Kegerator

Overview

A kegerator is a small refrigerator built to hold a pressurized beer keg and pour from it on demand. It marries two systems: a cooling loop that keeps the keg at serving temperature, and a gas-and-tap chain that pushes beer out under carbon-dioxide pressure. Hold the temperature too warm or the pressure wrong and the pour comes out foamy, so the two have to be balanced together.

The keg sits inside the insulated Cabinet, which is a foamed steel box with a gasketed Door no different in principle from any compact fridge. A draft tower rises through the top on a Tower Mounting Collar, carrying the beer line up to the faucet where the user actually pours.

How it works

Cooling is a standard sealed vapor-compression cycle inside the Refrigeration System system. The Hermetic Compressor pressurizes refrigerant vapor, the Condenser Coil rejects its heat to the room, the Capillary Tube drops the pressure, and the Evaporator Coil absorbs heat from inside the cabinet as the refrigerant boils. The Temperature Control Board board cycles the compressor through a relay against a thermistor reading to hold serving temperature.

Dispensing is driven by gas, not a pump. The CO2 System holds a CO2 Cylinder feeding a CO2 Regulator that steps the bottle's high pressure down to a steady 10–14 psi. That gas enters the keg through the Keg Coupler, pressurizing the headspace and forcing beer up the dip tube. The beer travels through the Dispense System line to the Tap Faucet; opening the tap handle lets it flow. The same CO2 pressure also keeps the beer carbonated so it doesn't go flat between pours.

A stainless Drip Tray catches spillage at the tower, and locking casters let the unit roll out for keg changes and CO2 swaps.