Show us your Kegerator

[cyberbackpacker]

There have been others that voiced similar concerns to yours, and if you peruse this site enough you will see some people have gone to the effort of adding insulation to their wood collars to rectify this problem.

It all depends on priorities. For some people it is not worth the effort/cost, and others it is.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

Good to know. I'll do some more perusing around these forums then. They are quite vast, and its easy to get lost on various tangents.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

That is for sure... there is tons of information. I often find myself coming on here to look for one specific bit of information and getting pulled in two or three other directions!

 

[TomSD]

Yea, I realize the cold air sinks to the bottom, but I also know some people (and me, if I ever make one of these) put little computer fans in there to circulate the air. It makes sense that your faucets are much colder than the collar, but the fact that the collar is cool at all indicates heat transfer. Me, I'm a mechanical engineer so I really geek out about this sort of stuff and always try to maximize mechanical efficiency, just for fun. In this case, mechanical efficiency = thermal efficiency, and that collar just looks like a big ol' black hole of heat loss (to me). I'm not bashing anyone's build at all, b/c obviously this works and works great for many. I'm just doing some pondering and was wondering if any had done some pondering along these same lines before.

A layer of insulation makes a huge difference with the collar. As for the taps they are like a heat sink (cold sink in this case, lol) since there is a shank sticking into the cooler and a big metal tap sticking out but there isn't all that much you can do about it.

 

[adamziegler]

Yea, I realize the cold air sinks to the bottom, but I also know some people (and me, if I ever make one of these) put little computer fans in there to circulate the air. It makes sense that your faucets are much colder than the collar, but the fact that the collar is cool at all indicates heat transfer. Me, I'm a mechanical engineer so I really geek out about this sort of stuff and always try to maximize mechanical efficiency, just for fun. In this case, mechanical efficiency = thermal efficiency, and that collar just looks like a big ol' black hole of heat loss (to me). I'm not bashing anyone's build at all, b/c obviously this works and works great for many. I'm just doing some pondering and was wondering if any had done some pondering along these same lines before.

Implying that the wood was cold was probably an overstatement. I cant tell the difference between the temp of the side of my freezer and the outside of the wood collar.

While I am not specifically mech-e, I am a professional engineer with experience in thermodynamics. I too pondered this when putting my kegerator together. A softwood 2x8 could have an R value over 2 per inch. Foam insulation is obviously higher than this. Assuming that you have everything sealed up properly, energy cost savings over the life of the kegerator compared to the extra cost / effort of adding insulation is something that could easily go either direction.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

A layer of insulation makes a huge difference with the collar. As for the taps they are like a heat sink (cold sink in this case, lol) since there is a shank sticking into the cooler and a big metal tap sticking out but there isn't all that much you can do about it.

Yea, I realize the taps are a 'lost cause' any way you go, unless you get them made out of some exotic material: but this would be at the cost of potentially affecting the beer taste! My feelings are such that the wetted surface of the taps compared to the walls+collar is small enough that the heat loss is minimal.

Implying that the wood was cold was probably an overstatement. I cant tell the difference between the temp of the side of my freezer and the outside of the wood collar.

While I am not specifically mech-e, I am a professional engineer with experience in thermodynamics. I too pondered this when putting my kegerator together. A softwood 2x8 could have an R value over 2 per inch. Foam insulation is obviously higher than this. Assuming that you have everything sealed up properly, energy cost savings over the life of the kegerator compared to the extra cost / effort of adding insulation is something that could easily go either direction.

I see what you mean about the cost going either way. Well, I can definitely see myself doing some quick calculations when I get around to a build: estimate coeff. of heat transfer for the wood/freezer wall, take the difference over the course of a year, compare to energy costs. If the costs of extra insulation etc doesn't result in a simple payback period of, say, less than 1 (maybe 2) years, I'll mark that as 'not worth it'. This is how I decided that purchasing one of these was actually worthwhile, as the payback period in beer savings is roughly 9 months for me. Yay math!

 

[idahoDal]

http://www.bonemopbrewing.com -- been meaning to throw this up with the pics of my keezer for awhile now. The tap handles were hand made from stainless steel pipe and welding wire by my father. They're welded on the back, then ground down on the front to make them convex, then polished and shined.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

http://www.bonemopbrewing.com -- been meaning to throw this up with the pics of my keezer for awhile now. The tap handles were hand made from stainless steel pipe and welding wire by my father. They're welded on the back, then ground down on the front to make them convex, then polished and shined.

I tried three times this past year to make homemade mozz and failed miserable each time. I think it was my milk. What kind of milk did you use?

 

[mcwarhammer]

http://www.bonemopbrewing.com -- been meaning to throw this up with the pics of my keezer for awhile now. The tap handles were hand made from stainless steel pipe and welding wire by my father. They're welded on the back, then ground down on the front to make them convex, then polished and shined.

those tap handles are awesome! I'm jealous

 

[Quaffer]

A layer of insulation makes a huge difference with the collar. As for the taps they are like a heat sink (cold sink in this case, lol) since there is a shank sticking into the cooler and a big metal tap sticking out but there isn't all that much you can do about it.

