Maintaining C02 bottle outside of the Kegerator

[Dfitz]

I'm wondering if any of you hold your C02 bottle outside of your Kegerator. I'd like to also supply my mig welder with the same bottle. This bottle is rather large, about 3 ft tall so it's too big for the fridge and I think a little extra plumbing is a cheaper bet that buying an extra bottle.

 

[UndeadFred]

Yeah, I prefer it that way. Steel tanks get rusty in the inside of the keezer in a humid climate like mine. Make sure you build something (or chain it to something) to keep it from falling over, but you know that if you are a welder.

The gauges on the tank regulator (especially the high pressure gauge) will read more meaningfully at room temperature, too. (the red area will be in the right place anyway...)

 

[SGTSparty]

Yeaup. Side by side fridge leaves no room for a tank. Just put a hole in for the gas line running from my primary regulator to my bank of secondaries which hang from a shelf inside. I also prefer it outside so i don't have to dig behind kegs to see if I'm out of CO2 (had a lot of leaks and empty CO2 tanks when I was getting it initially configured).

 

[mongoose33]

I am--eventually--going to move toward something like these pass-through shanks from Chi company:

http://www.chicompany.net/index.php...46_425&zenid=b3da20325e896ef6f4ff3d86b06d3da7

Rather than passing a gas line through a hole in the collar, I'd rather connect it via MFL connections. You could easily use a WYE on your tank and split between your welder and keezer.

 

[TX_Brewing]

If your fridge had in door water there is likely a spot where the water lines came into the fridge. That is what I used to run my gas line through. Easy and dent have to worry about cutting anything.

 

[evsol]

I prefer mine outside also. Gives me more room in my keezer (I have a 20 pounder so it takes up a lot of space)

 

[day_trippr]

I am--eventually--going to move toward something like these pass-through shanks from Chi company:

http://www.chicompany.net/index.php...46_425&zenid=b3da20325e896ef6f4ff3d86b06d3da7

I use the short "panel" version of that to go through the back edge of my keezer lid.

Then I add a 1/4" FFL to 9/16"-18 Firestone gas post adapter to the outside end

and a Firestone gas post, which then allows me to use a standard ball lock gas QD for the CO2 gas feed...



One of these days I'll do the same for the nitro line...

Cheers!

 

[Dfitz]

I had been looking for a bottom freezer upright so I could also hold hops and glasses and not conflict with my tap handles. Unfortunately nothing like that found its way into my garage. I did pick up a nice sized upright with a top freezer for $40 at a cross the street garage sale. I plugged it in, put my thermometer in and an hour later it measured 30 deg.F set on 9 and it was still running trying to cool. Asked why they were selling it and they said it froze everything on the top shelf. Turned it down to 5 and it measured 34 deg. I thought, that'll work. Went got my dolley and off we rolled. All the way across garages. I'll have to look at the manuals and see it I can safely drill through a convenient area to pass a line through. Who knows, it may last for years. If not, well....

 

[DurtyChemist]

I keep mine outside as well for the reasons mentioned above. Easier to swap out, takes up less space, won't rust even though I'm in Nevada and only the sun rusts anything here. In the future I might go with a full sized fridge or upright freezer for my kegerator but right now it's a Danby unit from Costco and it came with the tank mounted on the outside. My step father has his tank inside the fridge due to spacing restrictions but he doesn't go through many kegs. I don't like having it inside just because it's harder to check the pressure setting, change pressure setting, and swap out.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/for/5742534824.html

I'd jump on buying one of these. I'm not sure how strict your area is for refilling tanks but here the shop will swap them out. I have one of these and it probably lasts a year or longer. Actually I have 2 because I found one for $40 and couldn't pass it up.

 

[crazyjake19]

Yeaup. Side by side fridge leaves no room for a tank. Just put a hole in for the gas line running from my primary regulator to my bank of secondaries which hang from a shelf inside. I also prefer it outside so i don't have to dig behind kegs to see if I'm out of CO2 (had a lot of leaks and empty CO2 tanks when I was getting it initially configured).

I keep my CO2 tank outside of the kegerator as well, for visibility reasons, if nothing else.

I love your monitor idea for the beers on tap. I was considering a white board or chalk board but my dad has an abundance of PC monitors and parts laying around, I just might have to incorporate that idea into my bar.

 

[SGTSparty]

I keep my CO2 tank outside of the kegerator as well, for visibility reasons, if nothing else.

I love your monitor idea for the beers on tap. I was considering a white board or chalk board but my dad has an abundance of PC monitors and parts laying around, I just might have to incorporate that idea into my bar.

Thanks. If i ever get off my butt and have free time I'm going to a build thread but here's the cliff notes of what I did:

Cheap craigslist Monitor
2 sets (4 total) of these magnets: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008H40U10/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
a cheap flat mount (i used this one http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082822&p_id=3613&seq=1&format=2)
a scrap piece of 3/8" ply wood leftover from a previous project.
some 1/2" wood screws.

Attached the monitor to the mount. Slide the ply in between the 2 sections of the mount (kinda sung, took some effort, but it works), screw the magnets to the ply via the mount's anchor holes.

I mounted the monitor upside down also so the cords would be out of the way.

then use taplist.io for your digital taplist and you're all set.