Old fridge into a kegerator

[jcr]

Hey boys,
I'm new to all this so go easy.
I have a hisense hr6bf121s bar fridge (120l, 820 x 515 mm) sitting outside. I want to turn it into a kegerator and have keg in there with a tower and tap hopefully on top. 1st of all, is this possible and going to be good? and 2 what am I gonna need? If you can answer and step me through that would be great otherwise a link or general direction would also be appreciated.

cheers

 

[Hangover68]

First up check you have enough internal height for a keg, if so the rest is easy. There are quite a few sellers that have 1-4 tap font kits with most of what you need to build a kegerator.
Or you can drill holes in the door and add taps there although they will be a bit low on your fridge, have a read thru the kegerator post and see all the different variations that can be achieved.
I'm about to start on this as well as i just got some kegs and working out if i commandeer one of our small freezers or mod my brew fridge.

 

[ulbrick111]

jcr, i am about to do the same proejct, i know i can do the alcohol and corn starch test to fine coolant lines, but can you save me time and tell me where you drilled? any other tips for a newbie would be awesome

 

[ulbrick111]

Hey boys,
I'm new to all this so go easy.
I have a hisense hr6bf121s bar fridge (120l, 820 x 515 mm) sitting outside. I want to turn it into a kegerator and have keg in there with a tower and tap hopefully on top. 1st of all, is this possible and going to be good? and 2 what am I gonna need? If you can answer and step me through that would be great otherwise a link or general direction would also be appreciated.

cheers

jcr, i am about to do the same proejct, i know i can do the alcohol and corn starch test to fine coolant lines, but can you save me time and tell me where you drilled? any other tips for a newbie would be awesome

 

[golfandbrew]

A typical bar fridge won't have anything in the door other than insulation. I would avoid drilling through the sides regardless of how careful you are. To drill a test hole take the smallest drill bit you have and only drill through the outer or inner casing of the fridge. Should be no more than 1-2mm. Then you can take a small nail or paper clip and poke through the remaining insulation. If you hit anything with the nail then you know not to continue. If the nail goes through no problem then you can either drill through or make another pilot hole to confirm before proceeding. Good luck.

 

[ulbrick111]

A typical bar fridge won't have anything in the door other than insulation. I would avoid drilling through the sides regardless of how careful you are. To drill a test hole take the smallest drill bit you have and only drill through the outer or inner casing of the fridge. Should be no more than 1-2mm. Then you can take a small nail or paper clip and poke through the remaining insulation. If you hit anything with the nail then you know not to continue. If the nail goes through no problem then you can either drill through or make another pilot hole to confirm before proceeding. Good luck.

Thanks that really helpful. I am going to run a gas line out the back (so I dont have to keep the Co2 Cylinder in the fridge) and a font through the top

 

[Grmblz]

Thanks that really helpful. I am going to run a gas line out the back (so I dont have to keep the Co2 Cylinder in the fridge) and a font through the top

Do NOT! drill any holes anywhere in any fridge, get a soldering iron and melt a hole in the plastic inside the fridge where you want the hole, wriggle it around a bit to clear out the insulation, and confirm no gas lines or wires then drill your hole from the inside to out.

 

[bradmcm]

Thanks that really helpful. I am going to run a gas line out the back (so I dont have to keep the Co2 Cylinder in the fridge) and a font through the top

I don't bother with keeping a cylinder attached all the time. I just open the door and re-gas the keg when serving pressure drops.

 

[ulbrick111]

I don't bother with keeping a cylinder attached all the time. I just open the door and re-gas the keg when serving pressure drops.

Im a bit lost here - so how do your carb pre-serving (to achieve initial carbonation)? do you just bulk prime for a couple weeks then hook up for serving?

 

[duncbrewer]

You can fit a bulkhead gas post thru the side of the fridge then put your gas cylinder on that. Saves opening fridge more space in fridge and it works well.
I pressure ferment so my kegs I fill with conditioned beer and don't force carb.

 

[Grmblz]

Im a bit lost here - so how do your carb pre-serving (to achieve initial carbonation)? do you just bulk prime for a couple weeks then hook up for serving?

Im a bit lost here - so how do your carb pre-serving (to achieve initial carbonation)? do you just bulk prime for a couple weeks then hook up for serving?

3 ways to do it, 1 ^ as Dunc does it, 2 prime the keg with sugar (basically treat the keg as a large bottle) 3 force carbonate, many ways to do this, the simplest is connect to gas at required pressure for level of carbonation desired, and leave for a week or two.

 

[bradmcm]

Im a bit lost here - so how do your carb pre-serving (to achieve initial carbonation)? do you just bulk prime for a couple weeks then hook up for serving?

Refridgerate keg.
Bring keg out of fridge.
Dial in pressure required on regulator and attach gas line to keg.
Burp it a few times to get most of the air out and replaced with CO2.
Lie keg on it's side gas port down.
Rock the keg back and forth with your foot for a few minutes until the bubbling stops and the beer is no longer absorbing the CO2.
Put the keg back in the fridge and wait an hour or two until everything equalises before serving.

 

[duncbrewer]

Remember to have a non return gas valve on your regulator. Or else!

 

[thegoovna]

Hi All, has anyone been able to install 2 taps to the front of a mini fridge and still fit in 2 full sized kegs. I am looking to do this and wondering if anyone has actually been able to do it. I am thinking using shorter shanks might be key but it seems a little short on space.

Cheers

 

[JDW81]

Hi All, has anyone been able to install 2 taps to the front of a mini fridge and still fit in 2 full sized kegs. I am looking to do this and wondering if anyone has actually been able to do it. I am thinking using shorter shanks might be key but it seems a little short on space.

Cheers

Do you mean a bar fridge?

I've got a mate who has a 2 keg bar fridge with the taps out the top through a stainless steel font, not sure if you'd be able to fit the shanks and kegs in there though.

 

[thegoovna]

Do you mean a bar fridge?

I've got a mate who has a 2 keg bar fridge with the taps out the top through a stainless steel font, not sure if you'd be able to fit the shanks and kegs in there though.

Yep I meant a bar fridge. I was thinking the same thing. Didn’t want to do the font right now, I know I can one tap installed, may have to settle with that.

 

[duncbrewer]

Could you fit a party tap on the second keg and then just have it trapped in the fridge seal when you want to use it?

 

[thegoovna]

Could you fit a party tap on the second keg and then just have it trapped in the fridge seal when you want to use it?

sounds like a plan

 

[duncbrewer]

Make sure the line is long enough and don't expect one of those flow control ball locks to do the trick they are rap with a c.

 

[Ian Smith]

Do you mean a bar fridge?

I've got a mate who has a 2 keg bar fridge with the taps out the top through a stainless steel font, not sure if you'd be able to fit the shanks and kegs in there though.

Precisely what I did - ran my lines down the back.
I will get a photo and send it through