New Kegerator - Doing it the right way

[eclarkhb]

Looks like I'm going to pull the trigger on a new kegerator this weekend (1st one). A new commercial unit won't pass the spousal finance committee, so I'm probably going to get a new Sanyo unit (I think this is the same as a Summit) & plan on doing some work to improve it.

Based on info on these forums, here's what I think I need to do (in order):

1) Get an accurate thermometer/thermostat. Any thoughts or experiences on using a temp switch to control the compressor like psychodad in the Infamous Danby Improvement Thread vs the Brewers Edge Digital Temp Controller (http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...s-pid-E54.html)?

2) Cool the Tower (tons of examples in the forums - Thanks)

3) Move the CO2 canister external & upgrade the Regulator.

Anything I'm missing?

Thanks!

[jumper]

Check the beer line's length and ID just as a precaution... I think that Summit comes with a 3/16" 5' line so it should be ok. I know some units come with less than 3 feet of 1/4" line and the beer comes out at supersonic velocity.

From my experience keeping the temp stable at near 38 and cooling the tower keeps the beer happy.

[skibumdc]

I have my first kegerator on the way as well. Sanyo/Summit as well.
I'm going to see what temp the unit can do on it's own before I change out to an external thermostat controller.

I do have a blower project to complete, and my stout beergas set-up is going to be the trial run.
I plan on using the radioshack project box method like member duffbeer does. Possibly another fan in the top of the cooler pointed downwards to help circulate the warmer air down towards the bottom.

Keep us updated, and I will too with pics

[eclarkhb]

Update -

Tapped my 1st keg in the Sanyo on Saturday morning - here's the update for the 1st weekend.

Since it's St. Patty's week, decided to get a keg of Harp. This meant that I needed to get a U-coupler, which is great since one day that will be used for Guinness as well....

Here's what I learned (specific to the Sanyo):

- The gas intake on the U-coupler is smaller than the one on the D-coupler that came with the Sanyo. The metal hose clamp that came with my setup will not tighten small enough to clamp the gas line to the U-coupler. I didn't have one at home that would work, quick trip to by neighbors house to borrow one & then we're in business.....

- Harp is only available in the 1/2 bbl size. With the CO2 secured in place with the spring that came with the Sanyo, the keg won't fit. I had to remove the spring that holds the Co2 in the corner, so I could move it over slightly, turn the gage toward the back and lift it up about 4-5". Then I was able to fit the keg in the fridge. I am seriously considering moving the CO2 outside of the fridge....

- I'm at sea level, CO2 set to 11 PSI, temp at about 38 seems to work well.

- Foam Report: The Sanyo behaved as expected. After sitting for a while, the first 4-6oz or so that you pour is all foam. After that, looks great. I assume this is due to the tower not being cooled. The fridge is in my garage, tower temp is about 62d, air temp in fridge reads 40d, beer temp is about 38, or 40 after I pour it in a room-temp glass. All temp measurements were taken with an analog food thermometer with a range of 0-220 F.

So my plans at this point for the beer fridge are:
1) Enjoy the Harp :-)
2) Force air into the tower
3) Install new thermostat & thermometer
4) Move CO2 to outside the unit

[eclarkhb]

One more note....

The drip pan that comes with this thing is a joke....I'll be replacing that as well...


Also, when moving the CO2 tank, I forgot to mention that I also had to place something under the CO2 tank to lift itabout 4-5" so that I could fit the regulator behind the keg.

[eclarkhb]

Photos

Here are photos of my Sanyo kegerator & the points mentioned above...

Can't really tell from the photos, but the screw that you turn to adjust the regulator pressure stuck out too far to get the keg in. So I placed the CO2 tank on top of a platic CD case & turned it so that I could get the Keg in.

Kegerator
kegerator.jpg

Inside
Kegerator-Inside.jpg

CO2 Tank on top of CD Case
CO2.jpg

CO2 Regulator
Regulator.jpg

Drip Tray
drip_tray.jpg

[eclarkhb]

DIY Blower to Cool Tower in Sanyo

Need to cool the tower....figured I'd post my experiences to hopefully help someone else.

My plan was to use a fan out of an old computer, a funnel, some plastic tubing and duct tape to force air from the bottom of the fridge up into the tower.

I took an old cell phone charger, cut the cable and tested with the fan by connecting the leads from the fan to the stripped wire from the charger. Works great.

I decided to use the existing hole for the tempo sensor instead of drilling a new one (duh!)

I took the back grate off of the fridge, and was able to pull the putty back with my fingers and push the wire most of the way through by guiding it along the temp sensor. Went around to the inside of the fridge, pulled the insulation a way a bit and used needle nose pliers to pull the wire through. Put the insulation back and pushed the putty back. Now I have 12V DC power inside the fridge.

I then took my plastic hose for air to the tower. I pulled the top off of the tower and pushed the air hose from the top down, which seemed easier than bottom-up. Needle-nose pliers helped again.....

