Kegregator install project

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Thu May 26, 2011 7:38 am

I've been running a portable kegging system using a paint ball CO2 tank and cobra taps for a while now and I'm ready to step up to something more permanent. I want to set up 3 taps on my side-by-side fridge.

I'm not really sure were to begin. Are any of you experienced kegging pro's willing to work with me on this project? I need to spec out all the parts, figure out where to buy it all at, and of course install it. There's a huge amount of options from what I can see. I really don't understand the pro/cons with most of them.

I'm not afraid to spend money to get good parts that will last a long time and be as trouble-free as possible. On the other hand, I don't want to waste money on items of dubious value or that are unnecessary. I also have very little clue or skill in installing something like this and would prefer to do it right the first time.

So fellow Beer Nuts, are any of you up to the challenge?

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:07 am

I think most of the crew will agree, you should start by getting perlick forward sealing facuets. They are absolutly the best and will give you years and years of trouble free service.

For complete tap assembly you will need the following.

Facuet
Shank (desired length depends on thickness of mounting wall)
Tailpeice (dependant on diameter of hose).
washer
wingnut

In the end it will end up costing you about $65 - $ $75 per faucet (new).

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:56 am

Get everything you need at Rapids. They have the forward sealing faucets and all the parts you need far cheaper than a homebrew shop. When I did mine I went with all stainless for the shanks and stuff. I figure it was a long term investment so why not.

Sounds like you are doing a fridge like mine. I really like the side by side for a beer fridge. I can fit up to 6 cornies in mine and still keep all of the door shelves for bottles of beer. Freezer makes for nice hop storage. I can get you some more pictures and you can come take a closer look sometime. It is an easy conversion.

All I did on mine is use a step bit and make a hole through the front metal of the door and another on the back side in the plastic. I like the step bit because I was able to make a small hole and increase in size until the shank went through as small a hole as possible. The insulation in the door was tight against the shank so that there are no leaks. Can't remember how long my shanks are, but they are a few inches longer than I needed. I did not add any back plates or anything. The fit with just the door seems solid enough. I used a stainless steel drywall pan for a drip tray. An actual drip tray would be nicer but costs a lot more.

Mr T · Post by **Mr T** » Thu May 26, 2011 10:47 am

Rapids has some cool staff..u can just stop in the showroom and they will help u build it as well. Without a doubt spend the money on a forward seal tap..I hazve the shiron brand..I think they look better than the perlick but not sure they still make them
Sent from my U.S. CellularÂ® Android phone

Matt F <brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org> wrote:

Get everything you need at Rapids. They have the forward sealing faucets and all the parts you need far cheaper than a homebrew shop. When I did mine I went with all stainless for the shanks and stuff. I figure it was a long term investment so why not.

Sounds like you are doing a fridge like mine. I really like the side by side for a beer fridge. I can fit up to 6 cornies in mine and still keep all of the door shelves for bottles of beer. Freezer makes for nice hop storage. I can get you some more pictures and you can come take a closer look sometime. It is an easy conversion.

All I did on mine is use a step bit and make a hole through the front metal of the door and another on the back side in the plastic. I like the step bit because I was able to make a small hole and increase in size until the shank went through as small a hole as possible. The insulation in the door was tight against the shank so that there are no leaks. Can't remember how long my shanks are, but they are a few inches longer than I needed. I did not add any back plates or anything. The fit with just the door seems solid enough. I used a stainless steel drywall pan for a drip tray. An actual drip tray would be nicer but costs a lot more.

------------------------
Matt Franklin
Slappy Brewing North

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Thu May 26, 2011 12:13 pm

They don't make Shrion faucets anymore, Perlick bought Shrion and incorporated into their line of products. Actually My taps are Shrion as well.

Mr T wrote:Rapids has some cool staff..u can just stop in the showroom and they will help u build it as well. Without a doubt spend the money on a forward seal tap..I hazve the shiron brand..I think they look better than the perlick but not sure they still make them
Sent from my U.S. CellularÂ® Android phone

Matt F <brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org> wrote:

Get everything you need at Rapids. They have the forward sealing faucets and all the parts you need far cheaper than a homebrew shop. When I did mine I went with all stainless for the shanks and stuff. I figure it was a long term investment so why not.

Sounds like you are doing a fridge like mine. I really like the side by side for a beer fridge. I can fit up to 6 cornies in mine and still keep all of the door shelves for bottles of beer. Freezer makes for nice hop storage. I can get you some more pictures and you can come take a closer look sometime. It is an easy conversion.

All I did on mine is use a step bit and make a hole through the front metal of the door and another on the back side in the plastic. I like the step bit because I was able to make a small hole and increase in size until the shank went through as small a hole as possible. The insulation in the door was tight against the shank so that there are no leaks. Can't remember how long my shanks are, but they are a few inches longer than I needed. I did not add any back plates or anything. The fit with just the door seems solid enough. I used a stainless steel drywall pan for a drip tray. An actual drip tray would be nicer but costs a lot more.

