2 tap Igloo cooler complete!

[nudarkshadowl]

Portable kegerator is complete! Should work like a charm! Going on my yearly fishing trip at Lee's Ferry in a few weeks, and I wanted to bring my beer... was going to bottle some, but I decided to build a portable keezer with two taps, 3 gallons each! Throw in some ice, and boom... draft beer on the boat while floating down the Colorado river!


Test fitting the kegs, the rubber bottom needed to be removed to allow the lid to close.

Everything fits like a glove, the lid completely closes and there will be plenty of room for lots of ice! I used a bottle cage off of a bike to hold the co2 in place. It fits nice and snug and is totally secure, but can also be removed easily if need be. Cheers to the originators of this idea for their inspiration!

 

[UWDawg13]

That is sexy!!!

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

That IS nice.
Care to explain what you're using for the CO2 ?
thanks

 

[nudarkshadowl]

Thanks guys! The co2 tank is a 20 oz paintball tank with a pin valve side mounting regulator from keg connections. It needed to be side mounting to fit in the lid. I went back and forth with mounting the tank on the outside of the cooler, or just leaving it by one of the kegs, but then it would be sitting in ice all day. This way the tank and regulator are less likely to get wet, and it pulls the gas lines out of the way for loading and unloaded the kegs/ice. There is a drain plug on the bottom as well for when the ice melts.

 

[Swiller]

You're going to dispense liquid co2 having that co2 tank mounted on the side like that. You'll ruin that regulator too while you're at it.

Make a holder for it (like a can cozy out of expanding foam or something) to keep it out of the ice, or just wrap it in plastic. I avoid ice all together. I use ice packs that are reusable. That way there is no water in the cooler. I use small water bottles and those flat plastic blue gel ice packs

 

[nudarkshadowl]

Well crap, I didn't think about that! Would it still leak and ruin the regulator if it was closed and the tank was horizontal? Guess I need to rethink it a bit! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Swiller]

Well crap, I didn't think about that! Would it still leak and ruin the regulator if it was closed and the tank was horizontal? Guess I need to rethink it a bit! Thanks for the heads up!

It's not about leaking. Liquid co2 will freeze it and ruin the regulator. Do you ever turn those compressed cans of air used for cleaning keyboards and other electronics upside down? It's like that. It blasts liquid and freezes stuff.

Co2 tanks are filled with liquid co2. The gas from the liquid fills the head space and escapes out as co2 gas. The only way you can turn it side ways is to install an L shape dip tube so that the L points up and pulls the gas from the head space now on the side of the bottle. But good luck getting something like that in a paintball cylinder...

Try this... With the regulator off hold it up right and decompress the pin...then turn it upside down and do it. You'll see... Just be careful not to hurt your self. Wear gloves. it'll freeze your finger.

 

[royal1911]

That's awesome! Great work!

 

[nudarkshadowl]

They actually do make dip tunes so paintball players can run the tank horizontally, but that's too much work and it's only aesthetics really anyway. Already got it mounted upright in the secure bottle cage behind the keg. Doesn't look at good, but is functional! Thanks for the advice man, much appreciated!

 

[Swiller]

They actually do make dip tunes so paintball players can run the tank horizontally, but that's too much work and it's only aesthetics really anyway. Already got it mounted upright in the secure bottle cage behind the keg. Doesn't look at good, but is functional! Thanks for the advice man, much appreciated!

They make dip tubes, but do they make L shaped ones? Probably would have a hell of a time getting it installed... Anyway, glad I could help before it caused too much damage.

Btw, I've had mine for a couple years now. It's exactly the same except the faucets are closer. I LOVE mine (and so does everyone else).

The only thing I want to modify are the wheels. I want to put large rubber wheels to not only raise it up, but make rolling it with weight easier, especially on gravel and dirt.

I have 15 three gallon kegs because I use the crap out of it during the summer and holidays, I like having them prefilled so they're ready to grab and go. I also bought some 1 gallon kegs for extra portability for single day events like dinner at someone's house or a trip to the lake with just us and no guests...

I was thinking about buying another cooler with a single handle for this short 5gal keg I acquired. It fits really well in that cooler. I just don't want to have to store two coolers.



Here's a pix i took as i was packing up for vacation. I did two kegs of a grapefruit wheat and two kegs of a guava strawberry hard lemonade for vacation last month... It all got consumed except for maybe half a gallon of the wheat. Also, I always bring an extra co2 tank with us too, just in case.. Should keep that in mind.

 

[TAK]

Looks great!

 

[splendidus]

What size are your 3gal kegs (diameter)?
What size cooler did you get?

I thought I got the identical Igloo cooler (70qts) and my 3gal cornies don't fit...

 

[bobeer]

hey that's pretty awesome! Would be killer at the beach. You'd be the only one out there with beer on tap :rockin: