Where did you put your Beer fridge??

[TonkaJoe]

Hey everyone, new here and am in the process of rebuilding my 20x30 attached garage. The walls are already dry walled but since the screws were backing off, various damage to the drywall, old doors, windows, lighting etc I decided to overhaul the garage into a shop. Bought all new lockable metal cabinets, upgraded to T8 lights, insulated garage door, new north star window and man doors, Steel ribbed panel on the ceiling and 3/4 of the way down the wall, with 4' of stained board and baton as a boarder around the wall base and a new bar fridge!. NOW.. where have you placed your fridges? any neat and tidy ways of incorporating them into a work bench... wall... off of the floor with storage underneath? Lets see some pictures! ideas! thanks in advance everyone! pictures to follow

 

[Shadowdog500]

I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forum.

I have a college sized mini fridge against the wall and use the top as a charging station for batteries. I usually bring it into my home garage in the winter because really cold temps ruin a fridge in a few years. My shop is not heated.

Now I'm wondering about putting a hot rod in it during the winter so it can be a warm cabinet to store my dewalt batteries.

Chris

 

[koditten]

I got sub mini, glass front unit. I built a shelf above my air compressor. You can just see it in the far corner of the pic.

 

[67carl]

I'm in the process of remodeling my garage and haven't stuck the fridge in yet, but this is where it's going. It was dead space so I ran power to it and installed a recepticle. Not the most convenient location but it's the best use of the space. Maybe cut a hole in the counter for a tap? Kegerator?! Hmmmm....

 

[cuyler1]

in 82 i had mine right inside the door so when i returned home from work i could raise garage door and grab a cold one before entering the oven. never got much done except drinkin' and thinkin'! 83 to the rear because all my broke friends were there wed.,thur. the 90's in middle of solid wall(no doors,windows) window a/c above it installed through wall kept the heat it generated down. 2011 quit drinking started finishing projects! no ref.now.

 

[pmilin]

I built mine into the workbench. Its on the end. Take a look at page two of my Makeover link below for more pictures.

View media item 27539

 

[Steevo]

Welcome, TonkaJoe.
I am glad to see that you have your priorities straight.
Beer fridge location is the first order of business, and after that, all the usual stuff about workbenches, lifts, wiring, heating, etc.
I got a small hotel size one, and put it on a shelf in the corner.

 

[BonzoHansen]

In the corner next to my air compressor

 

[ovilla]

Mine's outside in my outdoor kitchen. It's so nice to finish the mowing and then be able to pull the rider mower right up to the grill and grab an ice cold beverage.

 

[blazentrout]

I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forum.

I have a college sized mini fridge against the wall and use the top as a charging station for batteries. I usually bring it into my home garage in the winter because really cold temps ruin a fridge in a few years. My shop is not heated.

Now I'm wondering about putting a hot rod in it during the winter so it can be a warm cabinet to store my dewalt batteries.

Chris

Define really cold temps please as i never remember my parents having an issue with the freezer(which i now have) in the garage or the mini in the pole barn and neither was heated(both over 10yrs old).

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Mine's outside in my outdoor kitchen. It's so nice to finish the mowing and then be able to pull the rider mower right up to the grill and grab an ice cold beverage.

I always wondered who would spend that kind of $$$ for a built in grill....

 

[ibedayank]

In the shop office of course

 

[Tronyadorable]

Beer always gets warm when I get distracted by work.
I switched to liquor in the shop. Beer's for the boat.

 

[rshadd]

 

[Jinks]

Next to the walk-through door. Easy to reach from the house or the work bench.... BTW, haven't bought beer in years. Friends visiting for Bike Week & Biketoberfest leave more than I can drink the rest of the year. Friends are great!

 

[Miss_Sissy]

I've got this tool box. It's built-in:

 

[Shadowdog500]

Mine's outside in my outdoor kitchen. It's so nice to finish the mowing and then be able to pull the rider mower right up to the grill and grab an ice cold beverage.

There are multiple threads on this, and I lost 2 shop fridges finding this out. But a modern high efficiency fridge is meant to run in around a 60 to 80 °f environment (these numbers are my recollection, if you look them up they may be off, but there is a range). Once the temperature drops below this range the compressor oil starts to thicken which causes wear, I also remember that it messes up the auto defrost, as well as the pressure sensors in the fridge. Older, less energy efficient fridges and freezers don't have this problem. The soda machines you see outside actuall have a heater to keep the compressor components at the proper operating temperature. They also sell fridges that operate in cold temps but they are expensive.

I used to just unplug mine when the daytime temps it hit around 50 since everything would be cold enough on its own. But I was concerned the beer would freeze when we get a long single digit cold snap, so I moved it into my attached garage that never really cold.

Chris

 

[WILD-BILL]

Mine is a small mini fridge. I built a shelf to place it on up over my press as it was pretty much wasted space. Also have my PC and monitor there.

To make the ost of the space, drain pans are stored on top of the fridge while spare chop saw blades fit just underneath.

 

[bazzateer]

In the corner where the two 'arms' of my L shaped bench meet.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It's one one side of the garage with the microwave sitting on top of it. Above the microwave is a cupboard with some stuff to munch on in it.


EDIT: finally got a picture taken and uploaded.

