OVER ENGINEERED KEGERATOR IS marvelous

When [Joey] chose to build a kegerator, he didn’t skimp. No commercial system or easy set would do. [Joey] desired complete temperature monitoring, with a tap on the kegerator itself and a cooled tap remotely mounted at his bar. He started with a box freezer, which was a bit short for his purposes. Not a problem, as [Joey] cut an prolonged collar for the freezer from HDPE on his shopbot. The new collar provides installing points for the beer lines, gas lines, in addition to all the electronics.

Temperature manage is handled by a commercial controller, however temperature tracking is another thing altogether. An Arduino sits in a custom-made aluminum case on the outside of the kegerator. The Arduino reports temperature, beer type and also controls the cooling system for the beer lines. The cooling system alone is incredible. [Joey] developed everything in CAD and cut the parts out on his shopbot. two fans sit in an aluminum air box. One fan is utilized to push cold air out from the freezer around the beer line. A second fan pulls air back in, keeping the kegerator/line/tap air system a (relatively) closed loop. The entire line set is insulated with 2″ fiberglass flex duct.

Temperature data and pattern graphs can be monitored on the web, and [Joey] is utilizing a Raspberry Pi to create a wall mounted condition screen for his bar room. We like this build! [Joey] we’d get you a beer, but it seems like you’ve got that covered already!