Building Homebrew Equipment Read Online Free PDF Page A

line cleaner may also be useful.
    When you’re cleaning kegs, keep in mind that household bleach should never be used. Bleach is an effective sanitizer for glass and plastic surfaces, but it will corrode stainless steel. Stick to iodophor or TSP.
Modifying Refrigerators for Kegs
    The first order of business for accommodating kegs to fit your refrigerator is to remove the shelves. A soda keg sits about 2½’ high, a 5-pound CO 2 tank about 1½’ high. You’ll probably want these to sit upright, so removing the shelves is a necessity. You may also want to look at the bottom shelf to see how it’s supported. Often the bottom shelves are made of glass and are supported on the sides by molded plastic, and sometimes in the middle by a brace. You may want to remove this shelf and replace it with something a bit sturdier, such as a piece of ½” plywood braced under the middle and sides by 2” by 4” braces. A keg weighs about 50 pounds when full, so the shelf and supports need to be pretty strong.
    Most homebrewers like adding tap handles to the outside of the fridge so they don’t have to open the door every time they want a beer. This is a fairly straightforward modification. The tap handles and shanks that go through the door are available from Foxx Equipment and most likely your local homebrew store. The size you get will depend on the thickness of your refrigerator door (or side wall). If you’re drilling through the side wall, be aware that some refrigerators have gas lines running in the walls. If you puncture one of these, the refrigerator will be useless. If the side of the refrigerator is warm to the touch, it probably contains gas lines.
    MATERIALS FOR MODIFYING A REFRIGERATOR
    Beer shank
    Wall flange
    Flanged jam nut
    Tail piece and hex nut
    Beer faucet
    Tap handle
    Drip tray
Direction
    1. Measure the thickness of the refrigerator wall before ordering your shank. You’ll probably want about a 4” or 5” shank, but the length depends on the thickness of the refrigerator wall.
    2. Drill a hole through the refrigerator wall to accommodate the shank.
    3. Put the wall flange on the shank.
    4. Insert the shank through the door.
    5. Apply a small amount of caulk around the area where the shank passes through the door, inside and out, and secure with the flanged jam nut on the inside.

    If you store beer in a keg in a refrigerator, install a tap on the door or side wall. You won’t have to open the door each time you want a beer, and it looks professional.
    6. Attach the tail fitting with the hex nut onto the shank on the inside.
    7. Screw the faucet onto the outside of the refrigerator.
    8. Screw the knob onto the faucet.
    9. Screw the drip tray onto the refrigerator about 1’ or so below the faucet (allow enough space to accommodate your largest beer glass).
    10. Attach your beer line to the barbed tail fitting, then tighten the hose clamp.
    11. Connect to your keg and enjoy.
Counter-Pressure Bottle Filler
    With your keg system in full operation, you probably find that you have a lot of extra time on your hands with no more bottles to fill. We suggest you use that free time to build a counter-pressure bottle filler. The counter-pressure bottle filler lets you store and carbonate your beer in a Cornelius keg and then apply CO 2 pressure to fill a bottle, purging air and nearly eliminating the chance of oxidized aromas and flavors. It also fills bottles gently and retains the carbonation in the beer.

    A counter-pressure filler assembly lets you store beer in a keg, then use CO 2 pressure to fill bottles. Note the No. 2 stopper, which you place in the opening of your clean and empty beer bottles.
    MATERIALS FOR A COUNTER-PRESSURE BOTTLE FILLER
    3 ¼” MPT × ¼” hose barbs
    1 ¼” FPT tee
    1 ⅜ ″ FPT tee
    1 ¼” MPT × ¼” compression fitting
    2 ⅜ ″ MPT × ⅜ ″ compression adapters
    3 ¼” MPT × ¼” FPT on-off valves
    1 ¼” compression nut and ferrule
    2 ⅜ ″ compression nuts and ferrule