thats exactly what I did but i found that because the back of the rubber seal does not sit flush using the white board as it does with the actual door it cause the rubber seal on the side of the door with the hinge to contact the fridge first so that it doesnt contact the fridge for all parts of the fridge at the same time and puts just enough stress on the top part of the door opposite of the hinge to prevent a 100% seal. I am not sure if i can move the hinge to the other side and it is just something that is coming up with one side of the door or the other but I am not getting a full seal. Did you screw the board down as tight as you could get? When I go to close the door if you close it slowly and listen carefully you can hear the creak of the rubber contacting the fridge and being smushed with the door still open 8 inches or so. The easiest way to tell is when it is dark let the fridge light come on and see if you can see light coming through
Sanyo 4912 Kegerator Conversion
- Thread starter Orpheus
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
boredatwork
Well-Known Member
I just converted my Sanyo 4912 this weekend and I was not a big fan of the white-board mod. This is not for everyone, but instead of a whiteboard I just used duct tape. I was hoping to find black duct tape, but the grey duct tape actually matches the color of the front door anyway.
What I did was remove the plastic liner from the door, cut off the outside 1" of the door so I could re-attach the rubber seal, and then just duct taped over the exposed foam. Because the grey keeps the dark color scheme, personally, I don't find that it looks as bad as it sounds. And it was a simpler/less mess-up-able approach.
What I did was remove the plastic liner from the door, cut off the outside 1" of the door so I could re-attach the rubber seal, and then just duct taped over the exposed foam. Because the grey keeps the dark color scheme, personally, I don't find that it looks as bad as it sounds. And it was a simpler/less mess-up-able approach.
i did the white board mod on mine and i love it! however it was a massive PITA! the wholes are not very inline so i had to individually measure each hole and and do a little of sanding on each hole. now that is it done it looks very nice and clean but for something that you see for a breif sec while the door is open it is alot of work
amercuric
Well-Known Member
Exactly. The only reason to do this is for the professional look. Otherwise, it would be more practical to just do boredatwork's duct-tape mod as described a couple posts up.
boredatwork
Well-Known Member
Another option is to duct tape over the foam and then attach a white board to the door - but not as a replacement for the black plastic cover. So the duct tape would hide the foam and the white board wouldn't have to be an exact fit to all the screw holes.
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amercuric
Well-Known Member
Laminated poster board applied over the foam via adhesive compound would also work well. You could also write on it with dry-erase! Might be more expensive and less permanent, but a heck of a lot easier and good for at least 5-10 years.
vinchete
Member
The white board is a PIA, but with a few tricks and a little patience it's worth it. I, too, got mine from HD, let them cut it to size, and it cost less than $10.
It's easier to place the holes for the white board, if you remove the plastic door panel from the door and lay it directly on top of the white board. Line it up centered, and mark the existing hole pattern with a black Sharpie. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough so that when you screw the screws back in place they catch the original hole. Make sure the door panel doesn't move while you're marking, else all of the holes won't line up.
When you're done marking, toss the old plastic door panel aside, fit the rubber perimeter gasket/seal around the white board, and lay the white board with seal on top of the door, which should be laying flat on the ground. Make sure the rubber seal is facing the right way before you start fastening it to the door!
The hardest part, I found, was keeping the rubber perimeter seal underneath the white board when you're screwing the white board to the door panel. To place the screws, you have to peal the rubber seal back just enough to get the screw in straight, but not so much that the seal slips out from underneath the white board.
I placed my first screw in a corner, and then put two in the opposite corner to keep my markings in the same place as the holes. You have to be patient as you fasten the screws, and pick and choose which screws should go in next (especially around the corners), but after about 20 minutes I got them all in and it looks great.
It's a PIA that's worth it, when you put that door back on the hinge and know that you've got a strong seal, that's going to keep your homebrew cold!
Cheers,
V
It's easier to place the holes for the white board, if you remove the plastic door panel from the door and lay it directly on top of the white board. Line it up centered, and mark the existing hole pattern with a black Sharpie. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough so that when you screw the screws back in place they catch the original hole. Make sure the door panel doesn't move while you're marking, else all of the holes won't line up.
When you're done marking, toss the old plastic door panel aside, fit the rubber perimeter gasket/seal around the white board, and lay the white board with seal on top of the door, which should be laying flat on the ground. Make sure the rubber seal is facing the right way before you start fastening it to the door!
The hardest part, I found, was keeping the rubber perimeter seal underneath the white board when you're screwing the white board to the door panel. To place the screws, you have to peal the rubber seal back just enough to get the screw in straight, but not so much that the seal slips out from underneath the white board.
I placed my first screw in a corner, and then put two in the opposite corner to keep my markings in the same place as the holes. You have to be patient as you fasten the screws, and pick and choose which screws should go in next (especially around the corners), but after about 20 minutes I got them all in and it looks great.
It's a PIA that's worth it, when you put that door back on the hinge and know that you've got a strong seal, that's going to keep your homebrew cold!
Cheers,
V
I'm looking to do this build. Does this kit from Kegglebrewing.com sound like a solid deal. Does anyone know if the parts are cheaper to buy individually?
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/2-Tap-Tower-Kegerator-Kit-with-2-Corny-Kegs-and-CO2-Tank_p_47.html
Cheers!
