Vintage Fridge conversions

[Rock Toy]

So, somewhere along the way I developed a passion for classic fridges. Maybe its my love of classic cars. Who knows? Anyhow, I picked up a converted 53 Coldspot about a dozen years ago. Treated me well through a couple of car build ups and then ended up in my brothers garage after my divorce. Along the way, I picked up a 53 Coldspot but didn't have the heart to drill into it due to it being absolutely pristine. Stopped cooling about 5 months ago but I'm still not drilling into it. So the time came for me to get a man cave started and we all know that the base of any man cave MUST be a kegerator....and for me, a kegerator is not a kegerator unless its 50+ years old. I went on the prowl on Craigslist and found what appeared to me to be a beat up late 40's Kenmore Coldspot (what are the odds?) for $50. Went and checked it out and it wasn't so bad. Handle appeared to be broken but otherwise, looked to be in great shape. Offered the woman $40 and drove it home. Here are some pics of what it looked like when I bought it.

I live in San Francisco so this is gonna be painted red and converted to run two kegs. I'll post pics as I go.

I would also love to see everyone else's converted vintage fridges. Post up!

[Scott Zuhse]

Check out the Micro Matic Social Network and post your project there as well.

[psychodad]

Please keep us updated with pictures how this turns out. We had a guy long ago convert some old 50s era fridge and it didn't cool when he got done. His last post suggested he was giving up on it and he never came back. I suspect whatever was wrong was minor and I'm afraid he trashed what would have been an awesome kegerator.

[Rock Toy]

So, I'm making progress.

Removed the ddoor from the fridge and took it apart. Discovered that the handle was NOT broken....just missing a screw that had stripped and fallen out. Retapped it and put it back together. Works great. I then removed all of the parts and sanded the door down and painted it with some Rustoleum Red paint. Could have/should have had it professionally sprayed but I can always do that later. Looks good enough now and will look better after I apply some stickers/graphics to the fridge. Put it back together and drilled the hole in the door. Oops. The door is thicker than the shank that I have for the kegerator. Door is a little over 5"s thick. Ordered up an 8.5" shank. Should be here today. In the interim, I cut the PVC for the door and just slid the existing shank and tap in there for looks.

Also, the gasket on the fridge is pretty old and deteriorated. I found some new gasket material and will be ordering it today. In the meantime, I think the fridge is not sealing properly, which is why you see the icing over on the freezer portion.

Right now, I have the keg tapped and pouring off a hand pump tap. Foamy beer but beer nonetheless. Once I get the new shank, I'll run about 5' of 1/4" line and that should hopefully fix the problem. Will also be relocating the CO2 tank to the back of the fridge and replacing the tank that I have now with a 5lb AL tank. That should give me enough room for another pony keg so that I can add a second tap to the front.

Will keep you updated as I go. . . and it appears as though I caught the bug. Already looking for an older vintage mini fridge to convert into a tower version kegerator.

[Rock Toy]

Oh yes, also replaced the inside light with a red bulb and ran red rope lighting underneath and along the back of the fridge. Now I just need to figure out how to run the rope light off a switch and make it part of the fridge. Shouldn't be hard...

[Gordy]

Lookin good! If you are replacing the beer line I would go with about 10' of 3/16" I.D. to start. This will slow down the pour and help with the foam issues. If it pours too slow you can always trim a little off at a time for the perfect pour. Good luck.

[THE ICEMAN]

Nice work so far. As Gordy said, go with the 3/16" line. It will give you a lot less problems.

The fridge I used for my conversion wasn't quite as old as yours but it still had some miles on it. You can click on the link in my signature to see my build.


THE ICEMAN

[cubby_swans]

Right now, I have the keg tapped and pouring off a hand pump tap. Foamy beer but beer nonetheless. Once I get the new shank, I'll run about 5' of 1/4" line and that should hopefully fix the problem.

As other's have said, you need 3/16" ID beer line. 1/4" ID line would be great, if you had 15-20' of it.

Also, I hope you plan on drinking that keg FAST, as pumping it with air is

A) flattening the beer
B) putting oxygen into the keg (oxidizing the beer)
C) pumping airborne bacteria into the keg (spoiling the beer)

[Rock Toy]

I said that I was "pouring off a hand pump tap". If you look at the picture, you will see that the keg is connected to the CO2 and instead of running to the shank, is connected with a short line to the manual tap that I removed from my hand pump. Just so I could drink the beer while I wait for the Fed Ex truck to show up

[cubby_swans]

I said that I was "pouring off a hand pump tap". If you look at the picture, you will see that the keg is connected to the CO2 and instead of running to the shank, is connected with a short line to the manual tap that I removed from my hand pump. Just so I could drink the beer while I wait for the Fed Ex truck to show up

Ahh, I see what you did, now. That works just fine. That's called the faucet, you're using, off the hand pump tapper.

