Sanyo 4912 Kegerator Conversion

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Hey guys I did this conversion w/ a double tap tower from kegconnection but can't seem to keep it from foaming too much. What are you guys doing as far as length/width of lines, serving temps etc. I've got mine set on @11 PSI and the fridge set at one notch below the coldest setting.

Thanks,
Al
 
I've got the same setup and have mine running at 40F with one keg at the moment.
I'm dispensing Caramel Creme ale at about 12psi with a perfect head.

Did you have the keg set at a higher PSI and then change to serving psi without purging the excess pressure from the keg?
 
hmmmm. I have about 5 feet of out line for two kegs on a 2 tap Sanyo conversion tower, with about 12 PSI and no excssive head problem.
 
Ice9 said:
I've got the same setup and have mine running at 40F with one keg at the moment.
I'm dispensing Caramel Creme ale at about 12psi with a perfect head.

Did you have the keg set at a higher PSI and then change to serving psi without purging the excess pressure from the keg?


No, kegs and sys are at the same setting but I do believe I had the beer a bit overcarbed. I turned the regulator down to about 9 PSI and reduced the temp in the fridge and i got a much better, clearer pour.

I do still get a shot of foam to start and then it runs clean. I start it in a plastic cup and then slide my glass in when the foam clears. I usually only lose about a swallow or two.

Any ideas what causes this?

Also, if i were to lengthen my lines, how do you get at the lines and connections in the tower top?

Regards,
Al
 
I finished my Sanyo fridge conversion. Here's the fridge with the hole cut through the top (Thanks to Orpheus for the how to on the hole)
Sanyo01.jpg

Here's the tower I had made out of vinyl fencing, 5'' on the vertical, 4'' on the horizontal
Sanyo02.jpg

Mounting bracket for the tower
Sanyo03.jpg

Painted Tower
Sanyo04.jpg

Painted caps and screw covers
Sanyo05.jpg
 
Tower attached
Sanyo11.jpg

Mounting screws for tower
Sanyo12.jpg

Tower assembled to top of fridge
Sanyo13.jpg

Assembly for liquid lines
Sanyo14.jpg

Ball lock attached to liquid out line
Sanyo15.jpg
 
Liquid lines run through tower
Sanyo16.jpg

View down through tower
Sanyo17.jpg

Liquid lines into fridge
Sanyo18.jpg

Faucet assembly (courtesy of the sweet deal from Austin Homebrew Supply on the faucets!:rockin:)
Sanyo19.jpg

Liquid lines attached to shanks
Sanyo20.jpg
 
Shank attached to tower
Sanyo21.jpg

Both faucets attached
Sanyo22.jpg

Clearance of the lines in the tower
Sanyo23.jpg

Completed Tower and faucets
Sanyo24.jpg

Kegs and CO2 equipment
Sanyo25.jpg
 
Liquid lines attached
Sanyo26.jpg

CO2 Tank in fridge
Sanyo27.jpg

Gas lines connected and ready to go
Sanyo28.jpg

First pour...
Sanyo29.jpg

The glass says it all! :rockin:
Sanyo30.jpg
 
Does anyone see a problem with just drilling two smaller holes big enough for the just large enough for the liquid lines, instead of the 3" hole? Does the bottom of the tower sit flush with the fridge top or does part of it actually go into the hole? I realize the tower will not be insulated, but I would like, at least for now, to minimize the modifications.
 
I bought a tank and two corny kegs for a great price. I want to do this conversion but I know that the 20lb tank won't fit in the sanyo.

Do you think it is worth it to swap the 20lb tank for a 5 lb tank? Will a 10 lb tank fit in the sanyo with two cornys?
 
GIusedtoBe said:
No, kegs and sys are at the same setting but I do believe I had the beer a bit overcarbed. I turned the regulator down to about 9 PSI and reduced the temp in the fridge and i got a much better, clearer pour.

I do still get a shot of foam to start and then it runs clean. I start it in a plastic cup and then slide my glass in when the foam clears. I usually only lose about a swallow or two.

Any ideas what causes this?

Also, if i were to lengthen my lines, how do you get at the lines and connections in the tower top?

Regards,
Al

The beer in the tower is warm and foams easily, once you get cold beer the foaming stops.

Linc
 
rh348877 said:
I bought a tank and two corny kegs for a great price. I want to do this conversion but I know that the 20lb tank won't fit in the sanyo.

Do you think it is worth it to swap the 20lb tank for a 5 lb tank? Will a 10 lb tank fit in the sanyo with two cornys?

I've never tried it, but I hear that a 10lb'er won't fit. It's really tight with the 5lb tank...and while I don't know the exact dims of the 10 lbs cyls, I know they are considerable taller. The way this conversion works, you have to store the tank on the lip in the back, meaning it's already up off the floor of the unit. So even with a 5lb tank and the regulator, it's a mere few inches from the ceiling. My educated guess is no, since the 5 lb is tight as it is.
 
