{"id":530,"date":"2010-04-18T17:01:24","date_gmt":"2010-04-18T22:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/?p=530"},"modified":"2021-04-12T23:51:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T04:51:07","slug":"how-not-to-build-a-kegerator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/posts\/2010\/04\/18\/how-not-to-build-a-kegerator\/","title":{"rendered":"How not to build a kegerator"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re planning a bar renovation, and I wanted to take the opportunity to build in an ultimate homebrew draft system.<\/p>\n

The heart of this new draft system is to be a Danby DWC2727BLS<\/a>.\u00a0 The DBC2760BLS<\/a> appears to be effectively identical, with a slightly different arrangement of internal shelves.\u00a0 This is a “french door” wine\/beverage centre.\u00a0 The \"\" really unique feature of this unit is that the two doors open onto separate compartments, each of which can be programmed to a different temperature.\u00a0 Each of the two compartments is just barely big enough to squeeze in a 5 gallon homebrew “Corny” keg, without any modification at all.<\/p>\n

Combined with a dual-regulator CO2 system, this would allow serving two different beers, each at its own ideal temperature and pressure.\u00a0 A cellar-temperature low-carbonation English ale on one side, and a sparkling cold frosty lager on the other.<\/p>\n

I bought the fridge at a good “scratch’n’dent” price.\u00a0 It was actually just the cardboard carton that was somewhat banged up.\u00a0 The fridge inside was in perfect condition.<\/p>\n

I started the required modifications today.\u00a0 It has not gone well:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
A $600 hissing noise<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

What the hell is that?\u00a0 Some kind of tube?<\/p>\n

That would explain the hissing sound when I stopped the hole-saw.\u00a0 Not burning insulation, as I thought at first.\u00a0 That’s really heart-breaking.<\/p>\n

For anyone else looking to modify a Danby DWC2727BLS, that tube runs side-to-side, about 12-1\/4″ inches from the back of the fridge.\u00a0 At least that’s where it is on mine.\u00a0 Maybe not always in the same place.<\/p>\n

How could this have been avoided?<\/h4>\n

Manufacturer cooperation<\/h5>\n

When I was building my earlier Danby-based kegerator<\/a>, I actually called Danby to inquire about the locations of any important plumbing.\u00a0 I got nothing out of them.\u00a0 They wouldn’t tell me.\u00a0 So, I didn’t bother trying this time.<\/p>\n

Perhaps they don’t want to encourage people to modify their products.\u00a0 Perhaps they think that people modifying their products are more likely to accidentally release refrigerant into the atmosphere.\u00a0 Perhaps they think that by cooperating with modifiers, they would be contributing to the release of refrigerant into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

I would argue that it’s only uninformed<\/em> people that will accidentally release refrigerant. These modifications are not difficult; anybody with some decent tools and a modicum of skill could accomplish them… given the required information.\u00a0 By not<\/em> providing that information, they contribute to the release of refrigerant.\u00a0 What happened today proves the point.<\/p>\n

\u00ef\u00bb\u00bf\u00ef\u00bb\u00bfReading this guy’s web-page<\/h5>\n

I wish I had stumbled across this other kegerator-conversion page, for building a Sanyo-based kegerator<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This guy’s steps are mostly the same as I used on my earlier Danby conversion.\u00a0 But he adds one really great technique I wish I had thought of: using an alcohol\/cornstarch mixture to detect the locations of refrigerant lines.<\/p>\n

Use a nibbling tool, not a hole saw<\/h5>\n

On my previous kegerator conversion, I used a nibbling tool to cut out the hole.\u00a0 I didn’t have any hole-saws of that size at the time.\u00a0 This time, I used a big hole saw.\u00a0 The nibbler always gives me a blister, and I didn’t want that.\u00a0 But the hole saw is a Bad Idea.\u00a0 The hole saw will cut through anything vital before you know it’s there.<\/p>\n

With a nibbling tool, you’re only at real risk drilling the first pilot hole, which is small.\u00a0 After that, as you nibble around the big hole with the nibbler, you will immediately notice if you hit anything like a refrigerant tube, before doing any damage.<\/p>\n

What now?<\/h4>\n

Tomorrow I will call some appliance repair specialists, see if it’s possible to repair the tube and recharge the system with new refrigerant.\u00a0 I’m doubtful, though.\u00a0 I believe this tube was the “capillary tube”, which runs between the condensor and the evaporator.\u00a0 The specific length and dimensions of the capillary tube are carefully tuned to provide just the right amount of restriction.\u00a0 Splicing in a repair might mess that up.<\/p>\n

Also, it’s possible little particles of metal could have got into the tube, and may mess up the compressor.\u00a0 The system is currently open to the atmosphere, and allowing water vapour in.\u00a0 I tried to plug up the ends of the tube with bits of electrical tape as best I could, but it still may require a careful purging with dry nitrogen and a new filter\/drier.<\/p>\n

All-in-all, repair might be very expensive, if even possible.<\/p>\n

I could also just trash this whole unit, and try again.\u00a0 But I doubt I’ll find another scratch’n’dent bargain at $600.\u00a0 I may have to pay the full price, over $1000.<\/p>\n

A painful lesson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re planning a bar renovation, and I wanted to take the opportunity to build in an ultimate homebrew draft system. The heart of this new draft system is to be a Danby DWC2727BLS.\u00a0 The DBC2760BLS appears to be effectively identical, with a slightly different arrangement of internal shelves.\u00a0 This is a “french door” wine\/beverage centre.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[80,82,81,49,84,83],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homebrewing","tag-danby","tag-dbc2760bls","tag-dwc2727bls","tag-kegerator","tag-refrigerant","tag-refrigerator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":895,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions\/895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegatesofdawn.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}