Show us your Kegerator

[BeastMaster]

that is what I meant.

I have a friend willing to lift heavy stuff for beer. Plus i'm going to have the keezer in my garage so if i back the truck in i'll be lifting it from the tailgate to the keezer...

 

[vonZwicky]

What do i need to purchase in order to do Sanke and Corny kegs? I want to set up a keezer with the capability to hold 1/2 bbl of commercial beer and 3 or 4 corny kegs. I have no doubt that I can build the keezer i just need some clarification on what parts i need.

Be careful when shopping for chest freezers if you intend on hosting 1/2 bbl kegs... There are many out there that do not have the necessary inside dimension (16") to fit them. I found a Frigidaire 7 cu. ft. model that (just barely) accomodates a half. I'm a big guy, but it's still a real b*tch hefting a full keg into this thing, and I wouldn't be able to do it at all if my collar weren't hinged.

 

[vonZwicky]

I have a friend willing to lift heavy stuff for beer. Plus i'm going to have the keezer in my garage so if i back the truck in i'll be lifting it from the tailgate to the keezer...

+1 if you can back a truck up to your keezer, and you have a strong helper monkey. One day, when I have my complete man cave, I'll have a pulley system rigged up just for this task.

 

[Guntr]

Beastmaster, I think Jaysus was thinking specifically of how heavy 1/2's are, how you will lift them to get them up and into the freezer...

My idea for this is part of the reason I put my Keezer on wheels. I'll put a block and tackle or small chain-fall in my laundry room. Roll the Keezer into the laundry room, hoist up the 1/2, and roll the Keezer under and lower it inside then roll it back.

Also for ideas on converting Ball-Lock to Sanke I thought I saw someone that had put Ball-Lock posts on the gas in/out of a Sanke tap. This seemed like the fastest conversion simply move your Ball-Lock disconnects from the Corney to the Sanke tap, no unscrewing at all.

 

[BeastMaster]

I'm using the Oster for the fridge. I got the tap and parts out of an old fridge my brother and I put together years ago, given that my shank was like 4-5inches long, I built the draft tower out of PVC parts.

You can also see the tap handles my wife picked up from Schlafly for $5 a pop that went to charity!

Thats a killer deal for the tap handles. I tried emailing them to see if they would give/sell me one but got no response. Schlafly is one of my favorite micro's but I cant really get it out here. I'll have to talk to some local bar owners the next time im in Southern IL.

 

[TheSultan]

Hey Guys here is my kegerator. I tore it down to the bones, had the bright work re-chromed, and installed a custom drip tray that I designed and my dad's buddy made for me out of stainless. I have a sprayer in the drip tray that washes out the beer drips. I painted it in 56 Chevy Sierra Gold and Adobe White. I have more pics on my website www.maltedbarley.org. I have rolled around the idea of doing more. It gets a little expensive doing it right.

That is truly impressive! Did you replace the cooling system or are you using the old one? If you did replace it, how did you do that? The reason for asking is that I guess the old cooling system is quite noisy, unreliable and unefficient.

Cheers,
Mattias

 

[Eric_Leifermann]

Here's mine just finished it today. Avanti 5.0 cubic ft mini fridge.

 

[92greenyj]

here is my Keezer. 8 tap. Cherry Wood collar. home built CO2 distribution system. Ranco controller but it died so I am gonna replace it with a LOVE controller

 

[J_Homebrew]

That is truly impressive! Did you replace the cooling system or are you using the old one? If you did replace it, how did you do that? The reason for asking is that I guess the old cooling system is quite noisy, unreliable and unefficient.

Cheers,
Mattias

Actually the 1950's systems were more efficient than a modern fridge because they did not have defrosters. In my experience they are also quieter, but that can vary from model to model. In most cases if they made the the first 60 years they can make it another. The only thing that would ever need to be replaced is the compressor. This is not a big deal for an HVAC guy. Not something your average home owner would want to attempt however. Also for this fridge (and any that I would restore for someone else) I completely did a ground up restoration that included new insulation. I am really not sure what the R value of older insulation is. This is one reason to have someone like myself or Craig Jones restore your kegerator as opposed to people who just paint the old fridge. But then again you probably save a ton if you just paint it. I just depends on what you want when you're all done I guess.

