Need help getting old kegerator back in shape.

[Scotch021]

Hello,

I have a kegerator that I haven't used in over a year and am trying to get it back in working condition. First thing I did was take apart the coupler to clean it and noticed that I was missing the Check ball retainer and check ball. I remember last time I had a little leak could this be why?

Do they sell these parts at any b&m store like home depot ? Or any other stores in Tampa?


Also the top tap part that comes out of the top of the kegerator is really loose, what can I do to stop the air from leaking out? I also just put a keg top on the very top, what can I do to help stop cold air leak?

Thanks for the help getting my kegerator flowing again. I

[Scotch021]

Here are some pics of my baby, any comments suggestions to help would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Joe

[psychodad]

You likely can buy both of those parts from Micro Matic. You will need to know if you have a 2.5 or 3 inch tower.

[Scotch021]

Ya I'm thinking I'm just going to buy a new coupler as that one is like 7 yrs old. Should I purchase any additional washers o-rings just in case? Also would buying new lines here ve home depot mean any true difference?

I have a problem with the top part of my kegerator Colin undone each time I pour and thus letting cold air out, should I just super glue the metal price together? It is shown in one the pics above.

Thanks,

Joe

[bkl63]

Buy a new coupler, cheap enough to go that way, get a extra Keg Bottom Seal as some kegs can grind these up a bit, also you can get a new tower Cap so you don't have to use the Yingling Light keg cover.

Never buy lines from Home Depot, they are not food grade and will add unpleasant taster over time. Plus they don't hold up to the Beer Line Cleaners.

[KillianBoy]

Scotch021,
Dude, this is abuse of a family member, and not the year of non-use but what happened before. Give a bet the tower sweated like a guilty man on the witness stand when you were running it, the condensation dripped down between tower and unit, rusting the bottom of the tower. Cold air may have leaked out when you poured beer but more likely from your un-insulated tower, throw some insulation in the tower, you can super glue but it won't hold long unless you have some sort of support.
But the main thing you need to do make sure it gets cold, throw 5 gallon bucket of water inside and set the thermostat to 5-7 and wait and see. The next problem is your CO2 tank, check and see how bad the rust is, if bad, take it to AirGas specialist and get hydro tested and filled.
Then while doing this I would try and take the tower off, the 3 screws are probably frozen in place by rust, if you can get it off the hardest part would be to clean the gasket, if it’s a 2 ½ tower, a replacement near impossible to find in that size, I agree with bkl63, you need a proper cap, a replacement cap runs between $10-20 for 2 1/2 tower. If your faucet is in bad shape it might be best to get a new tower.
The coupler should be fine, if gaskets not brittle, can be operated without the retainer and check ball. Ditto with bkl63 about beer line, I would replace the beer line with at least 5 feet of food grade clear 3/16 ID vinyl hose, non-food grade from HD or Lowe's isn't worth the trouble.
But again none of this necessary if the unit won’t cool down to beer temperature, idle time can cause seals to dry out and cause leaks in cooling system. Can you ID unit it looks like a Haier/Kenmore.
KB

[Scotch021]

Thanks for all the responses so far,

It is a haier unit. I put a glass of water in it and will check the temp when I get home. I replaced the coupler and faucet as they were old and abused.

For the tower, I will try and take off the screws and replace it with a new gasket . Also I will get some insulation from home depot and put it in the tower.

I have it on normal setting and am starting to get a little ice build up inside at the bottom of the cooling piece at the back(not sure name of piece?). Should I be thinking of adding any mode such as a computer fan inside?

Thanks for all help,

Joe

[KillianBoy]

Scotch021,
Good to hear it's cooling, ice at the bottom of the white thing in back (cold plate) is a good sign, the cold plate gets cold makes ice, compressor turns off ice melts and drips into the gutter and water flows through drip drain. Honestly it would have been better to check tower to see if it's salvageable before buying a faucet, cheaper to buy as a set then buying separately. If your going to pour beer right away, just buy a desktop fan when you go to Home Depot for the insulation, eventually you can build your own tower cooler (ways to do it all over forum), if you get the tower off, clean, super glue the tower back together, glue insulation to tower, make sure beer line stays in the middle of the tower away from the insulation.
KB

[Scotch021]

Just a quick update I had it on normal setting and the inside of the kegerator was at 39 degrees. I also had a glass of water in there and took that temp of ~40 degrees. Changed setting to half way between coldest and normal and the glass of water was at 34 degrees so dialed it back a little and it's it 38 degrees. Is this the proper of seeing what my beer temp would be? Also i heard about having a 5 gallon bucket of water in there and taking that temp what is that for?