-Brewdood
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/2-Tap-Tower-Kegerator-Kit-with-2-Corny-Kegs-and-CO2-Tank_p_47.html
Cheers!
-Brewdood
I would look on craigslist you can get some crazy awsome deals. Also, as anyone will say dont get the crappy faucets casue they stick like crazy unless your drinking multiple times a day everyday. I got perlicks and they were fantastic! never sticks even if i dont drink over a couple of days. I would buy used if i was you and upgrade individualy but thats me
Alright good stuff. Thanks for the tip. Do you know much about regulators? If this is my first kegerator should I just buy a cheap one? And as far as a splitting the line to go to 2 kegs would a simply 'Y' hookup work nice?
vinchete
Member
You could probably find cheaper (used) equipment online, but it's not an outrageous price for new equipment, and the convenience of getting everything in one place is nice. Most of us compile separate pieces at a time as time/budgets permit, but if you can afford to shell it all out at once I'd pull the trigger. (Looks like only the corney kegs are reconditioned) Estimated shipping was only $22, not bad!
Definitely get the Perlick faucet upgrades, and I'd recommend the three gauge regulator, too, so you can set each keg to different pressures, etc. These are two features most people go cheap on to start with, and eventually upgrade. You'll have to check the size of the CO2 canister you order (5lb standard), go as big as will fit in your fridge!
Cheers,
V
Definitely get the Perlick faucet upgrades, and I'd recommend the three gauge regulator, too, so you can set each keg to different pressures, etc. These are two features most people go cheap on to start with, and eventually upgrade. You'll have to check the size of the CO2 canister you order (5lb standard), go as big as will fit in your fridge!
Cheers,
V
a 3 guage reg would be nice but if you dont want to shell out the xtra money a simple air tee (Y thing) would work fine and you can just set the gas between the 2 rec. setting or if you got a beer on tap that isnt so demanding on having exact correct carb. just set it to the one you want to be correct.
SeanGC
Well-Known Member
Hey could I use a 2" hole saw for the top or does it need to be atleast 2 - 3/4" ?
vinchete
Member
I think you can go smaller (I think I did), but the problem is your keg connections might not fit through a small hole. You may have to feed the faucet hoses through the hole you drilled and then attach the keg connections to your beer line/s inside the fridge. If you ever have to remove the faucet (upgrading to more taps?) you'll have to disconnect the keg connections to get the hose line out. I don't think there's any other issue going smaller.
Whatever you do, definitely do the rubbing alcohol and corn starch trick described in the first post of this thread before you start drilling...the freon line is hand-laid across the top of each Sanyo fridge so it's location varies from fridge to fridge. If you're lucky (like most) the freon line is far enough to the back that you can drill through like most everyone else...but you won't know where that freon line is until you do the corn starch trick.
Cheers,
V
cincybrewer
Well-Known Member
Make sure it's a hole saw made for metal. I tried one that was for wood and it did a crappy job. I ended up using a drill bit and drilling a bunch of holes around the circle.
kyle6286
Well-Known Member
Sorry to bring back this thread, but is anyone strictly using the Sanyo temp control as opposed to an external temp controller? If so, what setting do you keep it on to maintain the best temperature? I'm going to keg for the first time next weekend using this fridge and I don't have a temp controller. Just wondering if I'll be ok using the fridge's temp levels. Any help is appreciated.
SevenFields
Well-Known Member
I have been using mine without a temp controller, before it reached over 100 degrees outside I was just keeping it on 4or5, but now I have it on Max.
Either way, I do not think a temp controller is needed.
Either way, I do not think a temp controller is needed.
I'm running mine between 4 and 5 right now. Seems to stick in the vicinity of 40F (ambient temps around 80F for the most part).
vinchete
Member
I never did the temperature sensor conversion; always used the standard Sanyo knob and agree with the previous posts.
One word of caution though if you ever make soda, root beer, etc. I had mine at 5 for the longest time, but had to turn it down to 4 when I added a second cornelius keg with root beer. At 5 the root beer actually froze up on me once; it hasn't frozen yet at 4.
Also, if you haven't already, I recommend wrapping the beer lines in your draft tower with pre-slit pipe insulation to keep your beer cool. It's so cheap it's really not even worth debating the effectiveness.
V
One word of caution though if you ever make soda, root beer, etc. I had mine at 5 for the longest time, but had to turn it down to 4 when I added a second cornelius keg with root beer. At 5 the root beer actually froze up on me once; it hasn't frozen yet at 4.
Also, if you haven't already, I recommend wrapping the beer lines in your draft tower with pre-slit pipe insulation to keep your beer cool. It's so cheap it's really not even worth debating the effectiveness.
V
kyle6286
Well-Known Member
Awesome, thanks guys! I'll keep it between 4 and 5 and see how it goes.
cjever19
Well-Known Member
Subbed!
postalbunny
Well-Known Member
Used rubbing alcohol and flour instead of.water and corn starch. Seemed to show the line quicker. Use a thin layer for best results.
bwatts4200
Well-Known Member
So the last post was in 2011.... Any new tips or tricks???
postalbunny
Well-Known Member
This thread is probably about done... When I did mine I picked up a Sanyo that was on sale due to being discontinued. I couldn't find any on CL either.
If you search, there are a few other threads that list other models that make a successfully conversion.
If you search, there are a few other threads that list other models that make a successfully conversion.
Where did you 'fish' the co2 line through in the back?
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