Nostalgia Kegerator
Created : 06/15/2008 12:51:37 AM
EDITS
- 6/18/2008 - Replaced the regulator
- 7/12/2008 - Replaced the tap
- 7/15/2008 - Added more beer line, made an attempt to replace the faucet
- 8/29/2008 - Replaced the faucet
I was looking for a relatively inexpensive kegerator and saw this one amongst the crowd. I initially glossed over it as it got mediocre reviews on several sites but then gave it a second look when I saw that some had fairly easily modified this unit to improve quality.
I recently made my own website and thought it would be fun to document my experiences with the Nostalgia kegerator. This is a work in progress - please check back often.
Read at your own risk! I will not take responsibility for anything used here (especially if it breaks your warranty). If in doubt, follow the manual and read this forum. I tried to have a blend of my attempts to get the original equipment to work properly and the changes that I made based on my experiences. I will say this up front: I've put in almost $100 in parts and the unit works MUCH better.
Also, please note that the current kegerator temp (updated every 2 minutes) is at the top of the page and the full photo album is at the bottom of the page.
Part 1: Obtain a kegarator
I debated where to purchase this unit. It was slightly cheaper on Amazon ($408 at time of this writing) but I liked the idea of being able to return it locally when I break it. Unfortunately, the only place that I could get it locally was Walmart's ship-to-store option. The problem with Walmart is that I generally do not buy things from Walmart based on my own personal beliefs. I made a rare exception here.
As you can see, I don't own a truck so I rented a Uhaul van for the day. I had been meaning to buy a ladder from Home Depot so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. For those of you thinking of purchasing this unit, the box was only slightly bigger than the unit itself.
Observation: damn, those people on the box are having a ton of fun although I'm not sure why they are huddled around the keg like they are.
Part 2: Opening the box
I'm not sure why but I was expecting to open up the box and see a zillion parts. I believe that I am fairly handy but in my experiences these kinds of jobs often take twice what they should really take.
Part 3: Starting the Install
The first thing you notice is that there are three different sets of directions. Three! And not surprisingly, the three often contradict each other. It seems like they've tried to improve the product over the last few months so they thought they would cover their bets by trying to cover everything.
Yes, as you have probably read the directions suck. I know I'm going to sound like your father when I say this but read them first. Yes, all of them... by putting them all together you'll save yourself time later (trust me on this one).
Now I've known since I was a kid that you're not supposed to lay a regrigerator on its back. That is part of the reason I went out of my way to rent a truck to move this unit - I didn't want to try to jam it in my trunk. So what is the first step in the manual? Yup, you guessed it: put it on its side and install the coasters. Unfortunately, it isn't until step 2 that you see that you need to have it upright for 8 hours if you followed step 1. If you're really jonesing for beer I recommend trying to prop up each corner slightly to install the wheels (or do as I did - have a 6 pack of Heineken handy).
Part 4: Hooking up the hoses
For some odd reason the only good picture they have of the assembly is the connection to the CO2 tank. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I had already figured out that one. The CO2 connection to the regulator was incorrectly shown in the diagrams. I had to take a wrench to remove what looks like a hose attachment before I could get down to the part where the hose actually screwed on to the regulator. I wish I could give you some advice on the backflow devices that were included but I don't know that I have them right.
Please note that I ended up replacing both the regulator and the tap.
Part 5: The CO2 tank
I know that the local welding joint fills these tanks but I wanted to use my kegerator this weekend and not wait until monday. I stopped in the local beer store while on my way to pick up my kegerator and much to my delight they did in fact have a swapping policy. If I brought in my tank, they'd give me a full one for $13. Perfect! Well, not quite. When I went back to the store with my tank I realized that their tanks were the customary 5 lbs. For a lovely $75 deposit I was able to secure said tank. My local home brew store said that they have used 5 lb tanks so I may get one of those and get my cash back.
Anyway, the rubber strap that holds the tank inside the kegerator lasted a good 2 minutes. Installed tank, took picture... strap broke. Hello bungee cord. And yes, a 5 lb tank fits in these units just fine.
Observation: is there anything worse than going into a place where other guys hang out and you're the one with the inferior unit?
Part 6: The thermostat
This is one of the parts that seems to be the most controversial. Let me say this again: I'm sure that modifying your kegerator in this way will void the warranty and/or cause bodily harm so I take no responsility for anything that you do that you shouldn't have done. Also, I'm starting to wonder if this is even necessary on the newer units. I HIGHLY recommend seeing how cold your unit gets before trying this.
After reading through tens or hundreds of posts I thought that I would forge ahead and get to the thermostat screw right up front. In case you didn't know, taking of the thermostat casing and turning a screw will lower the tempertaure of the kegerator to a level that is colder than what the manufacturer intended. Based on many accounts, doing this resulted in better beer and less foam and multiple orgasms.
The thermostat is located on the bottom left of the rear of the unit. The first thing I realized as I tried to remove the screws is that it is clear that the manufacturer really, really didn't want you to remove them. They are extremly difficult to remove. I recommend the following:
- Remove the thermostat from the kegerator itself by unscrewing the side screws. By comparison, these practically fall off.
- Puth the dislodged thermostat on the ground for stability
- Get the biggest phillips screwdriver that will fit the screws. I almost ruined my screws as smaller screwdrivers started to wear down the screw. I BARELY figured this out in time as a couple more attempts would have ruined the head.