[Scott Zuhse]

Lookin good! If you are replacing the beer line I would go with about 10' of 3/16" I.D. to start. This will slow down the pour and help with the foam issues. If it pours too slow you can always trim a little off at a time for the perfect pour. Good luck.

As Mr. Corso would say "not so fast, my friend!" Do not go down that road of installing tons of 3/16" line to prevent foam. It does not. What it will accomplish is a slow flow allowing you to catch the foamy, streaky, not quite balanced draught system flow.

Always tune and balance the system first (temperature / pressure) and then install the amount of 3/16" to acquire the "clear" flow rate desired. You could dispense a 80F hefe at 10 PSIG with 50' 3/16" and eventually end up with a glass of beer. It would take you forever and the beer would probably be flat and kinda warm.

Please, please get out of the mind set that longer 3/16" balances a system. Know the beer temperature, gas volumes, elevation, thus PSIG. Good luck!

[Rock Toy]

So, am I correct in understanding that running 1/4" line is not going t work? I'm pretty sure that I bought 1/4" line to a 1/4" shank. That's what was in the system before. Does it really make that big of a difference? please excuse my ignorance. I'm used to drinking the beer, not making sure it gets there in the right form

[cubby_swans]

So, am I correct in understanding that running 1/4" line is not going t work? I'm pretty sure that I bought 1/4" line to a 1/4" shank. That's what was in the system before. Does it really make that big of a difference? please excuse my ignorance. I'm used to drinking the beer, not making sure it gets there in the right form

It makes a huge difference. 3/16" line will fit over a 1/4" shank just fine. You just warm the end line up in hot water before sliding it on to make it a bit pliable. The internal diameter of the line controls the flow speed of the beer. At 5 feet, 1/4" ID line will have your beer shooting out like a fire hose.

You NEED 3/16" ID line at 5'.

[Rock Toy]

OK, I can get that locally so I'm not that concerned. But will the 1/4" ID shank be ok then? That's a part that I CAN'T get locally.

[Scott Zuhse]

The 1/4" shank will be fine.

[Rock Toy]

Quick little update. Finally finished it. Replaced the 1/4" line with 3/8" line and it flows perfectly!! Of course, I finished the keg a glass into the new line but at least I know it works. Off to the brewery to pick up another keg. I'll post final pics later this evening or tomorrow.

[Gordy]

Replaced the 1/4" line with 3/8" line and it flows perfectly!! .

I'm assuming you meant 3/16" line.....

[Rock Toy]

Yep, that's what I meant. Amazing what a difference 1/16 of an inch can make!

[DoctorDJ]

In the vintage fridge, can you remove the freezer compartment to give yourself more room inside?

Found a vintage fridge in an upcoming Estate Sale and am intrigued about picking it up for a kegerator.

[DoctorDJ]

I found 2 vintage options in upcoming Estate Sales. One says it is a Frigidaire Food Freezer, the other I can't make out any information.

Anyone converted a vintage appliance like either of these? Anything I should be looking out for when I go take a look at them?

[THE ICEMAN]

In the vintage fridge, can you remove the freezer compartment to give yourself more room inside?

Found a vintage fridge in an upcoming Estate Sale and am intrigued about picking it up for a kegerator.

Nope. Refrigerator/freezers are essentially freezers with a little of the air tapped off the freezer section to cool the fridge. So removing the freezer would disable the entire unit.


THE ICEMAN

[THE ICEMAN]

I found 2 vintage options in upcoming Estate Sales. One says it is a Frigidaire Food Freezer, the other I can't make out any information.

Anyone converted a vintage appliance like either of these? Anything I should be looking out for when I go take a look at them?

If you choose the freezer you would need one of these.


THE ICEMAN

[DoctorDJ]

No rust, needs a new gasket and a paint job. Works great. Can't wait to start the refurbishing process.

First job is to clorox the thing inside and out. Second I need to see how to go about painting this thing. I'd like to paint it Hot Rod Red. Any tips or suggestions on how to go about prepping this old time fridge to paint? Should I look into having an auto body shop paint it? Or is it easy enough to do myself?

