Nice DIY thread - Show me your Kegerator Conversion! ! !

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Don2222

Minister of Fire
Feb 1, 2010
9,110
Salem NH
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Kegging setup for 200$+ and then fridge for another couple hundred. I hate bottling. I have 5 gallons of homebrew to bottle as soon as I clean the bottles and care to bust out the whole operation. Can't wait to start kegging and skipping all of that. I am actually considering the very small chest fridge setup.
 
I don't home brew but I do enjoy some nice cold draft beer at home.
Here is my fridge conversion
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**Trying to figure out a way to get a wine chiller out to the garden**
 
**Trying to figure out a way to get a wine chiller out to the garden**
A nice garden shed would would be a great place for a wine chiller!
 
(NEWSER) – Beer truly is the cause of (and solution to) all of life's problems. Or at least this problem: An Aussie telecom company investigating the cause of network blackouts near Melbourne tracked the disturbance to ... a bloke's beer fridge. Technicians believe electric sparks emitted from the fridge's motor generated enough radio frequency noise to knock out the cellphone network across several neighborhoods, reports the Herald Sun.
Engineers say they used "software robots" and "Mr Yagi" antennas to pinpoint the problem to a garage in the town of Wangaratta, where they IDed the fridge as the culprit. "I'm amazed something like that could knock out part of the network," says fridge owner Craig Reynolds, who poses for the paper in front of a Carlton Draught-stocked fridge. NPRnotes that Slashdot is asking the million-dollar question: Assuming Reynolds had to unplug the fridge, how's he keeping his beer cold now?
 
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I keep telling everyone those celly phones are nothing but trouble, making a bloke go without cold beer is inhuman.
 
Oooh awesome thread!

I'll have to clean up my garage so I can take a picture or 2 of my 6 tap keezer!
It got buried due to a couple surprise projects but I can still reach the tap handles at least.

Thanks for reminding me that I have 2 batches of beer to brew.
 
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We bottled the beer two nights ago. Sad day. I was wishing that I could be siphoning right into a corny keg and turning on the gas. So much less cleaning, so much faster to carbonate. Soon. Soon.
 
We bottled the beer two nights ago. Sad day. I was wishing that I could be siphoning right into a corny keg and turning on the gas. So much less cleaning, so much faster to carbonate. Soon. Soon.

Now don't go rushing Artisanal projects.
 
Happened to find a Kenmore Elite fridge on craigslist... in a wonderful 'bisque' color. So I stripped it down, repainted with Rustoleum 'Hammered' Black, then started drilling holes for taps! It's stuffed in an unfinished corner of the basement right now...waiting on me to finish the rest of the party room.

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On the freezer side, ice and filtered water through the door, plus chilled, gravity feed Jägermeister tap. Plenty of room inside for several chilled vodka's and part of my stash of homegrown beef and lamb.

Refrigerator - Custom stainless shelf for four Cornelius kegs...or at least there would be if the person building the shelf (me) had thought to account for the metal thickness when building it…so I can only run 3 cornies right now – but a new, ¼” wider shelf is waiting for me to weld up. I can get about 14 bottles per door shelf, about 24 bottles per drawer or about 36 cans per drawer, plus 24 cans on the very top shelf and a 20 pack of Red Bull. So overall about 80 bottles and 80 cans of storage. I have one more slide-out drawer which should fit under the corny kegs... but again, somebody put the metal thickness on the wrong side of the equation... didn't think that 1/8 inch would matter, but apparently it does! Oh, and one more beer tap for the front door... to go in the drilled, but not yet filled, hole.
 
Happened to find a Kenmore Elite fridge on craigslist... in a wonderful 'bisque' color. So I stripped it down, repainted with Krylon 'Hammered' Black, then started drilling holes for taps! It's stuffed in an unfinished corner of the basement right now...waiting on me to finish the rest of the party room.

kego1_zps8a6774da.jpg


kego2_zps034728ee.jpg



On the freezer side, ice and filtered water through the door, plus chilled, gravity feed Jägermeister tap. Plenty of room inside for several chilled vodka's and part of my stash of homegrown beef and lamb.