I thought someone on here said they had a weird shaped 10lb tank that fits in the Sanyo. I personally can't see anything bigger than 5lb fitting in there. I'm content with the 5lb tank. I don't have to refill for several months and thats infrequent enough for me...
 
I don't wanna start a new thread for this question, so I'm gonna go ahead and ask it here:

When I got my new co2 tank filled at the welding supply place on Friday, they gave it back to me with a little blue plastic ring hanging from the neck via a rubber band. It looks like it's the perfect size to sit in between the two fittings when I attach the regulator. Is this something I should be using? I have it attached without it right now, and it's not leaking as far as I can tell.
 
Evan! said:
I don't wanna start a new thread for this question, so I'm gonna go ahead and ask it here:

When I got my new co2 tank filled at the welding supply place on Friday, they gave it back to me with a little blue plastic ring hanging from the neck via a rubber band. It looks like it's the perfect size to sit in between the two fittings when I attach the regulator. Is this something I should be using? I have it attached without it right now, and it's not leaking as far as I can tell.

I never got one of those, so obviously I'm not using one. Maybe my regulator has one inside already...
 
Soulive said:
I never got one of those, so obviously I'm not using one. Maybe my regulator has one inside already...

The regulator has a little black o-ring (looks like a ball lock post o-ring to me) built into the face of it---the face that compresses against the tank. But the tank has a circular groove in its face that matches up with the circular raised portion on the plastic piece. I'll take pics later...I'm curious as to what it's for.
 
I have a short 10lb tank that would probably fit. I know it fits height wise. If you built a shelf and removed the door insides it would probably be able to hold it. I'm too lazy to build a shelf for it so I stuck it outside and ran the gas line through the drain hole.
 
Another member of the family fresh off the assembly line. :rockin:

keger2.jpg


Here you can sort of see where the line is. In fact if you want to do it even cheaper you don't really need the cornstarch test. You can run the back of your hand along the top of the metal and clearly feel the warm spot vs the rest being cool.
keger1.jpg



Also as a tip to the next people who do the conversion: I used #10-24 x 5/16" T-nuts and #10-24 x 3/4" machine screws and it was a perfect fit. No need to trim the ends off.

Thanks again to all who have posted this info to help the rest of us build this wonderful machine! :mug:
 
Evan! said:
The regulator has a little black o-ring (looks like a ball lock post o-ring to me) built into the face of it---the face that compresses against the tank. But the tank has a circular groove in its face that matches up with the circular raised portion on the plastic piece. I'll take pics later...I'm curious as to what it's for.

It's a seal and it should be used!
 
Got an Irish Red coming out of the tap now, and a dunkelweizen still conditioning. Nitrogen regulator, tank, and stout faucet are also on the way for my stout. :D

The beer I poured from the tap was the best I've ever tasted. Don't know if it's because I'm getting better or it was just 'cause I thought it was so cool. :)
 
The last post to this thread was a while ago, but I actually just stumbled upon it after doing the same conversion to my Sanyo fridge this weekend. The web site that told me where to drill the Sanyo must have been a web gallery of a member because the pics are similar. This is all good stuff and it's given me a few ideas for how to make my kegerator even better.

One thing I've been struggling with is how to mount wheels to the bottom. Has anyone had any success?

I'm thinking about using the threaded holes that the rubber feet mount with to bolt a piece of plywood underneath the fridge, and mount wheels to the plywood. This gets convoluted because I still have to drill through the metal plate in the back of the fridge and knotch the plywood where the lower hinge protrudes.

I haven't had any luck yet finding wheels that screw directly into the threaded holes that the rubber feet mount to.

Any thoughts?
 
I'd consider getting some angle iron and welding it into a 3 sided square. Then just use one "side" of the 4th piece to finish off the square and mount wheels to that. It could be easily removed if you don't like it and seems like it would be more stable/less visible(once painted black) than plywood.
 
I just did a conversion the other weekend (I still get that warm feeling inside when I come home and see it).

I picked up the same type handles at Lowes for about the same price as your link (FYI for anyone else who is anxious to see their visualization come to fruition). Grab a pair of wire cutters, nip the bolts, cardboard hole spacing template and viola!

Kudos to buford, orpheus, and all the others for sharing their conversions; They helped a lot!
 
I'd consider getting some angle iron and welding it into a 3 sided square. Then just use one "side" of the 4th piece to finish off the square and mount wheels to that. It could be easily removed if you don't like it and seems like it would be more stable/less visible(once painted black) than plywood.


I don't think I follow you and unfortunately don't have access to a welder. I was thinking of cutting out a large square in the center of the plywood and spray painting it black when finished. You'd end up with a 4" wide square frame mounted in each of the four corners. The plywood frame would be smaller than the fridge so it wouldn't protrude from the fridge around the edges, and it'd be painted black so it still wouldn't be completely visible (at least in my mind it wouldn't).