Also is there any specific type of insulation I need for the tower from home depot? And what do you mean I need a desktop fan? Would a fan from a computer work and how would I get power to it? Also placement of it inside?

[81david]

Scotch,

The reason for the 5 gallon bucket of water is to get an idea of what the temp of beer inside a keg would be. Taking the temp of the water would be similar to actually being able to take the temp inside of a keg. Of course a keg would insulate more than a bucket would especially with the top of the bucket being open, but it will give you a general idea around what the actual beer temp would be.

A desk fan is just a quick way to get circulation into the unit as you would just run the cord out the door and plug it in, simple and effective. A lot of people will tell you to use a dc fan instead vs ac of desktop fan because of the temps and moisture that is present within the box.

To run power to a dc fan you can either splice the wires with an old cell phone charger or if you are not good with electrical simply search the forum for the following thread:

Keg fans for the electrically impaired

Then follow those directions which are easy and the components are cheap.

Cheers

[81david]

Oh yeah...placement of the fan should be at the bottom of the unit facing up to blow the air across the cold plate probably back corner of the unit.

Heat rises so the coldest air of the unit will be a the bottom and the coldest part of the unit is of course the cold plate.

[KillianBoy]

Scotch021,
If your going to drink beer by pouring a cup of beer, putting in unit and drink when it reaches 38 degrees then your fine, but refrigeration units apply maximum cold for varying times of on and off depending on where thermostat is set, I have frozen cups of water while beer poured at 38 degrees. A 5 gal bucket of water gives one of the best indications of what the unit will do to a large body of liquid. When you said 39 degrees, was it during a off or on cycle, was the door open or closed, was it a digital thermometer or mercury, by saying it is 39 degrees is like a weatherman saying the sky is blue. I have had temperatures of 26 degrees air temperature with compressor running, 40+ while off, using a digital wireless thermometer. Where you had the thermostat was fine, maybe a little colder would have been better. Desktop fan is the easiest and fastest way to get circulation in the unit while beer is inside, best to buy one with a AC adapter, think 81david has the right idea of using DC current, having a 110 line exposed to wet environment is just not safe, other members have said they have no problems but not worth the risk especially with a large metal keg that you have to grab. If you going to wait to "tune" the unit then make a tower cooler or fan while you "tune", but best since it's cooling, is to put a keg of beer inside (also depending if you got tower fixed). I think the unit cools fine if you want to wait to fix the tower and parts to come in then turn off, get tower fixed, get everything ready then turn back on at a little higher then you had set at first.
KB

[Scotch021]

Well I am still having a couple of problems.

I took the temp of the 2nd beer poured and it is ~36.4 degrees, but I am still getting about 7/10th of foam for the first couple pours and then it goes to around 50%.

Also the beer taste flat and has no boubles coming up, I have set the PSI between 12-14 the entire time. Is there a way to recarbanate it? Should I pull the little lever on the side of the coupler?

I also have installed a computer fan and it is sitting on the bottom back right next to the keg. It is powered by a 5V cell phone charger, is this enough power for a 12V fan to be used as a tower cooler? And my haier model's diameter to the tower opening in ~1.5inches. Do I need to widen this to have an effective tower cooler? And would I need two fans or would this 1 fan return enough air down from the tower into the kegerator?

thanks for all your guys help,

Joe

[KillianBoy]

Joe,
Unless you describe your cooler or post pictures and also what your repaired tower looks like kinda difficult to say if your tower cooler is effective or not, an effective tower cooler takes the cold air at the bottom and takes it to the shank, the air returns back through tower to unit, it doesn't have to be strong just constant. People have opened the hole and made a difference but I think your still getting hot spots in your unit (very beer cold at bottom, unit warm at top), 5v should be fine if your getting airflow from the bottom of the unit. I have Budweiser at 12 PSI, pouring at 37 degrees, beer has about 1 inch of foam some bubbles, it seems a little flat but drinkable. Pulling lever will take the CO2 out of keg, if you think it is flat don't pull. You need to post type of beer, size, new or used gear, length of beer line. The Haier regulator is not very accurate, I'd set at 13 PSI for now. Hit learn tab, beer questions, then troubleshooting, look at flat beer, if that's what's happening, then you need more circulation, properly working tower cooler or fan can cure problem.
KB