 

[J_Homebrew]

Hey Guys,
A few people have asked about my drip tray.

. http://www.maltedbarley.org/2010/06/drip-tray.html

If anyone is interested they can e-mail me at my website www.maltedbarley.org. The guy who made mine is willing to make more and I will be fielding his requests. Also can anyone point me to the forum rules/process for becoming a seller? I know you have to register or something but I haven't found anything so far using the search. Thanks!

 

[GillandCo]

Well, when I'm brewing in the garage, I got tired of having to go all the way into the downstairs room (20 feet) to get a beer from Keezer Soze, so I built this little guy from a free Craigslist freezer I scored that I'd planned on turning into a fermentation chamber:

Three taps here, five in the house. What was I thinking?!

Where did you get those little nug ball tap handles?

 

[Burgs]

Not sure where he got them, but Midwest has them:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/round-faucet-knob.html

 

[KCBrewer]

I had to move the holes in the lid of my kegerator due to moving the co2 tanks to the outside, which was going to leave some open holes in the lid, so I picked up a piece of plexiglass to replace the inner lid and drill the new holes where I wanted them. I was planning to spray paint the inside of the plexiglass anyway, so I thought I'd personalize it a little while I had it apart. I had swmbo freehand the writing on for me, then just cut the letters out of the plastic protective cover on the plexi, sprayed the letters in black, then peeled the rest of the plastic off and sprayed the whole thing yellow.

Not perfect by far. If I had been going for perfection I would have picked up some stick on lettering to use as stencils, but it was a last minute idea, and being on the inside of the keezer I wasn't really worried about it being perfect.

It has a nice shiny look in person, almost looks like it's real glass.

The old lid. The ribbed top made it hard to seal my fittings too, and was going to have open holes left after I moved/widened my openings, so it went bye bye.

 

[BrewDrew]

Hey Shonuff clear your PM's I need to talk about how you built the Magic Chef 5.3.

I just got it free and would love to pick your brain!

 

[UofMontanaAlum]

I used a white, 5 year old, 18cuft Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator. I painted it black, connected the freezer and fridge doors together with a steel pin and added a custom handle to the door. The kegerator kit came from Keg Connection and is a 2 tap, dual body regulator, ball lock kit. I'm going to add two additional taps in the future. Waiting on the drip tray from barproducts.com. I am happy with how it turned out. :rockin:

Exterior:

Interior:

Menu:

Handle and taps:

 

[GillandCo]

Damn Montana I may have to paint my keezer Black now....I also like the menus of what each tap is serving, This would be a nice upgraid to the ghetto white dry erase im using. Well done

Post another pic once the drip tray is installed so we can see the final results.

 

[Jaysus]

I'm going to add two additional taps in the future.

What's the plan for two more kegs? Build a shelf, and ditch the bottle storage?


I am in a similar boat with mine.... I've got room for a 3rd keg, but am a fan of the bottle storage on the top shelf.

 

[GillandCo]

I built a wooden shelf in mine and can store four kegs with room for bottles underneath...Plus i have the side storage. It got to be a pain with no room to get the kegs in and out, and sweating to connect and disconnect if needed.

 

[J_Homebrew]

I used a white, 5 year old, 18cuft Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator. I painted it black, connected the freezer and fridge doors together with a steel pin and added a custom handle to the door. The kegerator kit came from Keg Connection and is a 2 tap, dual body regulator, ball lock kit. I'm going to add two additional taps in the future. Waiting on the drip tray from barproducts.com. I am happy with how it turned out. :rockin:

Very nice. I like the custom stainless menu. How did you do your graphic? Is it vinyl lettering?

