Corny capacity of (current) fridges and freezers

[Kev888]

Thankfully, I have no empty kegs or I may be tempted - quite a few of the fridges/freezers are fairly marginal and difficult to judge due to odd intrusions from lights, fans and thermostats.

So far, the cheapest commonly available tall larder fridge that looks potential is the Indesit SIAA12 (internally roughly 49cm wide by 152cm high), and the Beko TL685APW is of interest by being a bit taller than most (internally roughly 168cm high by 47cm wide) - though in both cases its less above the compressor hump. I 'may' just about be able to get a double-height of cornies above the compressor in the beko, but more careful measuring is needed to be sure and if so it would be awkward for using disconnects.

Depth is a bit tricky due to door gubbins intruding inwards, but on the face of it the beko seems a bit shallow - roughly around 44cm whilst the indesit is more like 46cm (to the front sill). Not a problem if I extend forward, of course, and then the beco's height could be handy in helping reach to the back corny posts; most shorter ones are quite tight really.

Cheers
kev

[Kev888]

Well, I've hardly had chance to visit JBK let alone do any brewing-related work. But I did go and re-measure the Indesit SIAA12 and the Beko TL685APW on the way home last night and have concluded that (with cornies) the internal fan protrusion on the Beko largely defeats any advantage of it being taller and its also more marginal on depth, so I've ordered the cheaper Indesit (you can get them for around £225 plus delivery, whereas the Beko is more like £350, and they both seem to get good customer ratings).

Should be arriving on Saturday, so fingers crossed that the kegs actually fit..

Cheers
Kev

[tigerpaws]

Freezers in cold environments die in winter as the lubricating oil in the compressor turns to cheese at around -5. Starving the piston rings of lube and they literally grind to a halt.

the cold also causes the compressor piston bore to shrink making the above problem worse


bugger just read.back through the post to see this question has been answered

.Alan.

[Fil]

Well, I've hardly had chance to visit JBK let alone do any brewing-related work. But I did go and re-measure the Indesit SIAA12 and the Beko TL685APW on the way home last night and have concluded that (with cornies) the internal fan protrusion on the Beko largely defeats any advantage of it being taller and its also more marginal on depth, so I've ordered the cheaper Indesit (you can get them for around £225 plus delivery, whereas the Beko is more like £350, and they both seem to get good customer ratings).

Should be arriving on Saturday, so fingers crossed that the kegs actually fit..

Cheers
Kev

go on make us jealous, how many kegs will you get in the new beast??

[Kev888]

Well I suspect/hope six cornies- four on top and two below. If I have my measurements right - its quite tight..

The door can be legitimately taken off (for hinging left or right) too, so theres some possibility of making an extension/collar to fit between the main body and the door without visibly voiding the warranty (if I used removable glue or magnets or something) - so I could 'potentially' envisage getting 10 cornies in at a stretch. Or I could just make a small collar as a way to bring out the beer lines, rather than drilling through the original fridge walls or door.

Time will tell, anyway!

Cheers
Kev

[far9410]

Hi Kev, are you gonna drill for pipes/taps etc, or just store in there and remove for dispense

[Kev888]

Hi,
yes, I'm wanting to make it a dispensing keggerator, with six 3/8" beer lines coming out and about three gas lines going in. Plus a sensor wire and a pipe-heater cable.

If I can't get them past the door seal convincingly, I may have to make a sort of collar between the fridge body and door, and drill through that. I've been happy to hack freecycle fridges before, but this is my first new one and I don't want to invalidate its warranty if I can help it. I'm also hoping it will last a while; I've tended to over-stretch my freecycle fridges and see them fail in a year or so - this is an attempt to get a longer-term setup.

The taps are elsewhere though, on a python line, so I won't need to fix them in/to the fridge itself.

Cheers
Kev

[Kev888]

It has arrived! My new indesit SIAA12 larder fridge is in the building

I only have 3 empty cornies to try for size but it gives the idea:

Left: with shelves etc removed, the interior is quite clean. The compressor step/hump is relatively shallow though not especially low, and there's a moisture gutter above it which also intrudes a bit. Theres also a ridge in the door at about the same height. To get a double depth of cornies in they need to be above these (see right pic).