I wish I had a welder and could make a metal frame but that's not really an option. I'm not happy with the plywood either though, which is why I posted to this forum. Can't say I saw too many wheels on the bottom of everyone's kegerators...
 
vinchete,
I'm in the same predicament! In another post, some one had suggested using one/multiple dollies, but I'd much rather have them attached. You can fairly easily do the back wheels, but the front pose a challenge.
What I was planning to do, is take the front feet off (I believe there are just bolts there) and get a piece of metal, either bent or use spacers and matching nuts, to secure the metal to the bolts. Drill some holes in the metal slap on some casters...
Hope that gets you thinking, let me know what you come up with!
 
I successfully installed wheels to the bottom of my Sanyo 4912 conversion earlier this morning. I did it with about $15 in parts I purchased at my local Home Depot. It's a lot simpler than I thought and I'm happy with how it turned out.

IMG_3071.JPG


The front feet underneath the fridge are 5/16"-18 threaded stem feet. So all you need to replace the front feet with caster wheels is a 5/16"-18 threaded stem caster wheel. Home Depot sells a 2" swivel wheel from Shepherd Hardwood Products that I used for this project. The original feet had a 1/2" stud and the Shepherd caster has a 1" stud, but I was pleased to find that the Shepherd caster screwed all the way into the fridge. I'm not sure how much deeper you can go but these Shepherd casters where $3.98 each and worked out perfectly.

IMG_3051.JPG


The back wheels were a bit tougher because there are no pre-existing inserts to screw into. I picked up another set of 2" straight wheels from Home Depot, also manufactured by Shepherd. After looking at the bottom of the fridge there's a perfect spot on either side for these wheels.

There's barely enough room to bolt the straight wheels in place, so I pushed the wheel all the way up to the edge of the bent metal and marked where I was going to drill. I started with small bits and progressed up to a 1/4" bit. Using 1/4" nuts, bolts, lock washers and washers I was able to mount the straight wheels in the back.

IMG_3059.JPG


You can see it's a tight fit on the inside so be careful marking and drilling:
IMG_3063.JPG


I thought I finished, but when I put the fridge upright I noticed it wasn't level. Luckily, I bought extra washers and after removing and reattaching the wheels a few times I got it level.

Here's what I used to level the fridge:
Front swivel wheels - One 5/16" lock washer only
Rear straight wheels - One 1/4" lock washer closest to the bolt head, and either three or four 1/4" washers between the wheel mount and fridge

I used four washers on the rear straight wheels when the wheel mount was pressing up against the black of the fridge, the fourth washer accounting for the thickness of the metal that the other half of the wheel mount was fastened to.

I suppose you could use sheet metal bolts to attach the rear wheels, but I felt nuts and bolts were more secure - though it was tricky getting them attached. Also, the three or four washer spacers isn't the way I'd prefer to level the fridge, but it's not readily visible so I'll be the only one who knows.

It rolls quite nicely on my carpet. I'll keep an eye out for 2" swivel caster wheels with a brake, but for now this'll do. My SS drip tray is in the mail and the bar handles are on back-order until mid-September. Thank to everyone for the info and advice!

Cheers,
V
 
Looks good! You beat me to it- Once I finish off this keg it looks like I will doing some drilling
 
It's been done for awhile, but my Sanyo has wheels! Rather then dealing with all of the bolts with the fixed wheel setup, I went with the same swivel casters for the back that are used on the front. After using bolts, I spent my small fortune on washers. Five washers on the front/back, plus the ease of only drilling one easier accessible hole in the back it seams fairly solid and stable. The only issue is the caster under the bottom mount for the door. There is not much space for a wrench to tighten it in as much as I would like, but am sure I will remedy that some day...
 
I have a question on the exact position of the whole. When you say you are drilling 9 1/2 inches from the back is that it middle of the hole of the edge?
 
def plan on doing the vodka trick but just some reasurance before i start drilling away. I have also run into problems with the door as i tried to replace it with dry erase board i found the seal doesnt sit flush on the back like the factory door panel preventing the fridge from making an airtight seal, anyone else get this problem or got a solution
 
i tried to replace it with dry erase board... the seal doesnt sit flush ... preventing the fridge from making an airtight seal

How thick is your board? This is what I did:

1. I purchased whiteboard from Home Depot, it was at least 1/8" thick. The panel was something like 8'x4' and I had Home Depot cut it to size.
2. Mark and drill precise screw holes in the whiteboard panel. This part is a PITA and might take a couple tries.
3. The edges of the whiteboard panel should fit in the rubber stripping that you took off the factory panel. Once you have fitted the stripping to the whiteboard, screw the whiteboard panel back onto the refridgerator door.
 
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