My keg Fits in sideways

[Erkle42]

Ok, so I'm new to the kegging thing and i bought one because... lets face it... its just easier and so much less work. the keg I bought was the torpedo keg 5gal, NOT slimline. it measures 23" tall by 9.125" wide(58.5cm by 23cm) and will fit comfortably in my refridgerator on its side but I would have to remove all the shelves to get it to stand upright, removing all the room for food storage.

My question: how viable is it for me to have the keg horizontal in my refridgerator while i save up for a minifridge?

 

[twd000]

Ok, so I'm new to the kegging thing and i bought one because... lets face it... its just easier and so much less work. the keg I bought was the torpedo keg 5gal, NOT slimline. it measures 23" tall by 9.125" wide(58.5cm by 23cm) and will fit comfortably in my refridgerator on its side but I would have to remove all the shelves to get it to stand upright, removing all the room for food storage.

My question: how viable is it for me to have the keg horizontal in my refridgerator while i save up for a minifridge?

I've never tried this, but in theory it would be possible with two options:
1. replace standard dip tube with floating dip tube, so draw down beer from the top
2. reverse the connections and draw beer from the gas outlet, with the keg rotated so the gas outlet sits on the bottom of the fridge shelf

bonus: tell your friends you have a "horizontal lagering tank" which is all the rage for traditional lager brewers!

 

[Erkle42]

I've never tried this, but in theory it would be possible with two options:
1. replace standard dip tube with floating dip tube, so draw down beer from the top
2. reverse the connections and draw beer from the gas outlet, with the keg rotated so the gas outlet sits on the bottom of the fridge shelf

bonus: tell your friends you have a "horizontal lagering tank" which is all the rage for traditional lager brewers!

I haven’t yet opened my kegto see the innards as it’s under pressure and I wanted to just leave it like that until I clean it before filling it. Are the tubes like solid aluminum or something? If it’s made out of a flexible plastic then it should rest on the bottom of thekeg if I put thebeer out connection as the on on top

 

[twd000]

open it up and look inside to see what's in there. It'll make sense once you see it.

If a torpedo keg is similar to corny kegs, the dip tubes are stainless steel. The floating dip tube is an up-charge option - it's a flexible silicone tube with a float on it

 

[Erkle42]

open it up and look inside to see what's in there. It'll make sense once you see it.

If a torpedo keg is similar to corny kegs, the dip tubes are stainless steel. The floating dip tube is an up-charge option - it's a flexible silicone tube with a float on it

To me the floating tube makes the most sense for what to use. I imagine you can get the tubing relatively cheap and just install it yourself, right?

 

[twd000]

you could DIY your own version, or just buy this and install it: Torpedo Keg Buoy ™ Floating Dip Tube | MoreBeer

 

[firerat]

To me the floating tube makes the most sense for what to use. I imagine you can get the tubing relatively cheap and just install it yourself, right?

They come with the tube:
https://kegfactory.com/products/tor...m9aZycjtRogIqopwxirPuwK5_nin1h0QaAkt4EALw_wcB
It's only $18. You might even find it cheaper if you look. I just grabbed the first one Googles showed me.

 

[ATLBeer]

Are you serving from the fridge or just storing it there? Do you have room for a CO2 canister, regulator, and hoses in there too?

You wont need the floating dip tube if you are just storing it, but they are good to have anyway .

 

[apache_brew]

Honestly I'd see fussing with a sideways keg as more of hassle. Being that you haven't used the Torpedo keg, do you have the ability to return it and acquire two 2.5 or 3 gallon kegs instead?

 

[Erkle42]

Honestly I'd see fussing with a sideways keg as more of hassle. Being that you haven't used the Torpedo keg, do you have the ability to return it and acquire two 2.5 or 3 gallon kegs instead?

I'm totally planning on expanding my collection and getting a minifridge eventually so i can just have kegs in storage waiting to be drank.

