Picnic tap near miss: a warning shot.

[MitchK]

So my current kegerator is a mini fridge that barely fits 2 kegs and a 5 lb co2 tank, with a couple of picnic taps jammed in there along with all the hosing. Until very recently my main complaint was how often I would grab the wrong beer by mistake.

Until closing the door after pulling a pint must've pushed a hose into the handle.

Luckily I was also making myself an espresso and my espresso machine sits on top of this mini fridge so I was warned to open the door by a wet toe to fix the snag and run for towels before 4 gallons of beer flooded my apartment. I figure I probably lost 2 litres or less... But if I had taken the pint and walked away to my computer or something, it could've caused serious damage.

So yeah, if you use picnic taps be very mindful. I know I will be (and frankly will be buying real taps ASAP)

[spears104]

Real taps can have incidents too. One time one of my kids was down in the basement and pulled one of the taps on my kegerator open. Once the beer started to flow he ran! Luckily the keg was almost empty but it pissed all my CO2 away.

[mstead]

One night while I was out, my wife poured up a beer for herself and went about her business. The tap wasn't fully seated (faulty seal) and just about 1/2 a keg slowly poured out over night onto the floor. I too lost a lot of beer and CO2. Shit happens I guess. lol

[Andre]

I'm curious about the mini fridge you're using, I want to switch to kegs once I move to a larger system, but in the spirit of spreading out the cost I'm intrigued about fitting a keg or 2 in my current beer fridge.

Did you need to cut or build anything to make the kegs fit? What fridge are you using?

[MitchK]

The fridge is an old danby, I got it used - maybe 5 cu ft? It had a freezer section so I had to unscrew that and bend it down to instead run down the back of the fridge. All the door plastic and shelving was removed.

The further mod I had to do to squeeze a second keg in should have been to remove the thermostat (just jam the internal components to the back with some electrical tape stuck on full blast since I use a temp controller anyway) but instead of my two kegs one had a handle badly separating on one side so I hacked that half off to make it fit. Not a viable solution longterm if I want to have more than two kegs so I can cycle stuff out, have things in kegs ready to go, etc.

I was going to buy a 4.4 cu ft mini fridge at princess auto that is all-fridge right out of the gate - it's what dave at everwood has set up as a display in his shop and will fit two kegs and a tower - but they didn't have it any more when I went in last, so I might be back on the chest freezer plan.

[Andre]

Thanks, that's good to know. I currently have Danby 4.4 cu ft mini fridge without the freezer. I believe it's this one http://www.homedepot.com/p/Danby-4-4-cu ... /205470604" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If I can get away with fitting one keg and the co2 tank without needing to hack the fridge I'd be happy.

[Bluefin 774]

I have a very similar fridge that I put two kegs and a 5lb. cylinder in. I did cut the doors and one side of the inside of it. I'm sure you will have no problem fitting one keg and cylinder in yours. Here are two videos I did on my build. Hope this will help you out and good luck.... Part one: https://youtu.be/6xNPSHSBWDM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Part Two: https://youtu.be/Nn-D5hN2fik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Andre]

I have a very similar fridge that I put two kegs and a 5lb. cylinder in. I did cut the doors and one side of the inside of it. I'm sure you will have no problem fitting one keg and cylinder in yours. Here are two videos I did on my build. Hope this will help you out and good luck.... Part one: https://youtu.be/6xNPSHSBWDM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Part Two: https://youtu.be/Nn-D5hN2fik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Awesome thanks.

[Bluefin 774]

I have a very similar fridge that I put two kegs and a 5lb. cylinder in. I did cut the doors and one side of the inside of it. I'm sure you will have no problem fitting one keg and cylinder in yours. Here are two videos I did on my build. Hope this will help you out and good luck.... Part one: https://youtu.be/6xNPSHSBWDM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Part Two: https://youtu.be/Nn-D5hN2fik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Awesome thanks.

Glad to help

[pyth]

I have a very similar fridge that I put two kegs and a 5lb. cylinder in. I did cut the doors and one side of the inside of it. I'm sure you will have no problem fitting one keg and cylinder in yours. Here are two videos I did on my build. Hope this will help you out and good luck.... Part one: https://youtu.be/6xNPSHSBWDM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Part Two: https://youtu.be/Nn-D5hN2fik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it really important to seal it up with the foil tape? I just picked up a mini fridge for doing some lagering today and I just unscrewed all the shelving stuff from the door and then caulked the weather stripping back on, leaving the foam exposed. I do have a roll of foil tape in the workshop though, should I be getting that on there?

[Bluefin 774]

I have a very similar fridge that I put two kegs and a 5lb. cylinder in. I did cut the doors and one side of the inside of it. I'm sure you will have no problem fitting one keg and cylinder in yours. Here are two videos I did on my build. Hope this will help you out and good luck.... Part one: https://youtu.be/6xNPSHSBWDM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Part Two: https://youtu.be/Nn-D5hN2fik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it really important to seal it up with the foil tape? I just picked up a mini fridge for doing some lagering today and I just unscrewed all the shelving stuff from the door and then caulked the weather stripping back on, leaving the foam exposed. I do have a roll of foil tape in the workshop though, should I be getting that on there?

Yes in my opinion it would be necessary to keep the foam dry from possible condensation and then possible mould growth. I'm not 100% sure on this but for $ 7.28 the foil Reflectix tape at Home Depot would be worth it to me. https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/search ... oil%20tape" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[opercularia]

Thanks, that's good to know. I currently have Danby 4.4 cu ft mini fridge without the freezer. I believe it's this one http://www.homedepot.com/p/Danby-4-4-cu ... /205470604" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If I can get away with fitting one keg and the co2 tank without needing to hack the fridge I'd be happy.

If you have the one shown in the link, you've lucked out. You don't need to cut the shelf supports, they simply lift out. If you lift the rubber gasket, you will see that the door liner can be removed by taking out the screws. Use the liner as a template for a new flat liner (I used dry erase board from HD). All of the parts can be stored to put it back to original. Mine fits two ball-locks and a 5 lb CO2 tank.

[weisseguy]

Real taps can have incidents too. One time one of my kids was down in the basement and pulled one of the taps on my kegerator open. Once the beer started to flow he ran! Luckily the keg was almost empty but it pissed all my CO2 away.

Why did we have kids again?