avanti kegerator owners!!

[dog-on]

after many kegs of foam and MANY headaches i can now say we are foam free and the beer tastes better than any pub in town. want to know how?

1- replace the faucet and shank(90*bend) with the micromatic kind.
2- replace the beer hose to a 5ft length.
3- replace the thermostat from avani. they know the ones in there dont work.


i spent about 60 bucks in here replacing the cheap parts avanti uses and presto!!

thanks micromatic!!

[LordHarris]

Hi, I own an avanti and have some foam issues, i've done some of the things you've listed. Where did you get the thermomitor?

[witterb]

I bought the Brewers Edge Digital Temperature Controller II. It's a little expensive but worth every penny. I also bought a new 3" Beer Tower which already had the 5 foot hose with it. I have had no problems with my POS AVANTI since i have done all these things. I would recommend getting the B.E.D temp controller II because it does all the work for you. Crank your cooler to the coldest setting, put the probe on the other end of thermometer into the water and it will keep your liquid temp at 37-38 degrees or wherever you want it set at. This will definitely do the trick.

[chadschloss78]

I bought my Brewer's Edge II Controller from here too, a little expensive.

Here is a link to the Ranco Controller and the Johnson Controlls A419 (exact same as brewers edge, just cheaper). This site is the cheapest by far on digital controllers.

Ranco Thermostats

Johnson Controls

[ashman]

I bought the Brewers Edge Digital Temperature Controller II. It's a little expensive but worth every penny. I also bought a new 3" Beer Tower which already had the 5 foot hose with it. I have had no problems with my POS AVANTI since i have done all these things. I would recommend getting the B.E.D temp controller II because it does all the work for you. Crank your cooler to the coldest setting, put the probe on the other end of thermometer into the water and it will keep your liquid temp at 37-38 degrees or wherever you want it set at. This will definitely do the trick.

Ditto to that. I also got a new pressure gauge in addition to everything mentioned above The Avanti has a POS coupler as well. I replaced it with a MicroMatic after two kegs. Do yourself a favor and get a new coupler or you will have at least one night of frustration. I had beer flowing from the coupler on the 3rd keg for no reason. The MM couper solved the problem. BOTTOM LINE, replace EVERYTHING you can with MM and you will be a happy drinker.

[shuggy]

What's the point of buying this unit if you have to replace everything that is replacable on this unit to get it to work correctly? Seems to be a giant waste of time and money. A better solution to the problems would be to not buy this unit in the first place or if you've already made the first mistake return the unit ASAP and get something else.

[sfurst]

There is much truth to this topic. I own an Avanti as well, and ended up changing out the beer hose, and the thermometer with MM products, and I finally have a decent pour. I only ruined a keg in the process...

I've not replaced the tower yet, but I'm thinking about a two tap tower, so I can keep one seasonal six barrel and a typical bar favorite as well, on tap.

[chris4amd]

I made the mistake of purchasing an Avanti Kegerator from BestBuy. Too late to return it I realize it sucks.

I saw the below post... Could someone provide links to the parts that I need to turn my POS into the beer dispensing machine I need?

1- replace the faucet and shank(90*bend) with the micromatic kind.
2- replace the beer hose to a 5ft length.
3- replace the thermostat from avani. they know the ones in there dont ****.

I tried searching Micromatic's site...and wow. Lots of parts that match the above.

[sfurst]

I made the mistake of purchasing an Avanti Kegerator from BestBuy. Too late to return it I realize it sucks.

I saw the below post... Could someone provide links to the parts that I need to turn my POS into the beer dispensing machine I need?



I tried searching Micromatic's site...and wow. Lots of parts that match the above.

I don't know about the faucet and shank...I'm still using the original Avanti one. However, I have replaced the following parts and now my Avanti ****s great.

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/hoses-pid-547C60A.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/kegerator-conversion-kits-pid-E54.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-841.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/keg-taps-couplers-pid-7485E.html

You may want to replace some or all of these, but at the very least, I recommend the hose and the thermostat. I bought the keg coupler b/c it was easier to use with the new hose from MM, and the CO2 regulator b/c mine never ****ed correctly.

[carlennj]

I need a new faucet for my Avanti.
Any suggestions? I want it setup right when I tap my first Heini light!

[billbird2111]

I don't know about the faucet and shank...I'm still using the original Avanti one. However, I have replaced the following parts and now my Avanti ****s great.

