14 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

And on the seventh day he said "Let there be draft beer in thine house."I have taken the first steps to starting my beer fridge/kegerator. I moved my GF down from gainesville and we brought back her old fridge. Its a lovely shade of olive green circa 1965. It had been sitting outside for about a year so I cleaned it up on Sunday and let it air dry. I moved a bunch of stuff around in the garage and plugged it in, the compressor started and as of this morning is cooling down nicely. The only thing I might do is replace the seal around the doors because it doesn't always seat correctly. I have two corny kegs to use for homebrew, so now all I need is gas, reg, taps, and lines. I will add pictures later and update this thread as I get more stuff, I can't afford it all at once right now.Cheers,Rich

[Deerslyr]

And on the seventh day he said "Let there be draft beer in thine house."I have taken the first steps to starting my beer fridge/kegerator. I moved my GF down from gainesville and we brought back her old fridge. Its a lovely shade of olive green circa 1965. It had been sitting outside for about a year so I cleaned it up on Sunday and let it air dry. I moved a bunch of stuff around in the garage and plugged it in, the compressor started and as of this morning is cooling down nicely. The only thing I might do is replace the seal around the doors because it doesn't always seat correctly. I have two corny kegs to use for homebrew, so now all I need is gas, reg, taps, and lines. I will add pictures later and update this thread as I get more stuff, I can't afford it all at once right now.Cheers,Rich

Congrats on the step forward. I used my cobra taps for about a year before installing the tower on my fridge. Would suggest picking up a third corny (trust me... you'll want it) when you buy your other items. Also, get a regulator that has two low pressure guages. Here is a link to where I picked up my set. I thought it was pretty reasonable after all of the extensive research I did (and adding a third keg to the bill didn't add much). I have not had one problem with this setup. Here is the link to Midwest Supplies for the setup I got. Since you already have two kegs, you can look at one of their other packages and the price will go down. I would suggest calling to actually place the order. Oh, and don't forget to have them toss in some keg lube too. Comes in handy.

[gnef]

Congrats. Only thing I can recommend is getting a kill a watt device to measure the power draw of the fridge. If it is that old, I can only assume it is not very efficient, and that means you may spend more on electricity than you would on a new fridge over a few years.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Bad news. The fridge stopped working last nightish. It was plugged into an outlet with a breaker and it kept setting it off. I tried one without a breaker and it still wouldn't turn on. The fridge was about 45 years old and had spent the last 8 months outside on my girfriends carport. Luckily, I did not have any homebrew left in it. So no ruined beer.I guess its back to the drawing board.-Rich

[Deerslyr]

Bad news. The fridge stopped working last nightish. It was plugged into an outlet with a breaker and it kept setting it off. I tried one without a breaker and it still wouldn't turn on. The fridge was about 45 years old and had spent the last 8 months outside on my girfriends carport. Luckily, I did not have any homebrew left in it. So no ruined beer.I guess its back to the drawing board.-Rich

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[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Congrats on the step forward. I used my cobra taps for about a year before installing the tower on my fridge. Would suggest picking up a third corny (trust me... you'll want it) when you buy your other items.

Get two more - I have a two tap kegerator and I have 3 kegs. I usually wish I had at least one more keg now

[japh]

Would suggest picking up a third corny (trust me... you'll want it) when you buy your other items.

Homebrew law: you can never have too many cornies.

[Deerslyr]

Get two more - I have a two tap kegerator and I have 3 kegs. I usually wish I had at least one more keg now

+1... I 'm keeping my eye out for a 4th.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Homebrew law: you can never have too many cornies.

+1 while I agree with that statement I say this:Homebrew Law: You can never have too many freezers. I have 4 and wish I had a fifth so buy two off of CL and you will be ready to rock and roll for sure.

[Sidney Porter]

I recommend 2 kegs for every tap you plan on serving. So if you build a 2 tap system you need 4 kegs. At some point this is not a big as an issue if you have a 5 tap system you could probably get away with 8 or so rather than 10. I also think that batch size come into play a little bit brewing 10 gallon batches it is nice to have 2 kegs allocated for every batch, if doing 5 gallons not as big as deal.I normally serve 5 and have 11 kegs (plus 1 - 2.5gallon). Based upon my brewing frequency this is plenty, but it is nice to back up beer when ever a keg blows.If you are planning on keeping this in your garage I would consider just using picnic taps rather than external faucets. With our heat and humidity I kept getting a condensation and mold issue. Switch everything to picnic taps which are not as cool, they don't pour as nice, but you can keep them in the fridge. (plus they are cheaper)

[VolFan]

Don't let the minor setback deter you. There is no greater feeling than pulling a pint of your own beer.My first step into kegging. Started with cobra taps.Present. CO2 tanks now sits outside. 4 taps but fridge will hold 6 kegs, so I do a little lagering in there too.

[BarelyBrews]

I just got my Co 2 tank out of the fridge today, may end up putting it all the way to the floor eventually. That's my water meter in the background in case your wondering. I am glad to finally get atleast two kegs, and a carboy in there. So here's the lousy pic.

[gnef]

I would definitely put that tank on the ground. If it ever falls, you may have a rocket.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I would definitely put that tank on the ground. If it ever falls, you may have a rocket.

sounds like a mythbusters episode

[ncbeerbrewer]

I would definitely put that tank on the ground. If it ever falls, you may have a rocket.

+1. Those things are dangerous.