Once I had the casing off I realized that I didn't want to have to keep unscrewing the housing to get to the adjustment screw. To get around this minor problem I did what any red-blooded male would do: I broke out the power tools. Starting with a small metal bit I made a pilot hole and then increased the size with larger bits. I started on the blue line directly above the hole for the knob - this seemed to be perfect for a pilot hole.
And now, the bad. I turned the screw two rotations clockwise as I had read on several posts and fired up my unit. Within an hour I was at 38 degrees. And a few minutes later I was at 32 degrees. At that point I'm not sure if my unit overheated or if it shut off naturally (I think the latter - it has been running fine ever since). Needless to say, I turned the screw a whole turn counterclockwise and let it sit for a while. Please don't make my mistake! Start with what the manufacturer gave you. After all, many people said they didn't have to adjust their unit at all. I'm still playing with this one.
As with every other project I've ever done, I had leftover parts and that always makes me feel good. I'm still trying to figure out what the wrench does (update: it is for taking off the faucet assembly . I also added a remote sensor that updates my website every two minutes with the current temperature.
Observation: does anything say "bye bye warranty" quicker than power tools?
Part 8: Replacing the regulator
I broke down and replaced the regulator that came with the system, as many had suggested. I went to the local brewing store (please support your local brew supply stores!) and purchased the Foxx double gauge regulator. The nice thing about a double gauge is that it shows both the pressure in the CO2 tank and in the unit itself. It is also MUCH easier to adjust than the cheapo regulator that comes with the unit.
Keep in mind that you'll need to replace the CO2 line if you do purchase something like this as the blue line that comes with the unit is too small (and I tried my hardest before heading back to the supply store). I purchased a 3/16" tube and it fit snugly on the double regulator. I clipped the end off of the blue house and the line slid nicely onto that (even though they look like completely different sizes). A couple of clamps and I was all set to go.
Part 9: Replacing the tap
This step is also optional but after wasting part of a 1/4 keg of Molson Canadian (I live on the U.S. - Canadian border and I grew up with this goodness) because of leaks I went out and purchesed a new Sanke tap from the local brewing store for about $40. Before doing this, please keep in mind that you'll want to add extra beer line if you do this (see here).
The beer line fitting that comes with the unit is non-standard (at least they are consistent) but thankfully the line itself is 3/16" so all you need to do is snip the end off and clamp it. The new tap is FAR more snug and there isn't even a hint of any leakage. I highly recommend this step.
Part 11: Replacing the faucet
I went out and purchased a new faucet since I figured that I had replaced everything else, why not that? It turns out that the faucet is not standard (repeate after me... surprise, surprise) and that you have to buy the whole assembly. Even though I ended up sticking with the orginal faucet (until I can buy a faucet with the entire assembly) I did end up taking down the tower so I got a good idea of how it all fits together. I'm sorry, I neglected to take pictures of this part. The good news is that I was able to use the existing assembly (the stem that fits through the hole) and only replace the actual faucet. I purchased a Perlick faucet from my favorite local home brewing store. This faucet has the shut-off seal at the front of the unit rather than the back and this eliminates the "sticky faucet" syndrome since the insides never dry out. The other benefit to getting a more standard faucet is that you can then use standard tap handles.
I first unscrewed the tower from the base. If you can get the chrome top off at this point, I highly, highly recommend it. In my attempt I had to disconnect the faucet assembly by turning it on the outside. I then took a broom handle and popped off the chrome top (you have to give it a good wack). Reach into the tower disconnect the beer line by unscrewing the nut. At this point you can use the little utility wrench that came with the unit to loosen the nut.
Part 12: Adjustments
Making adjustments to the CO2 takes time. I highly recommend letting everything settle after you tweak something. Also, I have read that if your CO2 is chilled that it could that it could take a couple of hours for a change in the CO2 setting to reflect in the gauge. A keg that is not properly cooled (to somewhere around 35 degrees, depending on what you read) will have a foamy pour.
After I replaced the tap I had a horrible time trying to get a good pour out of the unit, no matter how much I played with the CO2 and the temperature. It appears as though the original tap had something built in that limited the flow a little bit and this made up for the fact that there is only about two feet of beer line. When this roadblock was cleared the beer came streaming out too fast. To get around this, add in 5 to 10 feet of 3/16" line (I added 7' to the original 2'). If you are using the original faucet with the original connector, simply purchase a 3/16" connector and splice the new line onto the old line (you don't want to take apart the faucet if you don't have to. Also, the connector appears to be non-standard in the faucet assembly). I added this line and it made a world of difference.
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Add a Comment (1 Comment)
Submitted by D. Wilson on 10/07/2008 09:55:09 PM
Hey man, thanx for all the helpful info on the nostalgia kegerator. It's funny that you ran into all of the same problems I did. (Including the dumbass CO2 strap) I kept hearing about how to make the fridge colder, but thanx to you, I knew exactly how to do it. I read most of your post on the unit and you did a lot of the things I already did. Replace the regularor, best and easiest step of all. I bought 5 feet of new air line, 5 extra feet of beer line, and the unit runs AWESOME! I can run the unit at about 15psi with a good flow and NO head. E-MAIL me if you have any questions or comments. wilson851@bellsouth.net
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