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Message |
    
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1514
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.4.202.69
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:23 pm: | 
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I want to make a serving fridge that will hold at least 6 cornies (I'll be pressurizing all of them, but only serving from 4). I can buy a 5 year old upright fridge with the freezer on the bottom for about the same as a discontinued new chest freezer from HD. The freezer is deep enough to put cornies in without a collar. Space is a premium.
Here are the considerations:
The fridge:
* Will only hold 6 cornies with a little room for a few bottles or yeast
* Takes up 9 sq ft plus the faucets hanging out the front.
* It's used - 5 years old
* Has a large freezer - but I only store hops in the freezer
* I won't need a separate temperature controller
* I'll only need to buy a drip tray
The Freezer:
* It's a new Maytag
* It will hold 6 cornies easy, with room for lots of bottles and yeast
* No freezer for hop storage
* It takes up 8 sq ft of floor space
* I'll need to buy a tower and drip tray
* I'll need to use my spare Ranco to control the temperature
OK, so what do you all think I should do? |
Mark Tigges
Intermediate Member
Username: Mtigges
Post Number: 404
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 66.38.134.9
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:27 pm: |
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Fridge. |
PaulK
Intermediate Member
Username: Paulk
Post Number: 495
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 68.84.198.40
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:35 pm: |
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Freezer. |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1515
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.4.202.69
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:41 pm: |
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You guys are a lot of help! |
dhacker
Intermediate Member
Username: Dhacker
Post Number: 355
Registered: 11-2002
Posted From: 72.4.22.214
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:47 pm: |
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Just save yourself the difficulty of deciding and get both . . . |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1516
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.4.202.69
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:50 pm: |
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Barely room for one.
I just realized I need to buy faucets with towers. I don't need faucets, and the cheapest 4 faucet tower I can find is $315! Can I buy just the tower somewhere? |
dhacker
Intermediate Member
Username: Dhacker
Post Number: 356
Registered: 11-2002
Posted From: 72.4.22.214
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 08:56 pm: |
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Surely a guy who has friends who will build hop stoppers can get them to build a draft tower for a keg or two o' brew. |
Little Dipper
Member
Username: Littledipper
Post Number: 105
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 206.114.61.199
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 09:04 pm: |
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I'd buy the freezer and build a collar - even though you don't need the extra height. Saves putting holes in a new freezer and if anything happens in the future, you've still got a freezer with no holes to use or sell. |
Connie
Advanced Member
Username: Connie
Post Number: 812
Registered: 10-2000
Posted From: 24.98.248.244
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 10:15 pm: |
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I agree with Little Dipper, but that's also the arrangement that I use. No tower on a freezer. |
Hophead
Senior Member
Username: Hophead
Post Number: 2240
Registered: 03-2002
Posted From: 167.4.1.38
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 12:19 am: |
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Freezer, absolutely. |
Drew Pattison
Member
Username: Droopy
Post Number: 137
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 143.115.159.54
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 02:04 pm: |
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I went the freezer/collar route. If your space is limited consider how you would open the freezer with a tower on it.
I integrated a drip tray into the collar with 1/4 plywood hanging down that I poly-urethaned. And I'd do it that way again.
If you're looking for inexpensive towers this is an option: http://www.acumetalfab.com/ I think you need to contact them for pricing. |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1517
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.4.202.69
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 02:22 pm: |
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OK, I bought the freezer yesterday. I'll start putting a collar together.
I have a regulator on my tank with two gauges, and I'm going with 6 secondary regulator/gauges (so I can adjust each keg to a different pressure, and to eliminate the manifold and valves). I'm going to locate my tank on the outside of the freezer, but was considering mounting the secondary regulators on the inside of the collar. Any problems with this?? |
Little Dipper
Member
Username: Littledipper
Post Number: 106
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 206.114.61.199
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 02:41 pm: |
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>>I integrated a drip tray into the collar with 1/4 plywood hanging down that I poly-urethaned. And I'd do it that way again.<<
Drew, can you explain how you did this a little more - I'm interested in this idea. How did you build the actual tray - I'm assuming you have some sort of lip around it to prevent beer from running off? I'm too cheap to buy a nice tray and I like the idea of building my own better anyways. Thanks. |
Drew Pattison
Member
Username: Droopy
Post Number: 138
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 143.115.159.54
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 04:15 pm: |
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I'm too cheap to drop $$$ on a stainless drip tray so I built my own. I basically built a rectangular box for the tray with one long side to screw onto the collar. I picked up some gutter guard stuff at the hardware store to act as the screen. There's no drain but it doesn't get too messy. I wipe it out with a baby wipe every once and awhile.
Here's a pic:  |
Drew Pattison
Member
Username: Droopy
Post Number: 139
Registered: 06-2003
Posted From: 143.115.159.54
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 09, 2006 - 04:18 pm: |
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Richard,
I have mine setup similar to what you're saying (tank outside, secondary inside) - I only have one secondary regulator in the fridge though. Works fine.
6 regulators seems a little excessive to me though. Carbonation is not a precise enough science to make 6 necessary IMO. Just not that wide of a range of carbonation across beer styles.
(Message edited by droopy on August 09, 2006) |
Mike Mayer
Advanced Member
Username: Mmayer
Post Number: 703
Registered: 12-2002
Posted From: 67.39.204.20
| | Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 01:15 am: |
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I also use a freezer with an 8" collar, and it works quite well (holds 8 kegs easily). No extra regulators for me, all three taps see the same pressure. My "drip tray" is about as cheap as cheap can get. Since everything is in my workshop, I just put an old T-shirt on the floor, and wash it every couple of weeks. |
Richard Nye
Senior Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 1522
Registered: 01-2004
Posted From: 68.4.202.69
| | Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 08:25 pm: |
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I bought the freezer (a 15 cu ft Maytag model) as a closeout at Home Depot, and bought some 2X6 and 1X8 redwood for the collar. I've got the Ventmatic Ultra Flos on order. I'll post pictures when it's finished. It will be a couple weeks before I'll put it into use since I'm leaving town for a week.
I'm thinking about putting some casters under it so I can move it easily. |
Bill Moore
Intermediate Member
Username: Bill_beerman
Post Number: 483
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 63.145.150.3
| | Posted on Friday, August 11, 2006 - 01:44 pm: |
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Go with the freezer, and build a collar.
That way you have an intact freezer if you move on to something else. |
Brews and Views Archive 2006 
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