 

[BBBF]

I used a white, 5 year old, 18cuft Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator. I painted it black, connected the freezer and fridge doors together with a steel pin and added a custom handle to the door. The kegerator kit came from Keg Connection and is a 2 tap, dual body regulator, ball lock kit. I'm going to add two additional taps in the future. Waiting on the drip tray from barproducts.com. I am happy with how it turned out. :rockin:

Love the handle. I'm using a top freezer fridge on mine and I wish I thought of doing something like that.

 

[gicts]

I guess I never posted my simple mini fridge. I'm searching for inspiration for another



https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-frigidaire-mini-fridge-build-156337/

 

[UofMontanaAlum]

Damn Montana I may have to paint my keezer Black now....I also like the menus of what each tap is serving, This would be a nice upgraid to the ghetto white dry erase im using. Well done. Post another pic once the drip tray is installed so we can see the final results.

Thanks for the compliment. Painting was easy - sand the surface and paint using lots of light coats until the white no longer shows through. Several people have said that they can't believe it didn't come from the factory black.

What's the plan for two more kegs? Build a shelf, and ditch the bottle storage? I am in a similar boat with mine.... I've got room for a 3rd keg, but am a fan of the bottle storage on the top shelf.

I'm planning a shelf that is level with the compressor hump. I will lose bottle storage on the shelves but I am currently looking for a 5-10 cuft black mini fridge for bottles.

Very nice. I like the custom stainless menu. How did you do your graphic? Is it vinyl lettering?

I designed the graphic in Photoshop and took it to Sign-A-Rama for printing. They printed it on heavy outdoor vinyl. The plastic sleeves are name-badge holders that I used strong double side tape to attach to the vinyl. I print each beer tag on photo paper and slip them in the holders.

Love the handle. I'm using a top freezer fridge on mine and I wish I thought of doing something like that.

Thanks. The handle is my favorite part of the finished product. Turned out better than I thought it would.

 

[Mordecai]

I scored these behemoths from craigslist for $100 each. :rockin:

The first is a 1950's Admiral chest freezer. This thing is massive, in pristine condition on the inside and runs great. The outside needs a little TLC, and maybe a chrome collar instead of wood. I am the third owner (2nd owner had it for about a year) and can't wait to get this project started!

The second is a custom built 125 bottle wine chiller that looks to be made of solid oak...and weighs 11ty billion pounds! Right now I'm thinking of using as a temporary fermentation chamber, long term would be bottle storage. I'm also toying with the idea of turning one section into a humidor...just a thought.

 

[GillandCo]

A Humidor? Your going to put some horticultural plants in there or what?

All jokes aside those things are F*in sweet...Just take precaution with lights shining through the glass, but im sure you already thought things through....Post pics of the keezer build on another thread or the final here.

I love the looks of the old fridge's, You guys put mine to shame...Lucky for me it doesnt make the beer taste any better, but my BMC drinker friends would beg to differ...I would to If i had a set up like some of you.

Unfortunately my pockets aren't that deep and the extra money I do have is on brewing beer.

You could give those things to me, I'd pay to ship that wood beast..."11ty billion pounds!" shouldn't cost that much right?

Nice find

 

[Mordecai]

A Humidor? Your going to put some horticultural plants in there or what?

Nah just some cigars if I go that route. It would take a little creative thinking due to the different temp/humidity needs, but seems doable.

If nothing else that thing'll give me an excuse to make some wine.

Good point about the glass, I hadn't thought about that. A buddy of mine just started a tint shop, looks like I'll be giving him a call.

 

[GillandCo]

Or you could go the ghetto route and throw a black sheet over it, Or just over the carboys themselves.

It look's a little nice for that especially if its going to be in the house. If your buddy hooks it up, get that thing Limo tinted before you throw your precious Liquid Gold in it.

Show the results on "show us your fermentation Chamber".

Peace

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

Love those tap handles 92...

 

[92greenyj]

Love those tap handles 92...

thanks. I actually just finished them. Theres a build thread in the DIY forum on them:rockin:

 

[Burgs]

With the help of some good buddies, we finally finished this on Tuesday:

Cheers!

 

[twelvebeer]

Well, it only took me 3 days to read this. I cant wait to make my own!