------------------------
Matt Franklin
Slappy Brewing North

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Thu May 26, 2011 2:59 pm

You can drill anywhere on the frig door without problems. If you have ice through the freezer door there will be wiring there. You shouldn't need to though. If you want to drill through the side and leave your co2 tank outside the frig it's a little trickier. Let me know and I can tell you what to look for.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Thu May 26, 2011 3:09 pm

tompb wrote:You can drill anywhere on the frig door without problems. If you have ice through the freezer door there will be wiring there. You shouldn't need to though. If you want to drill through the side and leave your co2 tank outside the frig it's a little trickier. Let me know and I can tell you what to look for.

Tom, I plan to move my gas tank outside my fridge and I am considering drilling through the side to run a single gas hose to my manifold mounted on the inside. I would like your guideance before I take on this task. I am in no hurry.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Thu May 26, 2011 4:32 pm

Tom,
My plan is to run the gas in through the side of the fridge so I don't have to waste space inside for the tank. I could definately use your advise/help with that.

I stopped by Rapids today. The dude there didn't know anything about kegging systems. There's another guy that's supposed to be back in on Tuesday. Hopefully he'll know more because I know more than this one did. I picked a catalogue though.

On Thursday 26 May 2011 3:59:13 pm you wrote:

You can drill anywhere on the frig door without problems. If you have ice
through the freezer door there will be wiring there. You shouldn't need to
though. If you want to drill through the side and leave your co2 tank
outside the frig it's a little trickier. Let me know and I can tell you
what to look for.

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Thu May 26, 2011 7:13 pm

I can help with the drilling. It's really just a matter of looking at the electrical connections and making an educated guess based on the fact that they won't spend a penny on an extra inch of wire. Lights, controls, and a central power block are the main criteria.

On a side note, it was a nice bourbon tasting at Benz's tonight.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Fri May 27, 2011 2:08 pm

Does Rapids generally give deals on the stuff you get from there? I picked up a catalog from them and their pricing is the same or even higher than online.

For exmple, they list SS Perlick faucets (They don't list which model) for $29.89 at Rapids while I can get 525 SS online for $26.99. Not a huge difference but not the big savings I keep hearing about. For 3/16" hose they are $1.35/ft versus $0.49 online. Even if I buy 100' it's still $0.57/ft.

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Fri May 27, 2011 3:08 pm

Someone has gotten cheaper then. When I bought my perlick faucet I couldn't find one under $30. I say if you can find it for less buy it. Figure in shipping though.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Sat May 28, 2011 11:39 am

When I bought my perlicks I got 4 for $21 each at Rapids which was the regular price. They were selling around $35 at the homebrew shops at the time. Shanks and other parts were cheaper too. That was about six years ago though.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Sat May 28, 2011 1:39 pm

I'm going to stop in there on Tuesday and hopefully talk to the guy who knows a little more about it. Rapids is a wholesaler, so they most likely give out pricing at full retail to drop in customers. There's a chance they'll be able to offer me a better deal. If not I'll go elsewhere for most items and save them for the odds and ends I forgot or didn't expect.
.
On Saturday 28 May 2011 12:39:31 pm you wrote:

When I bought my perlicks I got 4 for $21 each at Rapids which was the
regular price. They were selling around $35 at the homebrew shops at the
time. Shanks and other parts were cheaper too. That was about six years
ago though.

------------------------
Matt Franklin
Slappy Brewing North

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Sat May 28, 2011 3:09 pm

If you have any Northern Brewer catalogs lying around they usually have a really good break down of what you need for parts. The one I am looking at breaks down each piece including a picture of the fridge wall. I'll scan it in this week at work if you can't track one down. I will try get some detailed pictures of my fridge up for you today.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Tue May 31, 2011 8:06 am

Finally compressed my photos so I can throw them on the website. The close up of my manifold is of one that was sold by St. Pat's in Texas before they stopped doing homebrew equipment. It was about $20. Not bad for a 5 way manifold. You don't need ball valves on your manifold as long as you leave the hoses and quick disconnects on. When you pull off a QD it seals off the gas from leaking. If I remove the gas tank I can get 4 kegs on the top shelf. Leave yourself enough room to get to the top of the kegs when building a shelf. I plan to remove one of the shelf supporting legs and just put one in the middle. That way I can fit two kegs on the bottom. I use to cold crash my carboys on the bottom of the beer fridge before I got a fermenting fridge (Thanks Lee!). All taps, shanks, tail pieces, etc... are stainless steel.

Cedar Rapids Brewing Society