

 

[Siltarek]

I'm about to commence a build on a DAR125SLDD. Has anyone had success not cutting the full door panel? I'd like to push the right ball lock keg to the back save the can holders for chilling beer glasses. Anyone tried/is that viable?

 

[squash1978]

It's not possible if you want to get two kegs in there. If you look at the pictures from my build, I made the minimum number cuts needed to be able to shut the front door with two kegs. Furthermore, there really is not enough room between the front door and the kegs to have anything stored on the front door (e.g., beer glasses).

The only way I could see this happening is if you opted to only put 1 keg in the fridge on the left side. You should be able to shut the door then without making any modifications to the door.


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[403Brewer]

Has anyone moved the thermostat (or full on removed it somehow)? The location makes getting my tank + dual product reg in place, it would be nice to somehow hook it up to an STC1000 if that was possible

 

[jeffb666]

For the people who have done this build - is a piece of wood or something 100% necessary on the top for added support for the tap tower? About to do this build and want to keep it as simple as possible. Was thinking about just using some oversized washers on the inside when mounting the tower instead...

 

[BansheeRider]

For the people who have done this build - is a piece of wood or something 100% necessary on the top for added support for the tap tower? About to do this build and want to keep it as simple as possible. Was thinking about just using some oversized washers on the inside when mounting the tower instead...

I built mine without the wood and used large washers and my kegerator is great, no issues or anything.

 

[squash1978]

For the people who have done this build - is a piece of wood or something 100% necessary on the top for added support for the tap tower? About to do this build and want to keep it as simple as possible. Was thinking about just using some oversized washers on the inside when mounting the tower instead...

I on the other hand did add a piece of wood to mine. I figured that if I was going to the trouble of drilling a hole through the top and installing a tower, I may as well add the wood for extra assurance. It's really not that much more work and was probably the simplest part of the build for me.

Taking the top off is easy. There are two screws in back and two in front. Once you do that, there is square cutout under the top that you can just glue a piece of plywood to. I just took the measurement of that square, bought a piece of plywood from Lowes, and had them cut it down to size for me there.

 

[403Brewer]

For the people who have done this build - is a piece of wood or something 100% necessary on the top for added support for the tap tower? About to do this build and want to keep it as simple as possible. Was thinking about just using some oversized washers on the inside when mounting the tower instead...

Adding the wood took 5 minutes so I did it, I believe it was worth the effort. Top + tower feel very solid

 

[jeffb666]

Any thoughts on using 1/4" plexi instead of wood? I can have this custom cut at the place I work.

 

[mtnagel]

I used a really cheap cutting board that I cut out to fit. Figured that was better from a moisture standpoint than wood.

 

[jeffb666]

Has anybody moved / relocated the light to make more room to mount the tap tower? If so - how easy is it? It's kinda a tight fit. My tap tower has mounting holes that are 2.75" apart...

 

[squash1978]

Has anybody moved / relocated the light to make more room to mount the tap tower? If so - how easy is it? It's kinda a tight fit. My tap tower has mounting holes that are 2.75" apart...

My tower mounting holes are about the same. Roughly 3" apart from front to back. There was enough space for the mounting holes without having to mess with the light. I had no trouble drilling the holes or mounting the tower. He's a pic of the inside, you can see there is enough space between the light and screws. Sorry for the funky angle but it was hard to get a good pic with the kegs in the way.



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[jeffb666]

How much space is between the light and the backplate? I feel like maybe they changed the fridge design slightly as its barely over 3 inches of space on mine...

 

[squash1978]

5 inches between the light and backplate in mine. See post #120 for a sketch of the measurements I took for mine.


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[jeffb666]

Danby must have slightly redesigned this fridge then. I only have 3.25 inches between the light and the backplate. If the backplate wasn't curved at the top, I would have lots more room. Suggestions?

 

[jlawrence]

Is there enough room to build a shelf level to the back part, to hold a fermentor or carboy?


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[BansheeRider]

Is there enough room to build a shelf level to the back part, to hold a fermentor or carboy?


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I think the fermenter would be too tall if on a shelf.

 

[ivydog]

Fyi. I learned the hard way that the wires run from the center where the thermostat and light assembly are directly to the right and then back. I was attaching a wooden top I made to the Danby and screwed directly through the wires. Had to repair EVERY wire i there and make a big ********. But all is well now.

If anyone is interested in pictures I'll upload some.


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[squash1978]

Fyi. I learned the hard way that the wires run from the center where the thermostat and light assembly are directly to the right and then back. I was attaching a wooden top I made to the Danby and screwed directly through the wires. Had to repair EVERY wire i there and make a big ********. But all is well now.

If anyone is interested in pictures I'll upload some.


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Definitely upload some pics. I think it would be useful for others looking to do this build to know exactly where the wires are. Glad you were able to fix them.

