Portable igloo cooler kegerator

[RRL]

on page 20, MIkes 5 gal cooler... is that a 50 qt cooler?


Im trying to decide which route to go for my 5gal corny sanke d porta keger.... cheapest possible is my goal truthfully.


I can either do the 2 stacked 5gal coolers or the cubed roller cooler and capped top like he did...


I can get 2 of the 5gal coolers for 30$ each and rig up some kind of wheels on it.. mind you for transportation purposes I would imagine its much better to carry vs roll around and shake up the brew.


I plan on using a picnic tap with 6ft beer lines and a 20oz paintball tank with adapter and a tapright gauge (unless I can find cheaper?) more or less just drill a hole on the side at one of the highest points and with the beer line length have it as somewhat of a "retractable" tap that I can just push back in to keep the lines cool and out of the sun.


The cubed 50qt cooler at wallmart is 50 here on its own.. and roughly 30 for the top piece


Why I am considering the cubed build is for space / cooling reasons... I read that the stacked 5gals are very limited on space and most of the time I don't have access to more ice... The cubed may cost a hair more but if it holds a little more ice for longer it would save me more $$ in the long run...


What you guys opinion on both builds? preferences?

 

[brewprint]

on page 20, MIkes 5 gal cooler... is that a 50 qt cooler?


Im trying to decide which route to go for my 5gal corny sanke d porta keger.... cheapest possible is my goal truthfully.


I can either do the 2 stacked 5gal coolers or the cubed roller cooler and capped top like he did...


I can get 2 of the 5gal coolers for 30$ each and rig up some kind of wheels on it.. mind you for transportation purposes I would imagine its much better to carry vs roll around and shake up the brew.


I plan on using a picnic tap with 6ft beer lines and a 20oz paintball tank with adapter and a tapright gauge (unless I can find cheaper?) more or less just drill a hole on the side at one of the highest points and with the beer line length have it as somewhat of a "retractable" tap that I can just push back in to keep the lines cool and out of the sun.


The cubed 50qt cooler at wallmart is 50 here on its own.. and roughly 30 for the top piece


Why I am considering the cubed build is for space / cooling reasons... I read that the stacked 5gals are very limited on space and most of the time I don't have access to more ice... The cubed may cost a hair more but if it holds a little more ice for longer it would save me more $$ in the long run...


What you guys opinion on both builds? preferences?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F6UJ5K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That is what I bought but it was only $38.99 with free shipping. I see now that they don't offer it. However when I bought it I was looking at Wal Mart and they had it ship to store for the same price.

I only use 1 keg and a 7ft long picnic tap. I have my 10lb co2 tank hooked up outside of my keezer using a bulkhead adapter. I just unhook the regulator for my keezer and plug it into the paintball tank.

Then I hook up the regulator to the pin lock post adapter. All of it fits nicely into the Cube.

 

[brewprint]

UPDATE

I just did a search on Wal Mart and the 70 quart is out of stock and the price was increased. Maybe I just bought it at the right time.

I'm sure the 60 quart would work almost as good. Just not as much room.

 

[RRL]

thanks! yea the 5gal sanky is a bit taller from what ive seen..... shame the cooler is jacked up in price now! I would of loved to go that route but the cost is just too high at what point do you call it quits and just resort to bottling.

Ill need to buy a 2nd coupler no doubt as I want to use my 58L keg to fill my corny when I need it or else i'd def save my cash and swap between the kegs the one.

 

[brewprint]

thanks! yea the 5gal sanky is a bit taller from what ive seen..... shame the cooler is jacked up in price now! I would of loved to go that route but the cost is just too high at what point do you call it quits and just resort to bottling.

Ill need to buy a 2nd coupler no doubt as I want to use my 58L keg to fill my corny when I need it or else i'd def save my cash and swap between the kegs the one.

I would rather pay the extra cash than resort to bottling.

http://www.homebrewing.org/3-Gallon-Cornelius-Style-Pin-Lock-Keg-Used_p_4540.html

I would buy the stuff to use this.

 

[RRL]

yea... would be great but shipping from US to me those would get $$$ fast.


Ill make the 2 5gal coolers work from the looks of things... i just saw with the link provided they have a "budget" reg / adapter for the paintball cylinders which is perfect for what I want.... still ends up cheaper by a slight bit vs buying it local.. which is sad considering shipping will be 30$ alone for it.