Shorter shanks. Mine protrude 1/2" beyond the insulation. However in this case it may be desirable to keep the taps cold to reduce foaming. I could go either way on this one, but the shorter shanks help getting kegs in and out with a collar-on-body keezer.

 

[Quaffer]

That is for sure... there is tons of information.

Tons of information and tons of opinions. The hardest part is to tell which is which.

 

[rodd]

those tap handles are awesome! I'm jealous

+1. very cool.

 

[Quaffer]

http://www.bonemopbrewing.com -- been meaning to throw this up with the pics of my keezer for awhile now. The tap handles were hand made from stainless steel pipe and welding wire by my father. They're welded on the back, then ground down on the front to make them convex, then polished and shined.

Those tap handles are the best handmade ones I have ever seen! Outstanding! Like stainless jewelry. I still wonder how he did the rope around the round pieces. It is probably no coincidence that you have one of the shiniest kegs I've seen too.

 

[1990dtgl98]

I'd put some sort of cover the back wiring though. Keezers even mine with a fan and damprid in it are notorious for having condensation issues and that wont mix well with electricity.

I talked with Dwyer a bit about it, and the Love controllers are meant to work in a range of conditions. The guy basically said that a fridge setting shouldn't warrant any issues with condensation causing shorts/rust. I guess the controller circuit panel is coated. Personally, I can't see enough condensation forming to cause a short on the back exposed terminals.

That being said, I will probably coat each terminal with liquid electrical tape (since covering it with a box inside the freezer will be worse IMO since you probably wont get a perfect seal with various size wiring coming in/out of the controller).

Plus, since you have the collar attached to the body and not the lid, you could end up banging it with kegs.

Possible, but for me I doubt it. One of the benefits of loading trailers for UPS for a living. One 50lb keg is cake compared to 1600 boxes of 60lb anvil metal parts a night.

I've often wondered at what effect the wood collar has on the insulation of these things. I would imagine that heat would permeate through the wood a lot easier than through the insulation in the walls of the original freezer. For example, I would expect that looking through some thermal goggles at a running unit would show a major cold spot at the collar, as it would not be as insulated from the inside as the rest of the freezer. Is this addressed somehow in your guys' mods?

As everyone else said, easier, yes, but not a huge issue. Wood I believe has an R-value of 1 per inch. Foam has an r-value of 3, roughly. Even if the freezer is newer (say an inch of foam sandwiched between plastic and metal, that means a 2" pine collar (or other soft wood), still has 2/3rds the insulating capacity of the freezer itself. Add some thin foam and the difference will be negligable.

FWIW, my electric bill is normally around 58 dollars (gas heat, water, range, dryer, etc). After hooking up the kegerator (12v fan included), my bill was 62 bucks. That difference could be anything really. Pretty much no difference with a 9 +/- cu/ft freezer with a hardwood (which lowers the R-value) collar and cheap (=crappy) foam insulation I had lying around.

There have been others that voiced similar concerns to yours, and if you peruse this site enough you will see some people have gone to the effort of adding insulation to their wood collars to rectify this problem.

It all depends on priorities. For some people it is not worth the effort/cost, and others it is.

http://www.bonemopbrewing.com -- been meaning to throw this up with the pics of my keezer for awhile now. The tap handles were hand made from stainless steel pipe and welding wire by my father. They're welded on the back, then ground down on the front to make them convex, then polished and shined.

So, ummmm.....he should start making and selling them on a larger scale. I'd buy 2 in a heartbeat.

Those are ridiculously cool. People that can make art from metal never cease to amaze me. I can make pretty much anything out of wood, and make it well; but could never do anything with metal that looked remotely close to good.

Shorter shanks. Mine protrude 1/2" beyond the insulation. However in this case it may be desirable to keep the taps cold to reduce foaming. I could go either way on this one, but the shorter shanks help getting kegs in and out with a collar-on-body keezer.

Not sure on that. I don't see the extra inch or 2 contributing a lot to thermal mass that makes a huge difference in foam issues or whatnot. Now, I do think thicker collars will make a difference. They may insulate better, but if you don't allow some "breathing" room with the shank/collar fit, then 2-3" of wood means 2-3" where the shank is at room temp, or at least noticeably warmer than the freezer itself.

Doing some tests, for me, the shortest shank possible as well as a 1" (not 7/8") gave me the lowest amount of foam. I think having that air gap, which basically surrounded the whole shank to the faucet with cold air, helped.

I ran 22psi in 8' lines for my hefe with a 3" shank and got maybe 40% foam on my first pour, and the perfect amount every glass after (so long as it was within a 30-40 min window from the previous pour).

