Thought I'd post this here since my other builds have got some attention. This time I'm going for the big one.
(For those who grace some of the UK based homebrew forums, I have posted it there too, but I love to share
)
A KEGGERATOR
I've decided to build myself a kegerator for Christmas, and rather than go at it in my usual half baked attempts (measure once, cut hand) I've decided to design the kegerator in Sketchup so that it is as accurate as possible and I can get an idea of what it will look like when I'm done.
Before I begin, the idea for the Beer tower came from here:
Wort-O-Matic: Custom Draft Tower and Kegerator
Which is (I believe) also on here somewhere. Thanks for the inspiration guys!
Here are a couple pics of what I'm proposing-
Looking Dead on at the keggerator:
The fridge is 550mm (55cm) square on the outside and 445mm (44.5cm) square on the inside.
As you can see I'm planning painting the fridge unit itself black. You can make out how much space the compressor is taking upon the left hand image. This image also shows how much of a gap there is above the cornies and the worktop. I'm thinking 50mm will be enough for hoses and other stuff that may protrude. Not sure though.
The right hand picture shows the Wooden extension that I'll need to build. I'm going to make that out of an old solid wood door I have in the flat.
The black 'arch' on the top is the draft tower. This is going to be made from 110mm soil pipe (like goes in the back of yer toilet) with mitered corners which are glued together. According to most reports this should give plenty of structural strength for the taps which will be going in them. The tubing will be insulated with whatever I can find around the house (the missus doesn't need her yoga mat does she?) and I'll cut a space in the back for access to the back of the taps.
For the curious, I'm using 110mm pipe because the taps I want come with 70mm shanks and I'd rather not pay for new ones for the build. Worst comes to worst though, I'll cut the shanks.
And from the top:
This gives a better view of where the taps will be living. The distance from the bar to the middle of the tap will be 25cm which should by my estimates give good clearance under the tap for a pint glass (assuming 150mm high pint glass). I've set the tower back slightly so that it has space the wasters who (God Willing) will hang around at my affront to the temperance movement. The bar itself will also be made from the remains of the door. I'll put some nice wood round the edge to hide the fact it was a door.
Why only 3 kegs?
The 4th space will be for gas, tube heater, fan, bottles, etc to go.
Why I need your help
I really don't fancy having to do this more than once and I think the one thing which could kill me is the height of the taps from the ground. By my calculations, to the top of the tower will be approx 135cm (4ft 5 inches) from the ground. Does this height seem okay? The bar itself will be about 1m 4cm from the ground to the top. I'm hoping that this will be okay for comfort but I'd like to sound some of the more experienced people on the forums out before I build.
All things going to plan I'll build the wooden frame and top this weekend.
(For those who grace some of the UK based homebrew forums, I have posted it there too, but I love to share
)A KEGGERATOR
I've decided to build myself a kegerator for Christmas, and rather than go at it in my usual half baked attempts (measure once, cut hand) I've decided to design the kegerator in Sketchup so that it is as accurate as possible and I can get an idea of what it will look like when I'm done.
Before I begin, the idea for the Beer tower came from here:
Wort-O-Matic: Custom Draft Tower and Kegerator
Which is (I believe) also on here somewhere. Thanks for the inspiration guys!
Here are a couple pics of what I'm proposing-
Looking Dead on at the keggerator:
The fridge is 550mm (55cm) square on the outside and 445mm (44.5cm) square on the inside.
As you can see I'm planning painting the fridge unit itself black. You can make out how much space the compressor is taking upon the left hand image. This image also shows how much of a gap there is above the cornies and the worktop. I'm thinking 50mm will be enough for hoses and other stuff that may protrude. Not sure though.
The right hand picture shows the Wooden extension that I'll need to build. I'm going to make that out of an old solid wood door I have in the flat.
The black 'arch' on the top is the draft tower. This is going to be made from 110mm soil pipe (like goes in the back of yer toilet) with mitered corners which are glued together. According to most reports this should give plenty of structural strength for the taps which will be going in them. The tubing will be insulated with whatever I can find around the house (the missus doesn't need her yoga mat does she?) and I'll cut a space in the back for access to the back of the taps.
For the curious, I'm using 110mm pipe because the taps I want come with 70mm shanks and I'd rather not pay for new ones for the build. Worst comes to worst though, I'll cut the shanks.
And from the top:
This gives a better view of where the taps will be living. The distance from the bar to the middle of the tap will be 25cm which should by my estimates give good clearance under the tap for a pint glass (assuming 150mm high pint glass). I've set the tower back slightly so that it has space the wasters who (God Willing) will hang around at my affront to the temperance movement. The bar itself will also be made from the remains of the door. I'll put some nice wood round the edge to hide the fact it was a door.
Why only 3 kegs?
The 4th space will be for gas, tube heater, fan, bottles, etc to go.
Why I need your help
I really don't fancy having to do this more than once and I think the one thing which could kill me is the height of the taps from the ground. By my calculations, to the top of the tower will be approx 135cm (4ft 5 inches) from the ground. Does this height seem okay? The bar itself will be about 1m 4cm from the ground to the top. I'm hoping that this will be okay for comfort but I'd like to sound some of the more experienced people on the forums out before I build.
All things going to plan I'll build the wooden frame and top this weekend.