[THE ICEMAN]

No rust, needs a new gasket and a paint job. Works great. Can't wait to start the refurbishing process.

First job is to clorox the thing inside and out. Second I need to see how to go about painting this thing. I'd like to paint it Hot Rod Red. Any tips or suggestions on how to go about prepping this old time fridge to paint? Should I look into having an auto body shop paint it? Or is it easy enough to do myself?

When I did mine I was lucky enough to have a buddy that owns an auto/body shop. I asked him a few questions about what to use for my project & he ended up volunteering his time (with my help) & only charged me for paint & supplies so it only cost me $200. A simple single color paint will be less than mine but unless you have a buddy like mine the labor will cost you that much more.

That having been said, it ain't that tough to paint something. It just depends how elaborate you want it to be. In my opinion you should stay away from going down to the hardware store & picking up a couple cans of spray paint - it looks as cheap as the cost. Preparation of the surface is key. You need to get the unit free of loose paint, dirt, rust, oil, dust etc. but it doesn't have to be down to bare metal. Find an auto paint supply in your area & ask questions. Most are happy to help you because of course they want your business. If you have any more questions let me know.


THE ICEMAN

[jimbo69ny]

I am working on my second kegerator conversion. The first one was a basic, run of the mill, fridge.

My new one is a vintage 1950 Frigidaire refrigerator.

The first two pictures were taken when I picked it up. At first I was going to pass on it but I thought hell, it was free I might as well take it. It was really filthy and a little rusty.

I got it home, cleaned it up, sanded it and repainted it. I taped off everything I didnt want painted and I sprayed it with 3 coats of Rustoleum glossy white and 2 coats of Rustoleum clear coat. It came out awesome!!!
Im hoping to sell my first frige and keep this one. Unfortunately I can only fit 2 - 1/4 kegs in it. No 1/2 kegs.

[DoctorDJ]

Saw in another thread someone with the exact fridge I picked up, his (COB) appeared to be light blue.

Just called a couple body shops, only got one quote so far, $300. Hopefully I can do a bit better than that.

[DoctorDJ]

Take a look.....having some concerns though. After plugging it in first time the temp dropped to 32 in the main area. I tried to raise the temperature with the knob, then it went to 40. For past 24 hours I've been trying to get the temp down, but it may actually be getting warmer.

I need to get some advice on how to troubleshoot. Maybe I unplugged let it thaw out and start again. The corner freezer compartment is cold and has frost on some of the coils, so it works at least partially.

Really getting concerned that I am screwed.

[THE ICEMAN]

Take a look.....having some concerns though. After plugging it in first time the temp dropped to 32 in the main area. I tried to raise the temperature with the knob, then it went to 40. For past 24 hours I've been trying to get the temp down, but it may actually be getting warmer.

I need to get some advice on how to troubleshoot. Maybe I unplugged let it thaw out and start again. The corner freezer compartment is cold and has frost on some of the coils, so it works at least partially.

Really getting concerned that I am screwed.

It sounds like you have a refrigerant leak. The freezer evaporator should have frost all the way across. Partial frost might indicate the evaporator is not filling with refrigerant. The other possibility is a restriction in the system.


THE ICEMAN

[DoctorDJ]

So is this fatal?

Can I fill the refrigerant or find someone to? If there is a clog, is there anyway to clear?

Feeling pretty nauseous right now having spent money to get painted, only to put it on the curb for the garbage truck.

[THE ICEMAN]

So is this fatal?

Can I fill the refrigerant or find someone to? If there is a clog, is there anyway to clear?

Feeling pretty nauseous right now having spent money to get painted, only to put it on the curb for the garbage truck.

Nothing is fatal. Its just a matter of how big a problem it is.

Unless you work with refrigeration it is not something you can do yourself. If it is a matter of being low on refrigerant the leak will have to be found & repaired or the refrigerant will just leak out again.

If it is a restriction it may be as simple as replacing the drier or more involved like having to replace the capillary tube system.

It may be time to call in a qualified repairman.


THE ICEMAN

[DoctorDJ]

I don't mind calling a repair man, but gotta find one who is interested enough to troubleshoot this old fridge. So many are not willing to take a shot.

Thanks for the advice. Gotta reassess my options, I got two taps worth of kegerator components and nothing to install them in.

Back to the drawing board. And Craig's list.