I am just moving from bottling to kegging and will be keeping my kegs in an old kitchen fridge. I have heard conflicting information about whether or not it is okay to keep the CO2 tank in the fridge. I have seen some sources that have suggested not to do it but not really said why and seen some other sources that say that it is okay to do. If it isn’t something that i should do, what is the recommended way that I run the gas line into the fridge?
Plenty do, so you certainly can put it in the fridge. Pressure and temperature are linked, so the pressure guage will go down when the tank gets colder. The same amount of CO2 is still in the tank though, you’re not loosing anything.
Edit: All of the small commercial beer fridges put them inside.
Putting the tank in the fridge means giving up room for at least one more keg-the regulator takes more space than you think.
To drill a hole in a fridge is a little tricky but easily done. Drill a hole on the inside that just penetrates the skin.Take a nail or other probe and poke around inside the fridge wall. If there is just insulation take a hole saw and again just drill through the inside skin to make sure there’s nothing in there. Then you can drill through the outer skin, Push the gas hose through and attach fittings. Seal the hole with some caulking and you’re good to go.
If the fridge has one of those water hoses running into it for an ice maker or such perhaps you can remove the water line and run you Co2 hose in it’s place.
I’ll second what everyone has said so far. I had a beer fridge on my porch for many years with the co2 tank placed in the fridge. It worked just fine except the tank pressure was lower than at ambient temps. It did take up a fair amount of space though.
+1 to above. It’s really up to you, your space limitations and what you want to do. It will not hurt anything inside the fridge if you do not want to drill holes or don’t have the room around the fridge.
I will try to find where I read it, but at one time I remember a reputable source stating that, if left in the refrigerator, damage could be done to some internal parts (maybe a diaphram)… that said I’ve done both and never had any problems - although dialing pressure is easier when the tank is outside the fridge.
I have heard from a couple people that keeping the CO2 cylinder cold (i.e. in the fridge) will use up more CO2 than keeping it outside the fridge. Perhaps the temperature/pressure difference is why but I have no technical explanation for it.
Does anyone else?
It won’t use the gas faster, but it will “run out” faster. At a colder temperature, more of the CO2 will remain as a liquid. I haven’t done the calculation, but I doubt it is a very big difference.
I find that my gauges work better if they are outside of the fridge, so I keep them and the CO2 outside. Whatever works for you.
Fridge temps. won’t make any difference in how fast you use CO2. You’re taking CO2 gas from the top of the tank. The bottom part is still liquid.
Either way you’re using up space that could be used for 1 more keg
THAT’S pragmatic thinking!
If it’s in the fridge and you run out, bring it outside to warm up and you can finish the party. That said, mine is outside as I can…wait for it…fin another keg in the fridge.