I then took my computer fan (2.5" diameter), which was attached to a heat sink on a CPU in the computer. I cut a plastic funnel to fit & duct-taped the funnel to the fan & atttached the hose. I thought the heat sink looked cool & would raise the fan off of the floor, so I left it attached to the fan.
fan.jpg


But it didn't quite work....

The 2.5" fan is just not moving enough air, it doesn't cool the tower.

So at this point, I'm looking for a DC blower....I'll keep the thread updated.

-ec

[bonefish]

Surprised...

...your fan isn't doing the job. Try putting the end of the fan hose just an inch or two into the tower.
SEAN

[bonefish]

Surprised...

...your fan isn't doing the job. Try putting the end of the fan hose just an inch or two into the tower. Maybe remove the heat sink, too.
SEAN

[skibumdc]

Yeah the sanyo/summit unit is SUPER easy to get wires into.
I used 20 gauge solid core wire available from radio shack and just pushed it up from inside right along the temp sensor wires. Then mashed the putty back into place for a good seal. Might pick up some more putty just to make sure the seal is extra good.
I had already removed the metal grating on the outside rear of the kegerator. Used some quick disconnect wires to connect it to the radio shack adjustable DC voltage regulator. It does 3/5/7/9/12 DC volts.
I have a project box setup with 4" DC fan inside, just need to figure how I'm going to use the tube to cool the tower. I also pre-wired for an additional fan for circulation, but undecided where it will go.



The parts that come with this kegerator are a JOKE. Besides the co2 canister the parts just feel cheap. Plain and simple. Cheesy coupler and gas regulator. Oh well that's why they make upgrade parts.
I am going for a stout set-up initially, but I am already planning on upgrading the tower and shank to stainless steel, drip pan to stainless steel, dual gauge regulators for nitrogen and co2, and upgraded ventmatic forward seat faucet and stout faucet.
As long as the fridge can cool, that's good enough for me.
I have to wait until tonight to turn it on since it arrived yesterday afternoon. Just want to allow the oil in the lines to drain for 24 hours if it was disturbed during shipping and me attaching the wheels last evening.

[lunkhead]

Need to cool the tower....figured I'd post my experiences to hopefully help someone else.

My plan was to use a fan out of an old computer, a funnel, some plastic tubing and duct tape to force air from the bottom of the fridge up into the tower.

I then took my computer fan (2.5" diameter), which was attached to a heat sink on a CPU in the computer. I cut a plastic funnel to fit & duct-taped the funnel to the fan & atttached the hose. I thought the heat sink looked cool & would raise the fan off of the floor, so I left it attached to the fan.

But it didn't quite work....

The 2.5" fan is just not moving enough air, it doesn't cool the tower.

So at this point, I'm looking for a DC blower....I'll keep the thread updated.

-ec

Trying to run a fan into a funnel won't work. You'll need to mount the fan in / on a project box then cut out the second opening the size of your cooling line. Seems the extra area in the box acts like a plenum chamber so the air does not stall on the fan blades, which is what happens with the funnel. The fan will pressurize the box and force air out the tube.

[jackstraw]

+1 on the project box idea.
You can pick one up from Radio Shack for about $6. I picked up a 3" fan for about $5 and it moves quite a bit of air. I would also recommend picking up a power adapter with a voltage selector on it. That way, you can control the fan speed by setting the amount of voltage on the power adapter.

[eclarkhb]

OK....

So maybe I should have named this post: "New Kegerator, doing it the wrong way, then re-doing it the wrong way, then hopefully getting it right" ;-)

Here's what I've learned:

- The Cell phone charger ran at 5V, didn't move the fan nearly as fast a 12V power supply (thanks Radio Shack).

- Lunkhead was right....Fan->funnel->PVC did not work. I bought a project box (thank you Radio Shack) and it's moving air now. The tower is signifigantly cooler after an hour & I'm starting to get condensation on the outside of the tower.

I finished the keg of Harp in 10 days (must have had more help on St. Patty's Day than I remember) and I now have a brand new keg of Coors Light. Not a big Coors light fan, but since there's so many Coors light posts here, I thought I'd give it a shot....

I'll post pictures of my current blower & PVC setup soon.

Big Thanks to everyone who has posted here!

-ec

[Scott Zuhse]

Be aware that if the Coors Lt. keg has a Z on the label, you should dispense @14 PSIG @ 38 F. If it does not have a Z, use 16 PSIG. You may have to lengthen your 3/16" line a foot for tjhe 16 PSIG.

[eclarkhb]

Wow - that seems odd - thank's for the info....

Is the label the small plastic cap that fits over the top of the keg's tap? Not sure I still have that....

There is also a blue circle sticker on the top of the keg that reads "Coors Brewing Company" - no "Z" on that.

thanks for your help.

Right now I'm dispensing at 12 PSIG & 36d F @ sea level, roughly 5' of 3/16 beer line (the parts that came with my Sanyo). Seems to be close to correct I guess....although I do notice the head on the Coors light doesn't stick around as long as the head on the Harp did...after a couple of minutes, completely gone.