Building a Kegerator - How Easy Is It? - DIY

Come along as we build our very own kegerator! Is it as easy to build as it seems?
Music Credits:
DEAF KEV - Invincible - • DEAF KEV - Invincible ...
The following songs are all from Bensound.com:
-A Day To Remember
-Elevation
-Happiness
-Straight
-Sunny
-Sweet

[@claytonbickmeyer2140]

Just some handy tips, but it could’ve been foamy because of temperature…and although the long beer line is typically better, you never want it dipping below the keg, just king of coil it on top of the keg and see if you get better results.

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

I think part of the problem was that I had the gas pressure too high, and it was too forceful coming out of the tap. I dropped it down to about 9psi and seems to be better. But I still get some air in the lines overnight. I'll try coiling the lines on top of the keg like you mentioned. Thanks for the tips!

[@stuartkowald2943]

You were so lucky I drilled my fridge on the side last weekend and on the first hole we had the fridge killing hiss as the gas’s line got nicked

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

Oh man! Sorry to hear that happened! I don’t think I know of a way to check for lines prior to drilling. I’m 98% sure mine doesn’t have lines on the sides.

[@FadeToZach9982]

What kind of fridge did you have?

[@FadeToZach9982]

@@CarsCraftsDrafts what made you so sure it didn't have lines in the side? I'm about to do this to my Kenmore 363 fridge and I'm worried as hell, haha

[@stuartkowald2943]

I had a Westinghouse 210lt. When I crushed the fridge the gas line had no set path so the chance we hit it was 1 in a1000

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

@@FadeToZach9982 I wasn't sure! It was a gamble, but I had a pretty good feeling that I wasn't going to hit anything. Absolutely no rhyme or reason on where I drilled, other than "this seems like a good spot!"

[@jeschinstad]

I think you said you were going to reduce the gas pressure to reduce foaming? That's not the right way to do it, as you will lose carbonation over time. Instead, use a strangling hose, which is just a thin hose with a small diameter. That way, you increase the resistence of the beer line, allowing you to keep a higher pressure at the keg to maintain carbonation, while slowing down the pour to reduce foaming. Loved your video. I'm converting a minibar for use as an inline cooling system, so I don't have to cool my entire keg, but only the beer as it comes out. I was a bit weary of drilling holes in the fridge, but watching you do it, it seems easy enough. :)

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

Thanks for the feedback! When I started, I think I had the PSI at 10 or 12, and it was coming out like a fire hose.. I dialed it down to about 8 and it's much more manageable with far less foaming. The beer line is already 3/16" ID so I can't really go much smaller. Maybe I'll experiment with 1/8" and see what happens but I'm thinking that it might have the opposite effect... Like when you hold your thumb over the end of a garden hose.

[@jeschinstad]

@@CarsCraftsDrafts: 3/16" is great, but it's the combination of the length and ID of the hose that adds resistance. So my recommendation, is you get a much longer 3/16" hose. It should at the very minimum be two meters long, but I would recommend getting 3-4m. If your beer line is too long, the only thing that happens, is that the beer comes out too slowly, and then you can shorten the hose a little at a time to find the right length. The pressure on your keg should only be decided by the carbonation level you want in your beer, which requires a higher pressure the colder the beer is. For instance, for a pilsner type beer that I serve at 40f, I keep the keg at 36 psi. Using a long enough hose, flow is not a problem at all.

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

Maybe I'll try that, a long run of tube. I definitely don't have 3-4m though. I have probably 5 feet. Is 36psi what you're reading at the CO2 regulator? That seems high (but this is still new to me). I did a quick Google search and saw that pilsners are recommended to be at 11-16psi.

[@jeschinstad]

@@CarsCraftsDrafts: Sorry. it's a bit late and I confused myself somewhat with the unit conversion. :) But it depends on temperature. For instance, 29 psi at 68f gives the same carbonation as 13 psi at 40f. Since my kegs are stored at room temperature, I use much higher pressures. But anyway; get a longer hose and experiment at the correct pressure for your carbonation level and temperature. I'm very confident that this will fix your problem.

[@CarsCraftsDrafts]

@@jeschinstad I gotcha, that makes more sense! I'm going to do some testing...