 

[BrokenDog]

Subscribed. I just got a holiday bonus so I will be shopping around for my kegging and kegerator setup this week.

 

[stbyrd]

Take a keg to a party... it holds one 5 gal cornelius keg and 2 bags of ice. works off a CO2 cartridges for Portable Cornelius Keg Charger

 

[Flomaster]

needs to be painted to look like R2D2


-=Jason=-

 

[mrjoshida]

needs to be painted to look like R2D2

You mean like this? (though mine only holds a 3gal corny)

 

[BlackHillsBrewing]

That is really way to great... good job.. How big is the keg on inside.. I'd like to get one to fit a 5 gal korny../?// Any Ideas!

 

[TwoWheeler]

needs to be painted to look like R2D2-=Jason=-

Damn you - got there ahead of me!

 

[twardnw]

well, after much drooling my way through this thread, here's my little contribution.

Parents were nice enough to give me the fridge last year, and it has served well for storing bottles, but since SWMBO got me my first pieces of keg/tap equipment, it was a quick conversion Material on the inside of the door is masonite w/ a dry-erase surface.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Here's my kegerator after almost 1 year. It now has some personality and a couple of tappers courtesy of a couple of buddies of mine at two different bars. The Moose Drool tapper is in storage at the moment.

On tap are Sven's Oatmeal Stout and Badger Red Ale.

 

[Jaysus]

Here's my kegerator after almost 1 year. It now has some personality and a couple of tappers courtesy of a couple of buddies of mine at two different bars. The Moose Drool tapper is in storage at the moment.

On tap are Sven's Oatmeal Stout and Badger Red Ale.

I love the straightedge sticker on the kegerator!

 

[MeatyPortion]

I love the straightedge sticker on the kegerator!

LOL yeah, I put that on today and couldn't help but laugh.

 

[PleasantValleyHops]

has to have its own circuit

the large collar is solid spray insulation.. and the tower is as well.. not the best looking thing but as you can see looks like its in a dungeon.. no one ever sees it besides me..

 

[Flomaster]

dcarroll86, are you running a Glycol system is that what the copper tube is for?

-=Jason=-

 

[PleasantValleyHops]

dcarroll86, are you running a Glycol system is that what the copper tube is for?

-=Jason=-

exactly! that was a pre filled shot of the tower..

 

[Flomaster]

exactly! that was a pre filled shot of the tower..

do you have a small bucket with submersible pump in there, and any more insulation besides that thin white stuff in the photo.

my towers came with Glycol setup but I hadn't planned on using it since the towers are mounted directly on top of my keezer.

I guess I'll install the glycol tubing anyways and insulate just in case I want to hook up a glycol system should my towers need cooling

-=Jason=-

 

[PleasantValleyHops]

do you have a small bucket with submersible pump in there, and any more insulation besides that thin white stuff in the photo.

my towers came with Glycol setup but I hadn't planned on using it since the towers are mounted directly on top of my keezer.

I guess I'll install the glycol tubing anyways and insulate just in case I want to hook up a glycol system should my towers need cooling

-=Jason=-

i have a perlick 8 gallon glycol unit.. works fanastic, pouring beers at 36 degrees with a 25' draw. (middle of summer) the tower was originally for aircooled.. the copper of course goes up the tower, wraps tight around both product tubes, then i have aluminum tape around all that to help with conducting the cold acting almost like a cold plate. after the tape i filled with spray foam. ill hunt for pictures. it took me a year to do the set up and around $2000 and i got the glycol unit for free($2500 commercial unit), i do construction and i demoed a rest. and got it that way.. just a little expensive to run. around $50 a month extra on the electric bill.. but worth it since my basement isnt finished for mancave action yet.. i have a very loving wife!! not sure if this helps or if i just mumbled on too long.. thanks for reading..

and thats what the inside of the collar looks like before the top went on.. more insulation value then the freezer itself...

 

[bruguru]

Been working on this since August, just had to find the time to get it done. Pulled off the inside door, pulled out the old fiber glass. Got a sheet of insulation, and the back of the sheet was covered with foil. I thought I'd keep that theme going, and filled the cracks and corners with great stuff insulation foam for large gaps. Then I trimmed it, and covered it with foil tape. I left some negative room in the door incase I have somthing large going in there. This is a 5 tap kegerator, but I only have 2 now, and just a co2 injector for pressure. (I havn't been able to find a gas supply near by, but i'm still looking). Kegs are Naturally carbed, so it's not a problem right now. The great thing about this is that I have it set at 38 degrees with the Johnson thermostat, and it only kicks on about ever hour, and only for about 15 minutes. I don't know if because it's an old stand up that's it's so well insulated, or the coils being bent, but it works fantastic. A little appliance paint, and it looks like a million bucks. Got this for free off of Craigs list. Toughest thing about this build was getting the damn gasket on right, Ha ha. That took forever, but works like a champ now.