Ahb Articles: Kegerator

[kingfish38]

hi all

new to this site but am looking for some help

ive brewed for years in bottles and approx two years ago went to 50L kegs
problem that i have is my fridge blew up over xmass so now im thinking of getting a Kegerator , anyone have any ideas brand type ETC or no of any reasons not to get one ?


look forward to the reasopnse



cheers

 

[sidearm]

i've got a keg king kegerator. If i were to get another, i would make one from an old freezer. It'll be cheaper and better. The KK kegerator only ever goes down to about 8 deg C even though you set it to 0C. I'm thinking of putting a fan in there to circulate the air a bit more and see how that goes.
Hope that helps.

 

[lukec]

i've got a keg king kegerator. If i were to get another, i would make one from an old freezer. It'll be cheaper and better. The KK kegerator only ever goes down to about 8 deg C even though you set it to 0C. I'm thinking of putting a fan in there to circulate the air a bit more and see how that goes.
Hope that helps.

What series kegerator do you have

 

[brettprevans]

welcome kingfish to AHB

unfortunately this is not an article. its a question that should be in the gear and equipment thread.

Ill ask a mod to move

chest freezers are a good option to consider although you are using 50L kegs which gets a bit tiresome lugging them over the side of the chest freezer.. there is a chest freezer conversion thread in my signature if your interested

edit:
there is a search function on the site that is useful. Ive done the search for kegerator for you. yo should all you need to know there. if not ask a question in an appropriate exsisting thread.

 

[sidearm]

Hi Lukec,
i got the series 3.

What series kegerator do you have

 

[Spiesy]

I have Keg King Kegerator too. I have the Series 3, 2011 model. Other than the fact that when I got mine, the beer hoses weren't properly attached to the taps (which resulted in sanitiser getting sprayed about my loungeroom), I've found it to be pretty good. It does look nice, although I have to agree that the 0 degrees setting doesn't get the beer as cold as it should (it does appear to be cooler than 8 degrees though, I'll have to double check).

 

[breakbeer]

Hi,

I recently read on here about some basic modifications that someone did to the temp controller inside their Kegerator, but now I can't find the topic. (I've tried the Search function)

My question is; Can you simply submerse the probe into a container of water or do you have to insulate it in some way? I'm just a bit cautious putting a mains wired probe into a glass of water & burning my house down.

Thanks

bb

 

[crd0902]

I'd like some info on this too as my kegerator wouldn't get colder than about 10 and the fella at the shop is ordering me a new one I hope the new works better. I like cold beer thanks or I would have converted a freezer. Should be here today. I'll keep you updated cheers Chris

 

[crd0902]

I believe mine is a brewcraft double tap kegerator but don't have a model number or anything

 

[Spiesy]

Hi,

I recently read on here about some basic modifications that someone did to the temp controller inside their Kegerator, but now I can't find the topic. (I've tried the Search function)

My question is; Can you simply submerse the probe into a container of water or do you have to insulate it in some way? I'm just a bit cautious putting a mains wired probe into a glass of water & burning my house down.

Thanks

bb

Hmm... that's what I've done... wouldn't it just short out, worst case scenario?

 

[gwb]

I got one of the Keg King kegerators before christmas. Same problem as above. Set to zero but actual temp was around six. Spoke to Kee of Keg King and he was kind enough to send me details of a simple mod to 'adjust' the sensor reading. Place a resistor in parallel. Worked for me.

See attched for details

View attachment Series_3_Temp_Modification.pdf

 

[lukec]

I got one of the Keg King kegerators before christmas. Same problem as above. Set to zero but actual temp was around six. Spoke to Kee of Keg King and he was kind enough to send me details of a simple mod to 'adjust' the sensor reading. Place a resistor in parallel. Worked for me.

See attched for details

View attachment 52516

Where would I get one of these resistors

 

[gwb]

I got mine from Jaycar. Actually bought both sizes. They came in packs of 6 (from memory)... 90c total

 

[twizt1d]

just drop the probe into a glass of water, its not got any live voltage running through it
since doing the above my kegerator has been reading the same as the stc1000 hooked up to it so its accurate and it works..

now that i know its a NTC sensor ill buy a 'spare stc1000' sensor and replace the short one so i can stick it to the side of a keg

 

[mikec]

Quick question for you guys that say your kegerator never goes down to where it should be.
Say you set it to 4, and it only goes down to 8, is it showing 8 on the display? (meaning the thermometer is working but the thermostat is out).
I've got a KK series 3 and it's set on 4. The display fluctuates between 4 and 5, INDICATING that it is working.

 

[gwb]

just drop the probe into a glass of water, its not got any live voltage running through it
since doing the above my kegerator has been reading the same as the stc1000 hooked up to it so its accurate and it works..

now that i know its a NTC sensor ill buy a 'spare stc1000' sensor and replace the short one so i can stick it to the side of a keg

Hi tonesbrew, unless the two sensors have the exact same resistance and the same Temperature/Resistance curve, this won't work. But of course, you may be lucky and they may be exactly the same. Would be nice though if it was.


@mikec - Pre resistor mod - If I set mine to zero it will operate and bring the temp down till it reads zero but actual internal air temp is about six. Post mod - the two are now much closer. Note that I also run an 80mm 12v Computer fan inside.

 

[crd0902]

Hey guys, got my new fridge today set it all up and within a couple hours it is down to 0-1C. Happy as a pig in pie so far. Chucked my filled keg in and hooked up the gas at 10PSI and gave it a spray with soapy water and the gas leaks from between the connect and post. I got a spare set of o rings so I'll change the rings on the post and hope that does the trick. Fridge brand is westway

 

[breakbeer]

I got one of the Keg King kegerators before christmas. Same problem as above. Set to zero but actual temp was around six. Spoke to Kee of Keg King and he was kind enough to send me details of a simple mod to 'adjust' the sensor reading. Place a resistor in parallel. Worked for me.

See attched for details

View attachment 52516

Nice one, thanks!

 

[mikec]

After reading everything posted here I decided to put a probe into the Series 3.
Set the kegerator to 4 deg on the front, the temp displayed is between 4 and 5.
However the probe, which was sitting in the middle of the kegerator, showed the temp rising up to about 8 deg before the kegerator kicked in and started cooling again. It cooled away for a bit and brought the temp back down to 3. Then it switches off, and rises back up to 8.
Not too good eh?
It should be noted that the Series 3 does actually have a small fan inside the fridge, on the right hand side. Doesn't appear to be very effective though.

So yesterday I trundled off to DSE to get myself some resistors. "Sorry mate, we haven't sold those for over 2 years now". D'oh!
Jaycar is much less convenient to get to, meaning my 20c resistors will probably cost me about $25... Nevertheless, looks like I will be off to Jaycar soon to get some resistors. And a fan. And a power supply for the fan. And a soldering iron.

 

[breakbeer]

I've been using my kegerator as a fermenting fridge coz I didn't know I was getting it (birthday present) & didn't have any brew on the go.

I put the probe into a small plastic container of water & set the temp controller to 16, but it keeps displaying 14 on the front. My thermometer on the f'menter says 16, so I'm happy but I'm not sure why it's displaying 14 on the front?

Can't wait to get my beer into a keg for the first time! :beerbang: