Taps inside the fridge ?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

brewman !

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
2,131
Reaction score
236
I'm setting up a fridge for serving beer from 6 Corny kegs. I don't want to buy through door taps and I don't want to lose storage space in the door to taps.

What are my options for mounting taps inside the fridge ? Ie, I want to open the fridge door to serve my beer.

Is anyone else mounting their taps inside the fridge ?
 
Some folks on a tight budget use picnic taps inside their fridge.
Just be sure they aren't opened accidently when the door is closed, it's happened!
I'm doing this now on my current fridge, because I didn't want to ruin it with holes in the door. And yes, I've accidentally sprayed beer with the picnic taps.
 
Torpedo stainless steel handheld beer faucet at www.morebeer.com

1637763144026.png
 
fwiw, an HBT member posted a pic of a board mounted up high in the food compartment with his faucets run through on short shanks on the end opposite the door hinges. So the faucets were right there in front when the door was opened but there was still enough height for kegs...

Cheers!
 
I can see advantages to inside faucets:
1. No need for those vinyl caps to keep bugs out.
2. No mildew from condensation.
3. Faucets stay cold for less foaming.

Dealing with faucet drips might be an issue, though.
 
wiw, an HBT member posted a pic of a board mounted up high in the food compartment with his faucets run through on short shanks on the end opposite the door hinges. So the faucets were right there in front when the door was opened but there was still enough height for kegs...

This is exactly what I am going to do. I'm going to test the concept with picnic taps first, to make sure I don't mind opening the door to pour.
 
I have a bank of 6 mini refrigerators. Currently 3 of them are set up with 6 kegs on tap. The others are set up for fermenting or beer bottle storage. Each has its own digital temperature control. Works great!
 

Attachments

  • 1C0C0F54-04D6-4102-AADB-0412412AFECA.jpeg
    1C0C0F54-04D6-4102-AADB-0412412AFECA.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 68
  • 89EA2932-BF94-4598-B863-70B3DE695347.jpeg
    89EA2932-BF94-4598-B863-70B3DE695347.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 65
  • B9E4DA80-73B9-4ADE-A7D4-790AC570D152.jpeg
    B9E4DA80-73B9-4ADE-A7D4-790AC570D152.jpeg
    1.8 MB · Views: 64
I have a bank of 6 mini refrigerators. Currently 3 of them are set up with 6 kegs on tap. The others are set up for fermenting or beer bottle storage. Each has its own digital temperature control. Works great!
nice setup!
the compensator taps are really useful, and direct connection to the keg means no beer lines to worry about
 
Of course, if a put the gas bottle to the outside I can keep four 5gal keg inside. But for my purposes this is enough. I like the modularity and the possibility to change the setup any time when it is inside. That keep the faucets far from my kids 😉, and the possibility to repurpose the fridge easily.
 
Here is my fridge set up. It holds 6 kegs. CO2 tank will go on the outside. There is a pull out freezer drawer on the bottom and lots of shelf space in the door.

20211206_152955.jpg



A better view of the keg tops. 6 kegs.

I put the plywood on the floor to make it perfectly level. My last fridge had an uneven floor and kegs would push against each other. If a front keg was empty the keg behind it would try to tip it over.
20211206_152853.jpg



The door has a lot of shelving in it, for storing brewing supplies like hops and yeasts. Or mugs.
20211206_154121.jpg



The info plate from my fridge, in case anyone is interested.
20211206_154114.jpg
 
Last edited:
Here is my fridge set up. It holds 6 kegs. CO2 tank will go on the outside. There is a pull out freezer drawer on the bottom and lots of shelf space in the door.

View attachment 751552


A better view of the keg tops. 6 kegs.

I put the plywood on the floor to make it perfectly level. My last fridge had an uneven floor and kegs would push against each other. If a front keg was empty the keg behind it would try to tip it over.
View attachment 751553


The door has a lot of shelving in it, for storing brewing supplies like hops and yeasts. Or mugs.
View attachment 751554


The info plate from my fridge, in case anyone is interested.
View attachment 751555
Could you mount a 2x4(or 6?) across the top just above the kegs and install the shanks there? (not sure if I explained that well...)
 
Could you mount a 2x4(or 6?) across the top just above the kegs and install the shanks there? (not sure if I explained that well...)

Yes, I'm thinking of doing something like that. Gotta say though that I'm jealous of the "just fridges" in this thread that don't have freezers and then have so much room above the kegs to have a complete pouring surface.

This will probably be an iterative effort. I'll share what I come up with as I do along.
 
I got tired of people dropping the picnic faucet so I designed a holder for it. You can screwe it to the rubber on the corny keg or stick it to the side os the fridge with the magnet inside of it. Im looking for solutions to hang it inside the fridge (velcro, suction cup?)
20220622_112907.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 20220622_112907.jpg
    20220622_112907.jpg
    816.8 KB · Views: 0
  • Screenshot_20220718-194608_Brave.jpg
    Screenshot_20220718-194608_Brave.jpg
    340.4 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220622_095713.jpg
    20220622_095713.jpg
    806.9 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220622_095944.jpg
    20220622_095944.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 0
  • 20220622_095952.jpg
    20220622_095952.jpg
    917.7 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220622_095713.jpg
    20220622_095713.jpg
    806.9 KB · Views: 0
  • Screenshot_20220718-194608_Brave.jpg
    Screenshot_20220718-194608_Brave.jpg
    340.4 KB · Views: 0
I have spent several hours over the past few days reading everything I can find related to keeping taps inside the refrigerated compartment and also the various devices for flow-control when using taps direct-connected to kegs. Thanks to the folks that have posted pics of their various setups.

Everyone is different and has their own reasoning on whether they want beautifully displayed faucets in a pub like setting or to keep faucets concealed. I want faucets out of sight which incidentially gives me the bonus of keeping them cold, protected from insects and disturbance. (How many of you with beautifully displayed faucets get the "Hey, buddy - cool setup ... what kinda' beer ya' gonna' pour me?! Har-har" comment from like workman or other visitors to the house?) Anyway, I'm also motivated to keep faucets direct-connected to the kegs which eliminates the issue of lines.

So related to this thread, for folks that want taps inside the refrigerated compartment why not just go direct-connected to the keg? If you could make it work with any of the flow-control devices on the market, why have hidden taps that are still using plastic supply lines? Are you thinking you can't get the flow-control you want with anything other than plastic lines ... or maybe you prefer the cool-factor of several nicely mounted taps being visible *after* the fridge door is opened? Just curious -
 
Last edited:
Yes, I'm thinking of doing something like that. Gotta say though that I'm jealous of the "just fridges" in this thread that don't have freezers and then have so much room above the kegs to have a complete pouring surface.
Yep - for years we have wanted for ordinary use in the house a full-sized "fridge only" unit ... but oh boy are they expensive. They wouldn't cost any more to make, they would actually be less expensive to make, but understanding they're a speciality item vendors crank the prices way up there
 
Even though I have a temp controlled freezer and could fit exterior faucets I still prefer the simplicity of keeping the tap/dispenser inside (and cold).
My preference is the tried and test Pluto Gun and I attached that to a short (my preference under 3 ft) of beer line to a Kegland flow control post.
With this set up I can pour the perfect beer no matter what type/pressure plus very easy to strip/clean all the parts
 

Attachments

  • mini_IMG_0296.jpg
    mini_IMG_0296.jpg
    44.4 KB · Views: 0
Back
Top