Middle: so with a strong enough shelf the fridge will natively take 6 cornies with enough height for disconnects. Though I can't immediately see a way to get lots of beer lines out without damaging the seal or something. That said, the door is remove-able so I may extend the fridge front-ways a bit to make a collar for drilling through, or even a bit more to get another four cornies in.

Right: Without disconnects (e.g. if you were using it just for storage) you can get 8 cornies in. As mentioned they need to be above the moisture gutter (the back corny is chocked up a bit above the shelf to be above the gutter) otherwise they don't go back far enough for the door to close. So not much height left for disconnects.

My tape measure said it would be so but there was always going to be doubt until I actually tried it for size. What a relief!

Cheers
Kev

EDIT: these are the standard ball-lock cornies from Norm; I believe other types can differ a bit.

[barneey]

Looking good Kev + you could fit a conical in there

[Kev888]

Heh-heh, thanks for the temptation.. Yes I'm sure you could get a conical in (though not my current plastic one as as its a bit 'rotund'). This larder design would probably be better than my over-extended under-counter fridge, but I have plans to use a beer cooler instead for my FVs. Still deliberating between stock-pots and stainless conicals though.

Cheers
Kev

[Kev888]

Well, in advance of making it into a keggerator I've been testing it by putting six cornies in (just to store, no beer/gas lines or temperature controller). I'm pleased to find that (although it is advertised as having a range of up to 8c) at its warmest setting the thermostat on my example will actually keep it at about 11.5c, which seems pretty ideal.

If I can find somewhere to put it that doesn't get too cold, I could probably use it without any alterations (apart from a shelf) for a beer store... After all the aggro and spoilt beer I had over the last year with keggerator issues I'm 'deeply' tempted to get another for storing beer that isn't in the keggerator.

Cheers
Kev

[barneey]

You must have a very understanding Mrs! 2 beer fridges!!!

[Kev888]

I've also been working 50-60hr weeks for some time now, so am anticipating some sort of bonus/reinbursement

It/they will have to be out in the garage/shed though...

[Kev888]

I've been asked how this has gone so (with apologies for the quality of some of the photos) here's an update:

I made temporary shelf, to see how it worked out - two cornies fit in the bottom and four on the shelf. Needless to say, my temporary shelf is becoming quite long term...

My cornies were standard 'Norm' ones back in the day, and measure around 21cm (8.25") diameter by 63.5cm (25") tall.

Enough headroom above the bottom two cornies


And just about enough for the top ones - although I've only shown two kegs here, four will fit in the top.

Due to the extra reach in limited space, the back two corny's disconnects could be bl@@dy awkward to lever on and off if they decide to be stubborn, however things have improved a lot with the use of lubricant around the post O-ring and the ball lock's ball-bearings.

An under-side view of the trial wooden shelf; I sat it on top of the glass shelf, with a small bracket poking down behind it to stop the wood part sliding forward, and some legs at the front.

As it has worked out well, I'm intending to make a better one at some point - with more support and a beer/starsan proof material or finish.

Heres the pipe heater and two holes that my beer and gas lines exit through. I use a python line as my taps are some distance from the fridge, but I see no reason why the taps couldn't be door mounted.

The cooling seems to be mostly the back face of the fridge and I didn't hit anything important making the holes through the compressor hump, though they will almost certainly have invalidated any guarantee. the Indesit brand probably isn't the world leader in terms of reliability but its been fine so far - the shed its located in is well insulated though, and doesn't seem to get too damp or cold in winter.
I haven't documented the electronic thermostat as there are already hundreds just like it on the forum.

Overall, its all gone really well so far - probably 'different' rather than better or worse than a chest freezer design. I have to say that even with lubricant on the disconnects its not as easy to connect/disconnect them as it is with a chest freezer but the footprint of the fridge is a lot smaller so I'm content with that trade-off. Lifting 20kg+ full kegs to the top shelf is okay for me, again probably very comparable to lifting one over the edge of an extended freezer; there's a need to shuffle them about to get the back ones in and out, but then there's no particular leaning over involved so my back prefers that particular trade-off.

Cheers
Kev

[finsuk]

Cheers kev trying to make out where all the lines are going and which are beer lines/gas lines my setup will be located in my garage, dont know at the moment if i need a heater, so will have to look into that, does the thermostat control the fridge now instead of its own thermostat ? and would love a wee pic of your regulator thx..G