 

[Erkle42]

Are you serving from the fridge or just storing it there? Do you have room for a CO2 canister, regulator, and hoses in there too?

You wont need the floating dip tube if you are just storing it, but they are good to have anyway .

I am looking at serving from the fridge, i dont have a separate frdge yet

 

[bracconiere]

removing all the room for food storage.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-2-...-d5jhiR5nmko6cX6Fq4aAt1BEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
better then having to buy a new regulator...

 

[Erkle42]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-2-...-d5jhiR5nmko6cX6Fq4aAt1BEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
better then having to buy a new regulator...

a second fridge is in my immanent future, just waiting for a pay check or two down the road.

any one use one of these?
https://www.costco.ca/danby-4.4-cu.-ft.-spotless-steel-compact-all-fridge.product.100676347.html

 

[Joeywhat]

For that price you can get a chest freezer that's easily twice the size. Temp controllers are cheap.

 

[bracconiere]

i just got given a mini fridge for $40 used. just needed a temp controller, and that's my fourth fridge....it even came with a half barrel keg inside and sanke things.....


(i use fridges as kitchen wall paper aparently......

 

[firerat]

I'll second a freezer. Much more space. Also a lot more efficient if you have to keep it in a hot garage.

 

[firerat]

i just got given a mini fridge for $40 used.

I found one on craigslist for $30. When i came to pick it up, the guy and his girlfriend were struggling to get a couch in a moving van.I helped them and they thanked me by giving it to me free!!

It smelled like moldy cheese but it worked until I acidentally killed it scraping ice of the cold plate!!

 

[bracconiere]

my mini fridge only burns 50-60 watts while it's running...and keep in mind with a freezer, you'll have to lift 50+ pounds over the edge of it.....

 

[bracconiere]

I found one on craigslist for $30. When i came to pick it up, the guy and his girlfriend were struggling to get a couch in a moving van.I helped them and they thanked me by giving it to me free!!

It smelled like moldy cheese but it worked until I acidentally killed it scraping ice of the cold plate!!

perks of a good work ethic!

 

[firerat]

my mini fridge only burns 50-60 watts while it's running...and keep in mind with a freezer, you'll have to lift 50+ pounds over the edge of it.....

Fair.

My keezer just seemed to do a lot better in my South Florida garage in July than the mini fridge did. I could never get the fridge under 40F in the summer. The freezer easily went sub zero the 2 times i accidentally knocked the temperature probe out and froze my kegs.

 

[bracconiere]

Fair.

My keezer just seemed to do a lot better in my South Florida garage in July than the mini fridge did. I could never get the fridge under 40F in the summer. The freezer easily went sub zero the 2 times i accidentally knocked the temperature probe out and froze my kegs.

this mini fridge wouldn't even turn on until i hot-wired it, and plugged it into a temp controller set at 20f......it will cold crash 10 gallons down to 38f in a day now!

 

[Erkle42]

For that price you can get a chest freezer that's easily twice the size. Temp controllers are cheap.

the chest freezer at the same price from the same store is actually smaller....

Please note all prices are in Canadian Play-Money:
https://www.costco.ca/marathon-deluxe-3.4-cu.ft-chest-freezer.product.100311512.html

 

[D.B.Moody]

It's a good thing kegging is easier, or all this wouldn't be worth it.

 

[JAReeves]

I am going to pitch in on this conversation, though I am a fortnight late; I had a mini fridge and couldn't deal with the ice buildup on the freezer part. I bought a 7 cu.ft. freezer at HD, added an insulated collar, regulator, 5# CO2 tank, 4-way CO2 splitter and 5G kegs. I normally have 1 keg of mineral water for the family and 2 kegs of beer/sours/ciders + room for hops/yeast cultures/glassware, etc. At the moment I only have 1 keg of beer, but that's because the freezer is holding about 40# of hops from an impulse buy. I use an ink bird to keep it at 36F and life is good.