Make Your Draught Keg Mobile

Intro: Make Your Draught Keg Mobile

This Instructable is a continuation to the 'Tap a Draught Keg Inside Your Fridge' build (link: https://www.instructables.com/id/Tap-a-Draught-Keg-Inside-Your-Fridge/). In designing the original setup for the keg tap it was intentionally crafted to not be affixed within a refrigerator. Since this setup is fairly compact, we can exploit the portability capability and make the rig mobile.

STEP 1: Supplies & Tools Needed

Supplies Needed:
A tapped Mini Keg: If your mini keg is not tapped yet, check out the 'Tap a Draught Keg Inside Your Fridge' Instructable (link: https://www.instructables.com/id/Tap-a-Draught-Keg-Inside-Your-Fridge/).
Small Cooler: I am using the 'Coleman Personal 16' which I have had for some time. The mini keg fits perfectly inside the cooler with plenty of room for ice to surround the keg and keep the essentials nice and cold.

Tools Needed:
Electric Drill
1 Inch Flat Drill Bit (measure you shank's diameter to determine the proper bit)
Shears for Cutting Plastic
Pencil or Marking Tool

STEP 2: Notch Out the Cooler

As I intend to move the tap from the fridge and into the cooler and then back to the fridge again, it is important that the transition be efficient and easy. Although you could bore a dedicated hole for the tap shank, I decided to cut out a notch from the top edge of the cooler so that the tap could be easily inserted and removed without having to dismantle the keg faucet.

Determine the best location for the hole and mark where you will drill. I intend to keep the keg as centered as possible so my faucet will be located off center from the middle of the cooler. Make sure you make your notch low enough that the lid can closes properly but not too low to reveal a gaping hole above your tap.

STEP 3: Assemble Rig

Once you have cut the notch out of the cooler you are ready to install your keg setup. Slip the faucet shank into the cooler's notch and tighten it in place with the shank bolt. Fill the cooler with ice, install the cooler lib, and your mobile draught keg is ready to go.

Hope you enjoyed this versatile keg - its been fun putting it together.

Comments

[losman]

Very Nice - Thanks GOALY! I'll have to do this with the next keg I get. Lately I've been driking New Caslte from bottles instead of the mini-keg but once spring and summer come around I'll be back to the mini.

[goaly]

Hello, Thank you for the instructable. I had tucked this idea away until I found the right cooler for the job.

The design of the spigot that comes with the mini keg has been changed since you posted the original instructable. To modify the new spigot, I sealed the long and short portions together by melting them where they meet with the tip of a flat blade screwdriver that I had heated with a torch. I also sealed the vent hole on the bottom of the spigot shut. I do not do this each time I buy a new mini keg, I am using the same plastic spigot over and over. I just clean it with the rest of the equipment after each use. I wash the tap as a single unit, with the hose and plastic spigot still connected.

The beer tubing fits tightly over the tip of the plastic spigot. But I added a zip tie just in case.

Also, the new spigot will not lock into the open position. So I removed the green toggle from the base of the provided dispenser and keep the plastic spigot pushed down into the top of the mini keg by wedging a 3/8 inch drill bit under the handles. A wooden dowel would probably work just as well.

Here is a short video of the cooler in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ILZN2gohE

Thanks again!

[losman]

Thanks GOALY! I'am so honored that you choose to build one for yourself and you made a video of it! Yeah I realized that they had changed the the taps slightly and that I needed to updat this. Could you please provide photos of the modifications you made to the taps (melted parts) so I and others can get a better understanding! Regardless, I am really thrilled that you liked the idea enough to make your own. Thanks Again. Losman

[goaly]

To seal the two pieces of the plastic spigot to each other, I heated the tip of an old flat blade screwdriver (with a torch) and melted them together. I also sealed the vent hole at the bottom of the spigot with the hot screwdriver. I have been reusing the same spigot, so you do not need to do this every time you buy a new keg.

Since the new spigot does not lock in the “Open” position, I removed the plastic toggle from the base of the dispenser that is included with each keg, and I used a 5/16 inch drill bit wedged under the kegs handles to force the plastic spigot down. (Not a 3/8 inch bit as I originally posted.)

Also, to get the ¼ inch Micro Matic tubing over the tip of the spigot, I heated the last couple of inches of the tube in hot water. This softened it and allowed the tube to slip over the spigot. Once it cooled the seal was very tight. I still added a zip tie, just to be safe.

Thanks again for posting the original instructable.

[lemonie]

That's very tidy, you like "The dog"?

L