 

[ivydog]

Here are the pictures. I had to embiggen the hole in order to get in there to patch the wiring. Initially the hole was to verify that I fried the wiring there. I noticed there was some discoloration on the screw when I pulled it out, so I assumed that there was electrical arcing there. You can kind of see they're travelling from the middle to where the light switch is located.
I realized that I fried the wiring when every time I plugged it in I would blow a breaker even when it was set to off. So I knew it wasn't the compressor that fried and I messed something else up. Hope this helps someone.

The other picture is the finished product. I used velcro to hold in the CO2 tank, unscrewed the bottom screws on the cooling panel and slipped it underneath. So it's just a loop of velcro. And some more velcro to help organize the hoses.

The top is a piece of plywood with an oak veneer glued on top. I also routed out a depression to fit the drip tray.

Inside of door is whiteboard cut to fit and then liquid nailed to the door.

Aside from the electrical mishap, I cut the top based on measurements without the door bracket on there and consequently it's too short.

A variation of a Leffe recipe I found is presently carbonating though. :fro:
(edit to show a close up of the wiring - hit every one of them bastards!)

 

[Stealthcruiser]

"Embiggen"........I like that!

 

[thehopbandit]

I am looking into getting this fridge.

I basically have two 5 gallon ball lock kegs that are roughly 9" in diameter (the rubber adds width to the 8.5" keg). For those of you that have this fridge, can anyone confirm if you can fit two 9" diameter kegs in here?

Also, I was hoping someone could get me the exact internal dimensions of this fridge, including the hump? That would be great. Thanks!

 

[BansheeRider]

i am looking into getting this fridge.

I basically have two 5 gallon ball lock kegs that are roughly 9" in diameter (the rubber adds width to the 8.5" keg). For those of you that have this fridge, can anyone confirm if you can fit two 9" diameter kegs in here?

Also, i was hoping someone could get me the exact internal dimensions of this fridge, including the hump? That would be great. Thanks!

 

[thehopbandit]

BansheeRider, are those kegs 9" diameter?

 

[squash1978]

I am looking into getting this fridge.

I basically have two 5 gallon ball lock kegs that are roughly 9" in diameter (the rubber adds width to the 8.5" keg). For those of you that have this fridge, can anyone confirm if you can fit two 9" diameter kegs in here?

Also, I was hoping someone could get me the exact internal dimensions of this fridge, including the hump? That would be great. Thanks!

I think it depends on how the shelves are mounted inside. In older models, the shelves mount in the back whereas in newer models the shelve mounts are built-in the side of fridge. I have a newer model and you can see the built-in shelf mounts on the sides of my fridge. My kegs are 8.25-8.5" in diameter and they barely fit due to the side shelf mounts. 9" kegs would not fit in mine without cutting out the shelf mounts first.

 

[BansheeRider]

BansheeRider, are those kegs are 9" diameter?

Not sure but they are your typical ball lock kegs.

 

[thehopbandit]

I think it depends on how the shelves are mounted inside. In older models, the shelves mount in the back whereas in newer models the shelve mounts are built-in the side of fridge. I have a newer model and you can see the built-in shelf mounts on the sides of my fridge. My kegs are 8.25-8.5" in diameter and they barely fit due to the side shelf mounts. 9" kegs would not fit in mine without cutting out the shelf mounts first.

Oh wow, that's a good point. I didn't notice that. Shoot....

Basically the circumference of the metal part of the keg is 27", which yields about an 8.6" diameter. The rubber part is 28" circumference, which yields about an 8.91" diameter. Setting the kegs side by side is give or take 17 7/8". I think if the side mounts weren't there it would work according to the size diagram on the first page of this thread.

Quite the predicament given that it comes down to a fraction of an inch.

 

[squash1978]

Oh wow, that's a good point. I didn't notice that. Shoot....

Basically the circumference of the metal part of the keg is 27", which yields about an 8.6" diameter. The rubber part is 28" circumference, which yields about an 8.91" diameter. Setting the kegs side by side is give or take 17 7/8". I think if the side mounts weren't there it would work according to the size diagram on the first page of this thread.

Quite the predicament given that it comes down to a fraction of an inch.

The side mounts can be removed, it's just more work b/c you will have to cut them out and then seal the cuts to protect in insulation. I've seen other builds on here where people have done that. I did not go that route because mine fit (just barely). I literal have to squeeze the left keg in about 1" to get the door to shut.

 

[thehopbandit]

The side mounts can be removed, it's just more work b/c you will have to cut them out and then seal the cuts to protect in insulation. I've seen other builds on here where people have done that. I did not go that route because mine fit (just barely). I literal have to squeeze the left keg in about 1" to get the door to shut.

For the initial use I just plan to use my picnic taps with the kegs until I go with the draft tower. So, I was just hoping to find something I could just throw the kegs in with as little modification as possible. It's too bad that they made the switch!