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/hoses-pid-547C60A.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/kegerator-conversion-kits-pid-E54.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-841.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/keg-taps-couplers-pid-7485E.html

You may want to replace some or all of these, but at the very least, I recommend the hose and the thermostat. I bought the keg coupler b/c it was easier to use with the new hose from MM, and the CO2 regulator b/c mine never ****ed correctly.

OK Mr. Furst. You seem to be very expert at this. I see your parts list, but darn if I don't understand some of the things that you're doing -- especially with that temperature guage part. Put the sensor in water? Liquid? What liquid? The keg? How the heck do I fit a sensor in there?

Well, I've emailed you a private message with many, many, many questions. Here's hoping that you have the patience to be patient with me, and answer them all.

Bill

[rjmcleod24]

Avanti HELP

Just discovered this forum, and I want to throw in my .02 as well. My wife bought me an Avanti (aka she went to Best Buy and picked one out) for my birthday last August and it has been nothing but trouble and crap drafts since...

I see everyone posting here about replacing the lines, regulator, thermostat, coupler, etc.. Who all has done all of this and now has nice clean tasty pours? Its quite frustrating facing the fact that I will have to spend another $100-200 just to get this thing functioning the way it should. I recently snapped off the brass lever in my faucet, and in my search for a replacement, I stumbled across this forum (and others) and decided to heed all of your advice and replace many of these parts..... so I'm in the middle of replacing the whole setup piece by piece.

I ordered an Ventmatik forward-seal faucet, but I will probably order another as I'd like to go to a dual faucet setup. The first thing I discovered is that NONE of these 'standard' pieces will fit on the Avanti setup.. aka... the OEM shank does not fit in my new faucet. I also cannot seem to find a comparable elbow shank as the one that is already in the Avanti.

I guess my question is.. should I really be looking at replacing the entire linear setup? From Coupler to beer lines to shanks to faucets? Replace the CO2 regulator?

I'd like to put a dual-gauge regulator on my tank and I was wondering if there is any significant advantage (besides the ability to have 2 kegs that require different pressures) to having a regulator on each keg coupler as well? Otherwise, I will just stick with replacing the one regulator on my tank...

Oh well I have so many thoughts and questions on this... I just set this thing up and for the last 8 months 'assumed' it was OK when really I knew deep down I was getting pretty crappy drafts.... My first warning was the fact that I had to have the pressure set at 3-5psi just to get rid of the foam...

Anyway... I'm interested in giving this thread life again. Anybody have any recent ideas or suggestions? This should almost be a 'sticky' for Avanti owners...

[stemikel]

My wife purchased an Avanti kegerator from Best Buy for my wedding gift. Like everyone else here, I had several problems with foam. It has taken some time and money, but the system now seems to be running perfectly.

I initially replaced the coupler with the micromatic brand. After that, I adjusted the unit's thermostat and installed the Brewers Edge Digital Temperature Controller II. I have the probe immersed in a sealed vial of windshield washer fluid on top of the keg, near the door. I have a small 4 1/2 inch fan blowing into the tower. This has taken care of all of my foam issues.

This past week, I installed a Vent-matic Ultra-flo faucet, but it did not fit the standard Avanti shank. Therefore, I purchased this elbow shank (4329AS-3E) from Micromatic and found that this fits both the faucet and tower perfectly. I also increased the length of tubing to 5 feet.

I am thrilled with the quality of the drafts, at this time.

I realize the out-of-the box package is less than ideal, but the size and appearance is more suitable than a converted fridge for many people. Additionally, I have learned a lot from the posts on this forum and I have had a lot of fun improving the quality of the system.

[Snktimoniuz]

Replying to rjmcleod24;

I had the same issues you are noting after my girlfriend bought me the Avanti as a gift. I bought a new faucet which wouldn't fit the Avanti. I bought a new coupler which wouldn't fit the Avanti. Instead of spending money on a new shank/line and hardware, I decided to replace the entire tower assembly that included all of those parts. The 3" diameter PVC tower from Micromatic has much better insulation than the Avanti stock piece and allows more air to reach the tower and cool the beer line. You have to drill 4 holes through the case to mount the tower, which may make you a little gun shy about the whole process, but in my experience it was well worth it.

I haven't yet replaced the stock regulator and haven't added a digital thermostat or air blower, but other people have noted these as very useful changes.

The way I look at it, the beer dispenser was a gift so any extra expense to get it optimized is still economical.

Best of luck.

[psychodad]

I want to know where you guys find these wives and girlfriends so willing to buy you kegerators.