Kegerator Photo Tutorial

Parts:
---> Safety goggles!
Sanyo 4912M refrigerator
Corded drill (strong motor)
Piece of wood: 5 3/4 wide x 5 3/4 long x 1/2 thick
Hole saw: Doorknob sized
Tap Tower assembly
Dish draining mat: plastic
Small, round plumbing clamps
Tube of silicone sealant
Caulking gun
Paper towels
Felt-tip marker
Straight razor blade
Set of pliers
Rotary cutting tool
CO2 cylinder w/ regulator assembly attached
17 inches of thick wooden dowel
Tube of Liquid Nail adhesive
Phillips head screwdriver

From unboxing to completion....a kegerator.

Remove the plastic lid from the fridge. The fins underneath the plastic lid need to be carved out. I used a razor blade, applying pressure straight down to slice through the plastic. Do this wherever the fin attaches to the rest of the lid. I then bent the fin back and forth until it was loose enough to bend almost horizontally. While holding it down on its side, I sliced through the base of the fin where it attached to the lid. Most came off in one large piece!

With the fins removed, I pushed the razor horizontally to shave any remaining fin flat with the surface. You need to get it smooth so the 1/2 inch wood board will adhere evenly.



This model's (Sanyo 4912M) lid's center was obvious from the finished side, but I still drilled a pilot hole from the center of the unfinished side. The next step is to drop the 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 1/2 wood board into the area the fins once occupied. Re-attach the lid with ALL the screws. Attach a hole saw and let 'er rip! I recommend using the size that is commonly used to drill holes for doorknobs. You can find that at Dome Hepot or Woeles. You can see the metal disc and core sample from the insulation. Neat!

Make sure you go slower when you get to the inner plastic lining. It seems like it would be easy to snap this type of plastic if you are really bearing down on the drill. Let the hole saw teeth do the work for you!



After drilling the hole, remove the lid again. Caulk the underside of the lid around the hole as well as both sides of the wood. Re-attach the lid with the wood underneath. I used a crap-load of silicone to waterproof the freshly-exposed substrates. The last thing we want is a bunch of moisture ruining the insulation or rusting out the exposed metal. I squeezed out the silicone onto my index and middle finger and distributed it evenly around, above, below and inside the hole. Let this cure overnight, fixing anything you missed the next day.



My tap tower came with some huge nuts that just don't fit the ball lock MFE connectors. I sliced those off, then attached the correct ones. I found some small clamps at Woeles after about 30 minutes of searching the plumbing fitting section. If you find the ones shown here, count yourself lucky. I used an ordinary set of pliers to crimp them onto the lines. Be careful not to bite into the lines with the clamps too much or you risk creating a cut. That might be a problem later when you pressurize the system. After dropping the lines into the hole, align the tap tower so that it is facing you and mark the holes.

A word of warning: My tap tower's holes were not properly aligned with the dispensing heads. If I would have aligned the base holes instead of eyeballing the heads, I could have ended up with a cock-eyed tower. Make sure you pay attention to the heads, NOT the screw holes in the base!

After marking your holes, drill in the same manner you did to cut the large hole. Be careful when you get to the inner plastic lining. Screw on and tighten.




I want to hide the 5 pound CO2 cylinder within the kegerator. There are two obstacles: space is at a premium and the cylinder is somewhat awkwardly shaped with the regulator assembly attached. As you can see below, there is a very small shelf-like surface at the rear of the fridge. I reasoned if I could augment that partial base with another partial base, the result would support the cylinder while saving space. This way, the cylinder will sit behind the two 5 gallon soda kegs and the door will close.




To support the CO2 cylinder, I cut out a small piece of a drainage mat (Mal-Wart). I used a rotary device for this with a round cutting head. I found that although the mat would melt slightly when cut at higher RPM's, the higher speed was necessary to overcome the drag imposed by the thick plastic. Next, I Liquid Nail’ed a set of 8.5 inch (length) dowels to the shelf's underside. The width of the dowel is the thickest I could get. The dowels came as a single, 5 foot long rod which I cut using a circular saw. I placed the dowels towards the front of the shelf to balance the weight properly. The rear of the shelf is supported by the 'shelf-like surface' I mentioned earlier. More dowels may be added in the future if the plastic deforms under the weight of the cylinder, but for now two dowels is sufficient.


Unfortunately, the shelf was a little too wide to allow the right-hand keg to fit inside the fridge. I made a slight modification on the shelf and everything fit! I used a marker to draw the line where the keg would be pushed the furthest forward while still allowing the door to close. The picture below shows the keg just a little behind the mark thanks to the shelf modification. I suppose I could have done some modification to the door, but that would have created other moisture holes and the finished product might not have been so solid.



If you use a rotary device with a cutting blade, do NOT try to cut the included glass shelves. That will end poorly for you and the glass shelf. The shelves are constructed of tempered glass and will shatter if sufficient pressure is applied.



Success! The regulator assembly is visible behind the kegs. Now, pressurize and enjoy!



I want to thank Chad Dickerson for the original tutorial: HERE

This site has lots of knowledge on kegging, including technical info on pressure: HERE

Here is a concise kegging FAQ: HERE