 

[brewprint]

It was extremely easy to just use my current regulator. No need to buy another. My kegs all kept the same pressure when the gas was off.

I bought the adapter for the paintball tank which was $15 and that plugs right into my regulator. It's best to screw the adapter into the regulator first and then screw the paintball tank on. You have to be fast because gas goes everywhere since there's no valve on the paintball tank.

 

[RRL]

yea that is true! I just wanted to buy another one so its a tapped on and forget type of deal and the fact I wont feel as bad if something happens to it camping vs my 75% tapwrite.

 

[Silentdrinker]

UPDATE

I just did a search on Wal Mart and the 70 quart is out of stock and the price was increased. Maybe I just bought it at the right time.

I'm sure the 60 quart would work almost as good. Just not as much room.

My guess is it's only a temp increase for the holiday and possibly for the summer.

 

[brewprint]

yea that is true! I just wanted to buy another one so its a tapped on and forget type of deal and the fact I wont feel as bad if something happens to it camping vs my 75% tapwrite.

I have the taprite gauge guard and nothing will happen to it

As silentdrinker stated the price increase may only be temporary for the cooler.

 

[asoltero213]

Which model of cooler is this? Are those pin lock kegs?

This is the cube ice chest from lowe's and the kegs are the 3 gallon pin locks from adventures in homebrewing. I bought the low profile connectors from chi company so the lid can close easier.

 

[branman]

75qt from Lowe's. A little bulky but plenty of room and some room for a few extra cans or bottles.

View attachment 1432409778903.jpg

View attachment 1432409794778.jpg

 

[brewprint]

Dang I wish I would've bought that 75 quart coleman instead of the igloo cube.

 

[RRL]

alright... so been shoping around and trying to see if this would work before dropping $$ on it...

let me know your ideas...


a can get a plastic bin dimensions 17½ d x 15 w x 26¾ h" which is pretty well exactly what you need to 1 corny keg in it.


I was thinking on using an expanding insulation spray can foam in the interior... now the solution to preventing the foam from getting water logged and molding.. I was debating on wether a rubber sealer would work such as Leak seal.

Basically i'd build a box wall inside inbetween that fill with it with the insulation and then coat the boxed wall with the sealer, all i'd need to do is drill in a tap to drain the water from the bottom which I can coat with the sealer as well.


40$ for the bin
3-4 cans of spray foam insulation at 6$ each
2 cans of flex seal 12.99 each

so around $80 invested in a 1 piece cooler + the cost of making a drain


Or would it be more worth while to just suffice and make it out of the 5gal stacked water coolers and throw it on a dolly. which would cost me about 50$ but have less space for ice.

 

[brewprint]

It just sounds like buying a cooler would be much easier

 

[HiImBrian]

^ haha I thought the same thing.

 

[Silentdrinker]

It just sounds like buying a cooler would be much easier

And cheaper

 

[Helly]

Go for it. Give us plenty of pics of the build.

 

[RRL]

haha... either way... both need "work"

1 will offer more much more cooling and ice capacity vs the other, the igloo 70qt cooler would be the best option but the price tag on just that cooler at the moment are a little over priced. Big issue for when i go camping there's nothing for hours in sight so if I run out of ice..... im out of ice... i'd sacrifice the food cooler ice but I dont think the woman would appreciate that too much haha.. i guess time will tell which route i go!

On a side note, im hopefully about to score 2 taps with shanks, couple tap handles, a sanke D coupler and a 2 beer cold plate for around 100 bucks shipped.

 

[brewprint]

haha... either way... both need "work"

1 will offer more much more cooling and ice capacity vs the other, the igloo 70qt cooler would be the best option but the price tag on just that cooler at the moment are a little over priced. Big issue for when i go camping there's nothing for hours in sight so if I run out of ice..... im out of ice... i'd sacrifice the food cooler ice but I dont think the woman would appreciate that too much haha.. i guess time will tell which route i go!

What about that coleman 75 quart? That will hold 2 kegs! I assure you that with the amount of ice that the igloo holds; the beer is gone before the ice melts. It takes several days.

 

[RRL]

What about that coleman 75 quart? That will hold 2 kegs! I assure you that with the amount of ice that the igloo holds; the beer is gone before the ice melts. It takes several days.

If I could get my hands on another corny for cheap definitely... but those 70+ qt coolers are starting in the 100$ range and up around here from the looks of it i'd still need to buy the "top" section to make it sealed.

