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Author Topic: Man cave bar with keggorator  (Read 5886 times)

Offline cbrown0531

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Man cave bar with keggorator
« on: August 01, 2013, 10:07:30 am »
Greetings!
So with our recent move we found that there was more room in our new home. This promptly got me thinking about setting up a little bar area, and freed up space that I was taking in the kitchen with my brewing stuff. I built a bar downstairs and have started kegging. By far the biggest transformation for me since I started brewing. I wanted to share some photos of the work, along with some fixes I had to do to get the tap and keg to fit. Keep in mind I am not a master craftsman. Really this is the first thing I have ever really built.

First problem was how to close the gap from the top of the keggorator to the bottom of the bar without losing cold and keeping the beer lines cold.
Solution is two toilet flanges and a dryer duct. I glued the top flange to the bottom of the bar and filled the space with cotton balls for insulation.
With my first kegged beer, a delicious Porter!
getting some finishing touches. Still not done but getting there!
Homebrewer!

Offline yso191

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2013, 10:35:19 am »
Very nice!  I wish mine wasn't in the garage...
Steve
BJCP #D1667

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” ― G.K. Chesterton

Offline bluesman

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2013, 10:41:30 am »
Very nice work! :)
Ron Price

Offline gymrat

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2013, 11:23:26 am »
Excellent work. I wish I had that kind of talent.
Ralph's Brewery
Topeka, KS

Offline euge

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2013, 07:21:42 pm »
Excellent build! I like the way you can make it go away quickly if absolutely necessary. Always have an exit plan. Quality construction and intuitive craftsmanship. May I suggest caulk for the counter top? Someone will knock a glass over if they haven't already,,,
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline guido

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2013, 03:27:04 am »
Why does it look so easy when someone else does it.
Well...I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer

     -"Roadhouse Blues,"  Jim Morrison

Offline beersk

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2013, 07:21:08 am »
For the first thing you've really ever built, you did a fantastic job!
Jesse

Offline gmac

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2013, 07:35:08 am »
Great job and I love the toilet flange solution.

Offline cbrown0531

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2013, 10:13:25 am »
Thanks for the comments! A couple of things I noticed I want to improve if I build another. First, I got the plans from barplans.com. Pretty simple instructions. From there I modified a couple of things, for better or worse. First the top according to the plans should be a single sheet of oak veneer. This is pretty expensive, so I went with a couple 2x4s and put them together with glue and screwed them on. Looks neat, but as you guys mentioned there is some uneven parts between the boards that I couldnt fix. Maybe working with smaller sections or using clamps for a longer period of time to get them even. I learned that when buying wood the ol eyeball makes them all look straight, but when putting it together it isnt quite the case.
Any suggestions for the end of the bar that does not have the tap? I thought about cutting in a dry sink, not sure what else I can do.
Homebrewer!

Offline thebigbaker

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #9 on: August 02, 2013, 10:31:06 am »
Great build!  As for the space at the end, a dry sink would be nice and so would another keg fridge and tap! 
Jeremy Baker

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

Offline cbrown0531

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #10 on: August 02, 2013, 10:45:57 am »
Another tap would be great. I think I will move up to a 2 or 3 tap soon. This was my first time kegging and I am blown away on how easy it has made everything. So easy that I have been thinking what my next expansion will be. The keggorator will hold 3 kegs easy, so why not have 3 taps? The other line of effort for me though is making the steps to all grain. So much to do!
Homebrewer!

Offline thebigbaker

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2013, 10:59:58 am »
Another tap would be great. I think I will move up to a 2 or 3 tap soon. This was my first time kegging and I am blown away on how easy it has made everything. So easy that I have been thinking what my next expansion will be. The keggorator will hold 3 kegs easy, so why not have 3 taps? The other line of effort for me though is making the steps to all grain. So much to do!

I hear ya!  When I first started kegging I had one keg and one of those picnic taps.  Now I've got a larger fridge w/ 3 regular taps and 1 nitro set up!  I think I have about 8 kegs now, maybe 9 as I'm starting to lose count.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2013, 11:05:10 am by thebigbaker »
Jeremy Baker

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

Offline bbkf

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Re: Man cave bar with keggorator
« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2013, 11:58:35 am »
Any suggestions for the end of the bar that does not have the tap? I thought about cutting in a dry sink, not sure what else I can do.

Bourbon!  scotch! and the like.