Run taps through wall?

[theichthus]

Is there any reason why I should not mount my mini fridge above my basement stairs, and plumb straight through the wall of the fridge and through the wall into the kitchen and mount my taps flish with the wall?

Our house is small with no room for a kegerator... except for above the basement stairs, but it would not be fun to go there for every glass. the stairwell and the kitchen share a wall. Can I plumb right through? If not, why? and if so, any recommendations?

 

[annasdadhockey]

I did that, went from my beer fridge, through a block wall and drywall to my barroom where my tap was. I have since sold the house so I have a 14" shank laying around if you're interested.

 

[Tilldeath]

Thing that comes to my mind is the line will be exposed to hotter temps and the issues associated with them. Also not sure the distance but depending on how high vertically it will go won't you need to increase serving pressure, so there's issues there as well. Cool idea if you can sort out the issues let me know cause I have to go to the basement everytime cause th wife doesn't want the kegerator up stairs.

 

[david_42]

I don't see any problems. You'll want shanks long enough to run through the wall, and be careful to ensure there is adequate air circulation around the heat exchanger. It will probably make for easier cleaning if the shanks use threaded adapters, rather than nipples.

 

[spotter]

Should work great, I have flush mount taps. Something to consider if you have drywall is removing the kitchen side so you have a 4" recessed area. Finish it, add a small shelf / drip tray at the bottom, it looks great, trust me. Bonus is your shank is shorter / less exposed which helps keeps the beer in it cool.

Standard caution about hitting a coolant line when drilling through the side of a fridge, but that's not likely to be an issue.

 

[theichthus]

There will be no vertical climb. I can mount the side of the fridge to the wall at the right height so there will only be 5" of line between the fridge and the tap. Spotter, I like your idea... If I recessed it, it could really pass through only 1" of drywall! It would come right out of the fridge! In fact, I am planning on installing a tile backsplash..... Hmmm... This will be awesome. Thanks everyone!

 

[mordantly]

this is... interesting.

 

[underwaterdan]

I have that done in my basement, I have a fridge on the unfinished side of my basement and I ran a line to the finished side and through the wall. It is about a 6 foot run or so with a slight incline. Here is a link to the thread about it, there is another with more pics but I cant seem to find it.
I have had no problems with temp control or anything like that. I didnt even install a fan in my fridge yet and I am still good

 

[cheezydemon3]

Am I picturing this right?

Will the fridge be suspended 10-15 feet up in the air?

How will you put kegs in it?

 

[theichthus]

underwaterdan, can you post a couple of pictures?
The thought of the fridge in the typical staircase 10-15 up makes me chuckle, and with the info I have given, it is an understandable picture.

It is a dungeon of a basement, with 5-6 foot ceilings, and the very shallow steps. Even so, it would be difficult to mess with it as is. I am planning on hinging a couple of boards to lay over the stairs that I can stand on when dealing witth the kegs. I will post pictures eventually. I brewed an orange cream ale yesterday and bought the kegs online to put it in last night! I am excited.

My wife is a little upset that she doesn't get to enjoy the fruits because she is 9 months pregnant. She was happy when I told her I could make her some carbonated water! I love having an easily pleased wife!

 

[brewmonk]

so you are going to bolt the fridge to the wall? how are you going to immobilize it?
sounds like a great idea.
and with your kid at age zero, you don't have to figure out how to lock the tap for at least 24 months. (plexi door? it would keep the bugs out too).

 

[underwaterdan]

underwaterdan, can you post a couple of pictures?

There are some in my profile here.
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showgallery.php?ppuser=28997
Let me know if you have any questions