174 lines
4.6 KiB
YAML
174 lines
4.6 KiB
YAML
---
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title: Kegerator
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url: /projects/kegerator/
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parent: Projects
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---
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I've been homebrewing for a couple of years now, and my least favorite part of
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the whole process is definitely the bottling. Each 5 gallon batch has
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approximately 55 bottles that you have to clean, santize, fill, cap, clean
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again, and put in boxes. I've gotten sick and tired of doing that for every
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batch of beer, so I decided to make the jump and build myself a kegerator.
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![Kegerator mostly finished][0]
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Building a kegerator is fairly simple, only requiring some plumbing and
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woodworking. The only hard part is the cost. Below is the cost for a
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three-keg setup similar to my current two-keg setup.
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### Updates
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#### Feb 20, 2011
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Got the kegerator built yesterday minus a temperature controller. I got a
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little drill-happy and accidentally made three faucet holes instead of two.
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Oops, I guess I'll have to put in that third faucet.
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### Links
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* [Flickr set](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickpegg/sets/72157625971333921/)
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### Bill of Materials
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<table border="1">
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<tr>
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<th>Qty</th>
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<th>Cost Each</th>
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<th>Item</th>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</th>
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<td>$198</td>
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<td>GE 7.0 cubic ft freezer</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</td>
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<td>$90</td>
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<td>5 pound CO2 tank</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</td>
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<td>$75</td>
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<td>Dual gauge CO2 regulator</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</td>
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<td>$47</td>
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<td>3-way CO2 distributor</td>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$40</td>
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<td>Used 5 gallon soda keg</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$6.50</td>
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<td>Ball lock gas disconnect - MFL</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$6.50</td>
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<td>Ball lock liquid disconnect - MFL</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>7</td>
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<td>$1.30</td>
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<td>1/4" barb-to-MFL connector</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>7</td>
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<td>$0.25</td>
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<td>Flared nylon washers for MFL connections</td>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$20</td>
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<td>Stainless steel faucet shank</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$2.25</td>
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<td>1/4" barbed shank tail piece and hex nut</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$0.10</td>
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<td>Rubber shank washer</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$31.50</td>
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<td>Perlick beer faucet</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3</td>
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<td>$2</td>
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<td>Economy tap handle</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</td>
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<td>$6.42</td>
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<td>12' 2x8</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1</td>
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<td>$3.37</td>
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<td>Roll of weather stripping</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>2</td>
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<td>$5.65</td>
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<td>25' roll of poly ice maker tubing</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>14</td>
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<td>$0.65</td>
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<td>1/4" to 1/2" hose clamp</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<th align="left">Total</th>
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<th align="left">$758.09</th>
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<td></td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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### Construction
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By far the most popular way to build a kegerator outside of complete
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fabrication is to take an existing chest freezer and add a collar between the
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freezer and the original lid. This is what I did as seen below.
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![Hinges][1]
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An added bonus to the collar method is that you now have a wooden platform to
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add your faucets and other items without harming the original freezer, in case
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you decide to sell it later or actually use it for storing food. When building
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the collar, you'll want to use something like a 2x8 to have enough clearance
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for the old hinges to attach to the wood.
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To help keep the cold air in the kegerator, it's a good idea to seal the
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collar. I just put some weather stripping down where the collar rests on the
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freezer and filled the collar joints with some extra oil pan sealant I had
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laying around. The weather stripping is nice because if you're not quite a
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master woodworker and can't be bothered to get the collar exactly square, it
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helps fill in your gaps.
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Once the collar's on and the faucets are installed, it's just a matter of
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connecting everything. Don't forget to use your washers to get a good seal! You
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can hand-tighten the MFL connections, but it might be a better idea to tighten
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them with a pair of pliers.
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### Pressure Testing
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Once everything's together, you'll want to pressure test the entire dispensing
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system. What I did was fill the kegs with water and pressurize the whole system,
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and do some test pours. If you have any leaks, you'll either hear air hissing
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or see water leaking out.
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![Pressure testing][2]
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In the case that it is an air leak and you're not
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sure where it's coming from, disconnect things one by one until the
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hissing stops. The part that you last disconnected is the faulty one, so make
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sure that everything's tight on there, especially if it's a hose clamp on a
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barbed connection.
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[0]: https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/5462665976_d11faea2aa.jpg "Mostly finished"
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[1]: https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5462060669_436dbe852f.jpg
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[2]: https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5462065415_efefbb9675.jpg "Pressure testing"
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