I am in the process of building a basement bar. I would like to have a degerator underneath the counter top (which will be granite.
Does anyone out there have some pictures or plans of thier draft systems?
Also, recommendations for keg fridges? I converted an old fridge, but this time around I believe I would like it under the counter with a draft tower on the top of the counter.
Thanks for your help!
Go to barplan.com
I used their plans and my bar turned out awesome. Read the section on refrigeration…I used this set up and have never looked back. I had no idea that a small dorm size fridge/freezer would cool such a large area but I can tell you that I have had mine running for over a year now with 0 problems. :lol: I have room inside for 5 maybe even 6, 5 gallon kegs. It is well worth the $19.95 life time membership even if you do not use the bar plans themselves.
You’re going to cut a hole through a granite countertop? When I put my bar in, I couldn’t come up with a good way to put in a tower that would allow me to pull the chest freezer out from under the counter to change kegs. I built a collar and my “customers” can read the beers on the tap handles. More power to you if you can pull it off.
Here is what I did - a “walkup” bar. When I finished my basement last year, I left about a foot between the back bar wall and the concrete. I have four faucets, an 18" dishwasher, a small beverage/wine fridge, a small microwave for popcorn, and a sink.
The faucet on the right is either root beer or carbonated fruit juice (like IZZE, if you have that in your area). The faucet on the left is usually my stout/nitro faucet, but I don’t have anything on nitro right now, so I’m just running a 3rd CO2 faucet (all Shirrons, got them before the law suit patent nonsense). There is a drain on the drip tray, by the way, which turns out to be pretty nice to have.
On the other side of the door (storage room) is my chest freezer/keg fridge. There is about a 3.5’ run from the back of the faucets to the freezer, which I wrapped in insulation. The first pour might have a tiny bit of foam, but all good after that. In other words, it’s short enough I don’t have to worry about cooling my beer lines.
Three regulators for the CO2 - one at 10psi (with a manifold for up to 3 kegs on it), one at 13-15psi (also with a manifold with 3) for my wheats or Belgians, one at 20-25psi for my soda. The nitro regulator is outside.
Pictures below…
My father in law build me a wooden base for the bottom of my tower. I stained it dark brown and it looks pretty good. It can stand on it’s own on any suface where I want to set it up, and it has an opening at the back for the hoses to come out without being noticed too much. Very good if you don’t want to drill into your bar top.
If I have time later I’ll see if I can post a photo.
Here is my setup. The pictures are from right after I did this. Ive since added a bigger drip tray and some stainless steel behind the faucets to move the faucets forward. I got some commercial handles and they were too long and hit the wall, so i had to move the faucets forward to give them more clearance.
My keezer is in the room on the other side of the wall, so this setup isn’t ideal for everyone, but fantastic for me.
