First Kegerator/Bar build

[RoyaleWithCheese]

So I just bought my first house this past summer. It was a bit of a fixer-upper but I couldn't be more excited about it!

Obviously I had my priorities straight because one of the first things I bought for it was a bunch of new kegerator parts and a fridge off craigslist lol. The bar build got pushed off for a few months, however, as other things needed attention to make the place livable.

I finally got around to finishing it though and figured I would share it with all of you and thank you all for contributing to all the threads that gave me the knowledge and confidence to pull this off!

I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this, as you will see, and I have to say I'm happy to have it finished. I wish every home project dispensed beer once finished lol, it's much more rewarding that way.

Here is where it all started getting rid of the ugly clay tiles. Right after I took this I sliced my finger deep on a piece of clay (blood):

Then the top tiles were cut and laid and the trunk line and drain holes were drilled and the drain put in place (sweat):

Then we put the edge pieces on. Getting the corner pieces cut was an absolute nightmare which took almost 6 weeks of aggravation and too much money due to a local tile cutters incompetence (tears):

Trunk line was bundled, seran wrapped, insulated, and taped:

The job foreman was there to oversee that it was done correctly:

Here it is being slid into place after the grout was completed:

 

[RoyaleWithCheese]

Trunk line coming through into the basement and into the fridge:

All bundled up and ready to go! A bucket with holes drilled in the lid is used in the freezer with the pond pump in it. I'm currently using salt water which is working perfect but I might switch to glycol eventually.

Bar and kitchen look-through all finished up:

Finished bar with all the accoutrements on top!

And last but not least, my first beer from it! The first pull was all foam but has poured great every beer after that!

Overall I'm very happy with the result! It's not perfect by any means since it was the first time I have ever done any of this stuff, but it was a great learning experience and is definitely something I will continue to enjoy as long as I own this house!

 

[lukebeulah]

Nicely done. Your build turned out great, and nice job on the tile work and tower installation.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Hello]

You should be very proud of yourself. It looks wonderful!

 

[RoyaleWithCheese]

Thanks!

Now that I have lived with it for a couple weeks I've noticed that it builds some pockets of CO2 in the beer line so the first pull of the day sputters a bit. It leaves about 1/2 - 1 inch of foam on the top of the first beer but every one after that is fine.

Is that common?

I haven't played around with the pressure much yet and have it at 12psi. It flows slightly on the slower side so I may try bumping it up a tad to see if that helps keep the CO2 in solution. It's only going up about 8ft max so I wouldn't think it would need to be too high.