Only thing Im not sure how it will do camping is that more often then not, we are out on the water on tubes floating around... tends to be easier to lug around 12 pack of cans at a time then maneuvering with a solo cup a keg.

Even so... if I don't find the corny sufficient for camping Ill be definitely using it when I go out to friends places or even having a fire at my place... as thats my main issue right now any time I go out.

 

[brewprint]

If I could get my hands on another corny for cheap definitely... but those 70+ qt coolers are starting in the 100$ range and up around here from the looks of it i'd still need to buy the "top" section to make it sealed.

Only thing Im not sure how it will do camping is that more often then not, we are out on the water on tubes floating around... tends to be easier to lug around 12 pack of cans at a time then maneuvering with a solo cup a keg.

Even so... if I don't find the corny sufficient for camping Ill be definitely using it when I go out to friends places or even having a fire at my place... as thats my main issue right now any time I go out.

I'm just baffled that they cost that much up there. Canada correct?

It's so much easier than bottling a bunch of beer it's unreal. I usually take 3 or 4 week long vacations per year and so far this is awesome.

For my most recent trip that I'm taking later today; I filled one of the 3 gallon kegs right out of the 5 gallon keg. Then I decided I wanted to take some IIPA and some Dead Guy Ale clone so I cleaned up some 22 ouncers. What a total PITA to even bottle a few beers.

Next trip I'm filling 2 of the 3 gallon kegs and taking them both.

 

[RRL]

I'm just baffled that they cost that much up there. Canada correct?

It's so much easier than bottling a bunch of beer it's unreal. I usually take 3 or 4 week long vacations per year and so far this is awesome.

For my most recent trip that I'm taking later today; I filled one of the 3 gallon kegs right out of the 5 gallon keg. Then I decided I wanted to take some IIPA and some Dead Guy Ale clone so I cleaned up some 22 ouncers. What a total PITA to even bottle a few beers.

Next trip I'm filling 2 of the 3 gallon kegs and taking them both.

Yeap from Canada... and yea tell me about it... its pretty sad that we can purchase stuff from the US, cover the cost of the conversion + pay outrageous shipping costs and still end up ahead vs buying local most of the time.


Yea I was looking at bottling then I remembered why I stopped brewing way back in 2006 lol.. i got tired of bottling beer / cleaning it all takes ages and then you have to worry about keeping your bottles and not leaving them sit around or get too gummed up

 

[pvpeacock]

haha... either way... both need "work"

1 will offer more much more cooling and ice capacity vs the other, the igloo 70qt cooler would be the best option but the price tag on just that cooler at the moment are a little over priced. Big issue for when i go camping there's nothing for hours in sight so if I run out of ice..... im out of ice... i'd sacrifice the food cooler ice but I dont think the woman would appreciate that too much haha.. i guess time will tell which route i go!

On a side note, im hopefully about to score 2 taps with shanks, couple tap handles, a sanke D coupler and a 2 beer cold plate for around 100 bucks shipped.

Amazon. has the Igloo 70 qt. for $59 with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F6UJ5K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Silentdrinker]

haha... either way... both need "work"

Gotta love the "it's broke before I even made it" mentality. My 75qt cooler stays cold for a week during the summer if I keep it under shade Andy Latin the full sun.

40$ for the bin
3-4 cans of spray foam insulation at 6$ each
2 cans of flex seal 12.99 each

You're at $83.98 for 3 cans of foam
$89.98 at 4 cans

So now you're talking a few bucks difference for a frank-en-rator that might not work or will end up needing more $ in supplies than expected.

But sounds like you got it figured out, so roll with it. But I think you should take the build to another thread since this one is about the cooler build. There are others who have done similar to what you are talking about. Do a google search and check them out.

 

[RRL]

Gotta love the "it's broke before I even made it" mentality. My 75qt cooler stays cold for a week during the summer if I keep it under shade Andy Latin the full sun.



You're at $83.98 for 3 cans of foam
$89.98 at 4 cans

So now you're talking a few bucks difference for a frank-en-rator that might not work or will end up needing more $ in supplies than expected.

But sounds like you got it figured out, so roll with it. But I think you should take the build to another thread since this one is about the cooler build. There are others who have done similar to what you are talking about. Do a google search and check them out.

Far from that mentality... both will need "modifications" to work... I have a 5gal corny keg... not 3gal kegs that fit right in the cooler... so I would have to cut a hole in the cooler and buy another 2gal or 5gal water cooler to go ontop of it and make it seal.

