Guess who is finally kegging?!

If you guessed me you are correct! I have been brewing for about a year or so but this is my first adventure into kegging.

Here is my goal...I eventually want to run two 5lb corny kegs in a converted mini fridge kegerator. After doing countless hours of research I feel that I have gone from zero knowledge to some. I wanted to run by my ideas with my fellow brewers and keggers to see if this setup will work:

2- 5lbs corny's with picnic taps
1- mini fridge gutted enough to comfortable fit the kegs and a co2 tank
1- 5lb co2 tank
1- dual gauge double body regulator
1- Conversion kit that has all the lines and whatnot

I'd like to eventually convert the mini fridge all the way with some front mount taps but for practicality sake, I am just going to use it as a cool storage unit and disperse with the cobra tap. I will probably start out with the one keg but want to facilitate two of them and I figured the double body regulator would allow me to force carb one keg and keep the other at serving pressure.

Are there any foreseeable flaws in this plan? Am I missing anything?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

thats all you need, just need to add in fittings for either ball lock or pin lock depending on what kegs you get.

And it is 5 gallon not 5 pound kegs

I'd suggest you talk with Brian at http://birdmanbrewing.com

I ordered the stuff to set up my 3 faucet keezer from him. His prices were excellent and he was extremely helpful.

Hint.....upgrade to Perlick 525SS faucets and SS shanks at the beginning. It will keep you from spending extra $$ to upgrade later.

No issues with your plan. I currently use 1 line and picnic tap for 3 kegs that I have in the fridge. I just move the line over when I want a different brew. Kind of a pain but it will work till I upgrade

I think you have the plan down on the basic components needed.

Something to consider is getting a chest freezer and temp controller vs a small fridge that may require modification. In doing my research before making the switch myself I found that a used freezer and temp controller will almost always cost you less then purchasing and gutting a small fridge. A freezer is also better insulated than a small fridge making it more energy efficient. Depending on the freezer layout and size it will also likely give you space for an additional keg or two.

If you go the route of gutting a small fridge research the models extensively. When I was doing my research when trying to make my decision, I found many small fridges that would be suited for this purpose had reliability issues or were difficult to fit more than a keg into without removing the inside door panel and insulation. Some had issues on both fronts.

Whatever route you go you will be very happy once you make the jump. Filling one large bottle vs bottling goes much quicker and is by far less work.

I have the newer Danby mini fridge, its a pain in the butt to deal with hacking the door apart and then putting it all back together, but the temp seems to say stable at least on mine, some people say they have issues, I put in an electronic thermometer that records highs/lows and it stays within a 2* range, which I wont complain about.

Its nice and compact though, I love how sleek the whole thing looks now that I am done

I also got the Danby 440, your plan fits it perfectly.

Except, you won't have front mounted taps, you will need a tower on top.

Thanks for all of the responses folks. It's reassuring to know that I don't sound like a total noob in undertaking this new methodology. And yes cbzdel you're right, it's 5 gallons, way better than 5 lbs!

I would actually prefer a chest freezer to a mini fridge but I have space issues and have to keep SWMBO happy. I already have the mini fridge (need to go see what the heck brand it is though) so that's why I had the sudden itch start kegging as part of my investment would be readily available.

With any luck, I should get started on this soon and get everyone updated on my progress. Now to go research kegging practices...

I agree about Birdman Brewing. I purchased my setup there also. Excellent customer service and good pricing. I did upgrade to the taprite regulator and added a Wye Splitter and extra gas and picnic line. This allows me to connect to two kegs cheaply. (I mainly did this so I can run a counter pressure filler) You can also use a small manifold to connect the tank to and then run gas lines to the kegs from there. Without two regulators you'll have to run the same serving pressure to both kegs, but it's not a big issue.

Kegging was the best investment I have made for my home brewing. I brew more now because I always dreaded bottling day. I can have an ordinary bitter from kettle to keg in less than two weeks and it's carb'd in a few days.

Why can't you have front taps through the door with the 440?

Mase said:

If you guessed me you are correct!

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I suck at this game.

I got a bunch of my stuff from Birdman too. Great prices and very fast shipping. Keg Connection is another good vendor. They have a little more selection based on the size of your lines, connections. You will love kegging! Although it was a substantial investment, I can't believe it took me so long to get into.

zx2tuner said:

Why can't you have front taps through the door with the 440?

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You can, but you're taps will be at knee level coming out of the fridge if you have the fridge on the ground. A tower will put the taps at a more comfortable pouring height. This is particularly useful if you have small kids or thirsty pets1

Not to mention adding another...$100+ to your initial costs.

I have a Sanyo mini fridge I plan on putting taps on the front door. I don't have a problem with them being low since I'm...vertically challenged

But I couldn't plunk down the addition money for taps, shanks, fittings to run the CO2 outside...etc etc etc. a project for another day. At least I'm not bottling!

Got ya. I'm looking to do door taps so its not so flashy. It's going to go camping with me and don't want everyone seeing a flashy tap tower

zx2tuner said:

Why can't you have front taps through the door with the 440?

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I did a single tap on the front. Putting two on the door is tough because of dealing with the shanks and the tubing when there are two kegs in there.