Refrigerator - Custom stainless shelf for four Cornelius kegs...or at least there would be if the person building the shelf (me) had thought to account for the metal thickness when building it…so I can only run 3 cornies right now – but a new, ¼” wider shelf is waiting for me to weld up. I can get about 14 bottles per door shelf, about 24 bottles per drawer or about 36 cans per drawer, plus 24 cans on the very top shelf and a 20 pack of Red Bull. So overall about 80 bottles and 80 cans of storage. I have one more slide-out drawer which should fit under the corny kegs... but again, somebody put the metal thickness on the wrong side of the equation... didn't think that 1/8 inch would matter, but apparently it does! Oh, and one more beer tap for the front door... to go in the drilled, but not yet filled, hole.


Very Nice!
 
Was into the kegging but just didn't follow through, my booze making followed down the line of a VM rig but that is for another thread =) Just curious, I don't even know what I paid but I have 6 coke corny kegs, two 5lb bottles of CO2, with one regulator which can charge 2 kegs, what its this worth in this day and age? I am in PEI if anyone wants to send some offers my way =)
 
200 dollars for new setup of the full 5# bottle, regulator, single corny. Used, half price if in perfect condition.

Cornies, if I recall, fetch 35$ each. 5# co2 gas bottles can be bought at harbor freight.
 
Nice thread.

I used to home brew way back in my college days, but gave it up - too much time required & it was easier to bring home from the store & not go through all the bottling hassles. This kegerator thing has been in the back of my mind for a while now though - so keep the info & pics coming.

I haven't done much researching of it yet though - what are the key requirements in a fridge? Our kitchen fridge should be replaced any time now - not sure it would do for this though. It's just a plain traditional 18 year old Kenmore over/under.

Morgan, you're close enough that you've got me thinking this again - thanks. I'm sure my wife would say that too.

:p
 
My setup is the same as gmule's 'cept my fridge is a might bit bigger. I can hold two half barrels and several cases of beer...On the bottom shelf.==c

(its a big stainless sucker from a TGI Fridays. Still has the stickers on the inside of the door for what kind of steaks should be on what shelf);lol
 
When I bought my DIY "convert your fridge to a kegerator kit" about 10 years I believe it was was under $200 with some upgraded stuff and a dip tray. Luckily the kit I bought back then I was able to use all of the parts on my keezer except the drip tray.

5# co2 gas bottles can be bought at harbor freight.
One thing I like to tell people is to skip getting a CO2 tank in a kit. Instead go to your local welding supply store and get on their tank rental program.

When I bought my original kit it included a brand new fancy shiny aluminum CO2. Then I took it to get filled and I was told it could take a week to fill and get the same tank back or I could get on their rental program and get a full tank within minutes. I said screw that because I didn't want to wait that long so I handed my tank over and got on the exchange program.
 
When I bought my DIY "convert your fridge to a kegerator kit" about 10 years I believe it was was under $200 with some upgraded stuff and a dip tray. Luckily the kit I bought back then I was able to use all of the parts on my keezer except the drip tray.


One thing I like to tell people is to skip getting a CO2 tank in a kit. Instead go to your local welding supply store and get on their tank rental program.

When I bought my original kit it included a brand new fancy shiny aluminum CO2. Then I took it to get filled and I was told it could take a week to fill and get the same tank back or I could get on their rental program and get a full tank within minutes. I said screw that because I didn't want to wait that long so I handed my tank over and got on the exchange program.


I get mine refilled at the home brew shop or the local growers shops. They charge me 8.00 to fill my 5# bottle while I wait.
 
When you go looking for the co2 tank and regulator on craigslist you will soon find that the pot heads use this same equipment to grow their dope. Seems the co2 rich environment encourages growth. That's fine but just be sure that the equipment will work for beer too.
 
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