I posted in here because I haven't made up my mind on which route I wanted to go... so I would still say it qualifies as "cooler keger"



Also... the igloo cooler on amazon is 97$ Canadian they offer free shipping if you pay for that member ship (no idea if the cooler would fall under over sized shipping or not either) but I don't use em much or at all really. Another catch to shipping from US is the brokerage fee's. Its not so hard to deal with when it comes to private sales but commercial sales like ebay and amazon you get dinged pretty bad quite often.


Anyways.. back on track... You are right their wouldn't be a HUGE cost difference per say between the 2 all said and done.

 

[brewprint]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F6SHTK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Just so you know; I believe that a 5 gallon corny will fit in a 10 gallon water cooler.

 

[solavirtus]

I have similar 10 gal Igloos for my HLT and MLT. I've used them as a cooler for 5 gal cornies and it works ok. The lid doesn't fit on though, so it's not great for a longer event or weekend. I've thrown a towel or blanket over the top to deal without a lid.

 

[Silentdrinker]

I built a portable kegerator for two 3 gallon kegs. It's identical to the one on the original post. I use the crap out of it when we go on camping trips with a large group, vacations (several through out the year) and going to parties like 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas...etc. I even use it for birthday parties.

As much as I love the thing, I find myself not using it when we go out to the river, lakes or even out fishing. The reason is the thing is just too big when only a few people are out and we're not heavily drinking. So I decided to build a 2 gallon babyrator.

I lucked out and managed to score 3 of the 1 gallon Taylor flavor kegs off Ebay. I paid $50/ea shipped. But that's not bad considering a decent growler is easily $25 and these hold two. Plus I never see them for less than $100 if you can even find them.

Here it is:

It's a 28 quart. The 16 would've been great, but it was about half an inch too small in the width to fit the kegs. One fit fine. But I wanted two. Plus the CO2 would've never fit.


There's the 2 gallon in comparison with the 6 gal version. I know I gotta get that 6 gal one cleaned up.


I had to adjust the regulator to a flat position in order to get it to fit, but there is plenty of room for ice, snacks and some cups too.


I have different faucets installed. One is a ventmatic and the other is a perlick, so they look a little crooked, but they're not. I am going to swap the perlick with my other ventmatic.


This gives perspective next to a 3 gal keg


We're headed out at the end of this week to Lake Chelan in Wa. We stay there from Sat to Sat with a bunch of people, so I always bring the 6 gallon kegerator with several filled 3 gal kegs. But I found it difficult to bring down to the lake with us, so I plan to bring the babyrator too just for that purpose. It also has the wheels and telescopic handle.

 

[branman]

I built a portable kegerator for two 3 gallon kegs. It's identical to the one on the original post. I use the crap out of it when we go on camping trips with a large group, vacations (several through out the year) and going to parties like 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas...etc. I even use it for birthday parties.

As much as I love the thing, I find myself not using it when we go out to the river, lakes or even out fishing. The reason is the thing is just too big when only a few people are out and we're not heavily drinking. So I decided build a 2 gallon babyrator.

I lucked out and managed to score 3 of the 1 gallon Taylor flavor kegs off Ebay. I paid $50/ea shipped. But that's not bad considering a decent growler is easily $25 and these hold two. Plus I never see them for less than $100 if you can even find them.

Here it is:

It's a 28 quart. The 16 would've been great, but it was about half an inch too small in the width to fit the kegs. One fit fine. But I wanted two. Plus the CO2 would've never fit.
View attachment 293051

There's the 2 gallon in comparison with the 6 gal version. I know I gotta get that 6 gal one cleaned up.
View attachment 293052

I had to adjust the regulator to a flat position in order to get it to fit, but there is plenty of room for ice, snacks and some cups too.
View attachment 293053

I have different faucets installed. One is a ventmatic and the other is a perlick, so they look a little crooked, but they're not. I am going to swap the prelacy with my other ventmatic.
View attachment 293054

This gives perspective next to a 3 gal keg
View attachment 293450

We're headed out at the end of this week to Lake Chelan in Wa. We stay there from Sat to Sat with a bunch of people, so I always bring the 6 gallon kegerator with several filled 3 gal kegs. But I found it difficult to bring down to the lake with us, so I plan to bring the babyrator too just for that purpose. It also has the wheels and telescopic handle.

Those little kegs look awesome! Gotta find me some...