custom home bar

[fishnuts6323]

I am building a bar. I would like to have a kegerator underneath and run the hose up to the faucet mounted on my bar tap... So...

1. What should I consider when doing this... I want the beer cold and with minimal foam.

2. Can I simply remove the faucet that comes already attached to the kegerator. Do I need to buy a hose extension etc.

3. If I only have one keg/ kegerator may I still buy a 2-faucet tap to be mounted on top of my bar...

4. Or more simply put--- What exactly do I need to buy to do this economically and professionally to make my bar complete with a kegerator underneath and a double-faucet top on top of the bar.

We are moving into a new home soon and would like to have this ready as soon as we can - please help me thanks Matt

[Scott Zuhse]

First, what type of kegerator do you have? Does it have an existing hose for distributing air? Is their an existing tower on top of the kegerator? Will the your faucets/dispense tower be directly above the kegerator? What you would like to accomplish is quite simple providing you apply some basic principles to the system. Reply with some answers and we'll go from there.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[fishnuts6323]

I have not purchased the kegerator or dispense tower yet... simply because I am not sure what to buy and have yet to find a retail store of such that I can see it done first hand... the whole set-up that is.
The faucet/dispense tower will be directly above the kegerator under the bar. The dispense/faucet tower will be mounted on the bar-top.

With that being said--- what exactly should be purchased to set this up properly?
Thanks for your previous response... Matt

[jquigley9]

You can probably do this with a standard Keg Cooler.
It depends on how much space is between the bar and top of cooler.(minimal is best) remove the tower from the top of the cooler, install a piece of PVC pipe between the top of cooler and bottom of bar. 3 or 2 inch should be good, make the pipe short enough to fit but tight enough that no air can escape. stick the plastic tube that comes with a beer keg cooler up into the tower so the cool air flows through the entire tower. As far as adding two shanks, it depends on the brand of beer you are going to drink. Most coolers can only fit 1 standard keg (1/2 or 1/4) On the east coast Yuengling Lager is using skinny 1/4 kegs. It all depends on keg size.

[try41nce]

Hey Matt,

This is pretty much exactly what we did when we moved into our new home. We bought a bar from Beach Manufacturing (http://www.beachmfg.com/user/w3prod1bigb_bars08.htm) - they're sold at game room stores. Bought the Sanyo BC-1206 kegerator and some equip to modify it two a two tap system (two product regulator, brass two-faucet tower, extra beer and air lines). I just had to drill the top of the bar (see the pic above, kegerator is in place of the wine fridge) in order to mount the tower to the top and get the beer lines thru. Kegerator fits two 1/6 kegs (40 pints each) along with the 5# CO2 tank, so we always have two different beers on tap at home.

We do get a little extra foam on the first pull after not using it for a while, I guess because the tower is not cooled.

As jquigley9 said below, it does depend what type of beer you're looking for. You can get a large amount of American Micros in 1/6 keg size, but most of the bigger brand beers usually do not come in that small size.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Dave

[Tom]

We are also installing a custom bar and we wish to have a 1/4 or 1/2 keg size Kegerator installed inside it, with the single serve Tower installed on the granite backbar counter. Maximum height desired 34' (not including tower). We want to be able to unhook this system and pull the kegerator out and move it down to another location for the summer. We are looking for the best brand and fittings to do this easily and economically. We are installing ourselves. Specifically, we wish to know the model of the Kegerator, specific fittings we should use.

[Scott Zuhse]

Review these kegerators for your project. The residential units include tapping and cleaning kits. The commercial units have the ability to maintain temperature through the tower to the faucet. These will also require a separate tapping and cleaning kit. For the install with the granite backbar, remove the tower and install on top of the granite. An insulated sleeve will be required bridging between the underbar and the top of the kegerator. Big box stores such as Lowes or Home Depot may be a resource for this in the plumbing section. Construct it such that it can easily be installed and removed for the move.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[brewski121]

Have had much fun building a few kegereators in the past months. My friend asked me if I could help him build one now, but the thing is he wants to convert a rather new fridge with a water despencer n ice maker. He wants to actully convert the water despencer into a beer despencer. I told him I wasnt sure if this would work but would check, so I come to you guys. Is it possible to transform the water line to beer line. Or have you ever even heard of somethign done simular to this. Figure that we would have to atleast replace the water lines to beer line, but not 100 percent sure. also would it even pour correctly. Thanks for the help as always.
regards
stefan

[Scott Zuhse]

Temperature should not be an issue. If you can route the 3/16" vinyl to the point of dispense the only problem that may occur would be the existing dispenser may not be compatible with this tubing and it may not be friendly to the carbonation in the beer. Might end up with all foam.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[www.easykegs.com.au]

How long does it take to cool down a 1/2 keg properly in a Kegerator

Party Keg Hire Melbourne Brisbance Sydney Perth Easy Kegs!

[psychodad]

Kegs are (should) be stored cold as they are not pasteurized so there is really no time to cooling one. I always let mine sit an hour or two in the kegerator before tapping though to reduce the effects of transporting it.

[TAPMAN]

Depending on the ambient tempereature, a keg will warm from 40 deg. to 50deg. in 4 hours, and it could take 20 hours to cool that keg back to 40 deg. Tapman