 

[c4cruiser]

Here's my kegerator, just to the left of the toolbox and in front of the lift. Didn't want to have to walk too far to refill a glass....

 

[Sask dude]

In Saskatchewan it gets too cold and could ruin the fridge or freeze my beer. And I'm only in the garage on weekends. so it's too expensive to try to heat. Work lights and the heater warm it enough to work in. So I bring a small cooler in the winter and in the summer I bring the cooler with ice.

 

[nationalminer84]

https://scontent-b-ord.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/16811_10205018870329005_3632453473365734286_n.jpg?oh=f73178b1b469b06ee795979d5863e40c&oe=554065C7

Just picked this up yesterday it's in my workshop portion of my garage on the bench

 

[Lassen Forge]

It's an extension of one of my workbenches. I'd shoot a picture, but the toolboxes are in the way to do it. I should move it eventually as it's a PITA to get into as it's a de facto storage area as well...

 

[MDSPHOTO]

The only place I don't have one is in my single car garage. I have an undercounter in my kitchen, one in the downstairs bar and a full size one in the 3-car.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

This isn't mine, but I built one very similar out the same GE freezer and used a separate temp control unit to keep it at beer temps.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f252/ge-5-0-cu-ft-keezer-build-360657/

It will be going under one of the windows in my shop on the side where the patio is. I'll keep it 2 kegs in it most of the time, and once the weather gets too cold I'll just turn off the freezer and bring the kegs inside to a larger unit that I will be building for our basement bar. I will have a small dorm fridge out there as well near my computer for waters and soda as well.

 

[Sheriff245]

Mine is in a custom cabinet below the parts washer. A subwoofer has been added next to the fridge since this picture was taken.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Was just at the end of my workbench:


I don't have a current photo but it's since been moved out onto the patio about in the center of this picture where the pink Hydrangea is:

 

[Grinder Bill]

Over the oil change pit, which has power...

 

[mitchtr25068]

1942 kelvinator repainted by a body shop in black gloss with a white racing stripe.

 

[wyo george]

My house, 2 car garage and 30x40 shop are all attached and so to avoid the issues of keeping the fridge warm enough in the winter I have it just inside the house in my downstairs den (the room you walk into from the garage). I usually have to piss about once per beer anyway so I just grab a new beer while draining out the old one.

 

[sarman47]

Well not a fridge, although it does cool 126 cans or bottles of beer down nicely.

As I told the wife, if you keep it full it uses less energy ........

 

[TonkaJoe]

Haha these are all great set ups guys, and some nice garages as well!

 

[Arps]

Right next to the door. There is a porch and firepit out there that everyone likes to hang out at, so I wanted the drinks right there so nobody would have to walk through my stuff while drunk.
https://scontent-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10511328_10204643534673140_1122938911533777246_n.jpg?oh=1625257a68185401d0e16b29214792c3&oe=5540EECA

 

[genesis]

 

[LX-Markham]

great thread as I'm planning the space in my garage also, and must have a beer fridge!

So if I understand this correctly: modern fridges + freezing temps = bad.
But if I unplug the fridge during the winter so its inoperable it should hibernate just fine?

 

[blazentrout]

great thread as I'm planning the space in my garage also, and must have a beer fridge!

So if I understand this correctly: modern fridges + freezing temps = bad.
But if I unplug the fridge during the winter so its inoperable it should hibernate just fine?

yes it should and according to my friend you damn yanks need to learn to drink it(beer) at room temp.
Side note neither me or my parents have had an issues with our mini fridges over the last decade (mines an '01 by the date i wrote on the back) but neither of us use the freezer sections of them.

There are multiple threads on this, and I lost 2 shop fridges finding this out. But a modern high efficiency fridge is meant to run in around a 60 to 80 °f environment (these numbers are my recollection, if you look them up they may be off, but there is a range). Once the temperature drops below this range the compressor oil starts to thicken which causes wear, I also remember that it messes up the auto defrost, as well as the pressure sensors in the fridge. Older, less energy efficient fridges and freezers don't have this problem. The soda machines you see outside actuall have a heater to keep the compressor components at the proper operating temperature. They also sell fridges that operate in cold temps but they are expensive.

I used to just unplug mine when the daytime temps it hit around 50 since everything would be cold enough on its own. But I was concerned the beer would freeze when we get a long single digit cold snap, so I moved it into my attached garage that never really cold.

Chris

Make sense in a way but i guess i have been lucky then with my shops mini fridge as its an '01. my buddy who does industrial refrigeration explained it to me said the issue most of the time is the freezer thaws out do to the fridge not cycling enough and that there are two different types of cooling units used on the small dorm types and that one type dies a quick death do to freezing temps. plus he said you damn yanks need to learn to drink it at room temp.

 

[LX-Markham]

yes it should and according to my friend you damn yanks need to learn to drink it(beer) at room temp....plus he said you damn yanks need to learn to drink it at room temp.

Tell him to start importing some of that fine cask ale then

 

[PCO6]

Mine was a priority when I built this shelving unit over my card file cabinets. I used wire shelving to assist with ventilation.
View media item 34552
Holds a two/four perfectly.
View media item 41535

 

[reddevildemo]

Mine is right next to the liquor safe .