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Completely Custom Kegerator Idea
Awhile ago my roommates and I came up with a crack-pot "fantasy kegerator" that would be completely custom. The idea was to create a fridge from scratch basically that would be for a keg, not having any drawings or design pic available I'll do my best to describe it.
The kegerator would be cylindrical, with the middle bulging out, to resemble the shape of wine barrel. The size would most likely be of similar dimensions of a wine barrel as well, to accommodate all size of kegs. The idea was to have an outer-shell ( copper, ball-peen hammered to look similar to an expensive espresso machine), and an inner stainless steal shell, with insulation between the two shells. The keg would elevated on a flat, solid base inside, with the refrigeration components underneath, Somehow we were thinking of fitting a meter that would tell from the outside how much beer was left based on the keg weight, so there would be some sort of scale/spring under the keg. The door to put the keg inside, and access it, would be hinged and would be on the back side. There would be room above the keg to allow fittings ect, the CO2 tank would be most likely outside the fridge. The tap towers would be fastened on the top of the barrel fridge, with connections coming from underneath. In the end there would be ideally be no cords showing or wiring showing from the outside except for a power supply cable, and tubing from the external C02 tank.
Sorry if it's hard to follow, if I have some time i'll try to make a design of it with basic dimensions.
The idea was just some random thing that came to our minds after a few drinks, and was kinda one of things that you think would be really cool to have, but they rarely take shape.
Does this seem possible to make, the metal work I can do, the only thing I'm not sure about is installing the refrigeration components. Anyone have any advice or ideas or ever seen/heard of something similar?
Thanks
-GuyNMT
Refrigeration installation is going to require specialized tools and equipment. Freon isn't exactly sold at wal-mart. From my past experience installing and servicing central A/C in houses, and the little I know about appliances, small refrigerators (by small I mean any household fridge or smaller) the compressors are all sealed, with no valves to inject additional freon. So if you do build something, it would have to be with a brand new compressor, as they usually come pre-charged with enough freon. But getting your hands on one might require a handling license because of the Environmentalists, plus they are spendy. Then you would have to build a coil for the fridge, requiring soldering copper. Unless you know all the right people and have access to parts and materials it could end up costing just as much as a kegerator from Home Depot. Hate to be a downer, but keep an eye on the classifieds for someone getting rid of a fridge or freezer. Craigs List, freecycle.org, and the like. I happened across a fridge in college that had the freezer inside (you had to open the fridge to get at the freezer), but the fridge part was the perfect size for a 1/2 bbl of the cheapest Milwaukee product we could find that week.
Peltier solid state heat pump. Operates on 12V, small size, has no chemicals, and is extremely cheap. The only draw back is that it is less efficient than a typical refrigerator heat pump, but for your application, I wouldn't worry about efficiency. I believe that's what they use for the refrigerated conical fermenters. Make sure you stick a CPU heat sink with fan to each side to increase the efficiency.
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