Beer window

When I dreamt of home features as a kid, there was usually some liquid other than water and waste being pumped through the walls. The one I made happen is beer.

I have made a kegerator before. It was ugly and it mostly served keystone light. I don’t want that back.

When I was appointed landlord about a year ago, I formed kegerator 2.0:

$100 Craigslist fridge that fits in my basement. On blocks to minimize lift of beer. It should fit 2 sixtels (1/6 kegs) of beer and a 10Lb co2 tank. The kegs hold a little more than 5 gallons of beer each.

First time with a drywall saw

down in the hole, with a port for the drain tube.

Coils etc. are in the back, I drilled 4 holes and didn't run into anything but insulation.

Hole saw in the side of the fridge

another hole saw through the stairs and the drain tube port.

1" PVC pipes in

4 (40mm?) computer case fans and wall adapter

PVC turns

So far the fans have been running continuously for about 6 months. One started making noise and I disconnected it. The starter motor in the fridge also failed ($100 repair), but it is an older fridge.

2 in, 2 out from freezer and fridge, one beer line goes through each pipe. Air is pumped in a loop to keep all the beer lines cold.

This was later covered in spray foam. That stuff is addictive. It was a bad idea. When I thought I had a kink in the lines, I had to cut away foam to get to these joints. It turns out the line was frozen and I just needed to turn the temp in the freezer up.

top of the pipes

into the shanks

Most of the parts for the kegerator came from a 2 Faucet Fridge Homebrew Kegerator Kit from Keg Connection. I had to get longer lines and taps with shorter shanks so they wouldn't poke as far into the stairs.

previously leftover molding

drain bucket just clears the door

I was lucky that my studs were the right distance apart to fit the Kegco DP-125-D

After failing to get the original pipe lined up properly, I found this clear, flexible pipe for the end. The top of the cooling/supply loop is to the left.

When you pull the end cap, you can hear and feel cold air moving through the loop.

We currently have Yards IPA and Philly Pale Ale, they are close by and only charge $55/keg (plus $30 deposit). We get about 40 generous pours into regular pint glasses. I would like to get a corny keg and hook up a homebrew keg, but for now they are both sanke taps. I keep the PSI between 10 and 12. When the co2 is low, the beer pours slower. I should have kept my fancy new aluminum co2 tank, but I was in a hurry and opted to swap it out for an old heavy one.

The stairs with paint and insulation. the lift from the bottom of the kegs to the taps is 113".

The beer lines get lots of use, especially during football season when people are over. Usually by the same kind of beer (IPA on the left and Pale Ale on the right). I have cleaned the lined once with a cleaning kit : Kegconnection CL302

The drip tray gets cleaned every few days of use.

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