Bare Bones Kegging

[San_Diego_Matt]

So, some of you saw be bemoaning bottling 10 gallons of cider yesterday. It was fucking terrible and took me 7ish hours to get it all done and cleaned up. Seriously, fuck bottling.

So I'm trying to find a way to be able to keg my beer for cheap. Sure I could just go buy a kegerator/chest freezer/fridge on craigslist and have at it, but I've already got some of the things I need and I'd like to try and get these things to work without having to really spend much $ on parts that I can't use when I upgrade to something more traditional in the kegging world. Remember I'm doing this on the cheap.

So, here's what I've got:

CO2 tank, a big 20 pounder and it was free.
Mini Fridge made by Magic Chef.

Things I need:
Kegs, lines, regulator

So, I created this thread a while back asking about short kegs viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14484

I haven't been able to find any of these 19" tall 4.75 gallon kegs that I've heard about (on another site) and at this point I'm thinking I'm just going to go with pin lock kegs. I'm hoping I might be able to find some cornelius brand ones so that I can switch them to ball lock, but whatever.

So, the fridge I have is a cheap, small, typical freezer on top mini fridge. I've measured the insides of it and it's 23 1/2" from the bottom of the fridge to the bottom of the freezer. So, I'm guessing that a 22" pin lock keg is really just 22" tall and that will give me 1 1/2" of space at the top.

I'm thinking that I might break out the hammer and bash the frezer "up" a bit to create some more space.

I'm not really concerned about the 20# tank fitting in there and I'm just going to use picnic/cobra taps contained inside the fridge rather than a tower. I figure I can keep the tank outside the fridge and just give it a shot of CO2 every time the flow slows down. This is how a lot of the guys in my club have done it when they've brought kegs to events. Rather than keeping the gas connected, they just have one tank and keep topping off the pressure whenever one of the kegs starts flowing slow.

So, I know the freezer at the top of the mini fridge is the problem. I'm guessing I can't just cut it out of there because it would release the freon that the rest of the fridge needs?

Am I on crack thinking that I can just create a little more room in the fridge with the hammer?

am I on the right path here or am I totally hitting the crack pipe? How much space am I going to need above a 22" pinlock to connect the beer out line? Are there low profile connectors of any sort?

[Mylo]

So, I know the freezer at the top of the mini fridge is the problem. I'm guessing I can't just cut it out of there because it would release the freon that the rest of the fridge needs?

You can't cut it out. It's all one system

Am I on crack thinking that I can just create a little more room in the fridge with the hammer?

Yes, you have been hitting the pipe too much. Chest freezers are a much better option. You can find those on craigslist, too (maybe not as snazzy as that ice cream one you have for fermenting). Save that mini fridge for your bottle collection.


Mylo

[San_Diego_Matt]

anyone want to buy a mini fridge? or trafe for a small chest freezer?

I already have a spare "beer fridge" and just came across the mini fridge for free so I thought I'd use it

[San_Diego_Matt]

Operation proper serving vessel is underway.

Sold the mini frige yesterday for $80 and the hunt for a similarly priced chest freezer has begun!

[San_Diego_Matt]

Found this little bitch on Craigslist for $45





I figure at the worst I can fit 2 5-gallon cornies and 1 or 2 3-gallon cornies in there. Maybe even 3 5-gallon cornies. I can always eventually build a collar for it too to guarantee I can fit 4 5-gallon cornies in there.

I can't believe I made enough $ selling my free mini-fridge to get a freezer and a cheap, but usable regulator.

Now all I need are kegs and lines/connectors/picnic taps
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[Bugeater]

That suspiciously looks like the 5.5 cu ft Haier freezer. I have one of those that I bought new for use as a kegerator. Once I got it home, I discovered that it will only hold 2 kegs. If the deep part was about in inch bigger in any direction, it would hold three. Anyway, I built a collar for it and used it for about a year and a half. Last year I upgraded to a used 9.9 cu ft chest freezer and it holds 4 5 gallon kegs plus 2 3 gallon kegs on the hump. The Haier has been returned to freezer duty and is full of venison and hops.

Wayne