replacing beer line on Danby kegerator beer tower

the cap is simply pressure fitted to the tower. grab hold of it and pop it off. if it is really stuck you can wrap a towel around the thing and pull it off with channel locks. very gently. this is just a thin piece of chrome plated metal. it is one step above plastic.

there will be a foam disc insulation pad beneath the cap. remove that too, and again be gentle. the insulation really is just plastic.

you need to remove the "shank". that is the part that the faucet is screwed on to. loosen the nut behind the shank. it will be difficult because there is very little space for your pliers. there is a retaining clip too, be careful not to lose that thing.

the shank has a bent shaft. remove the line. replace with your new line. clamp. re-install.
voila.

 

all retail towers are rather delicate. the real deal commercial towers can cost a hundred or more. and given that most home use kegerators have a price point of a few hundred dollars it is not surprising that corners are cut. upgrading the tower and faucets is one of the best things you can do to really improve the look and feel of your kegerator. pulling your own beer should feel like quality. like closing the door of an expensive car. thunk. solid. the feel of chrome plated plastic is just sad.

Cheers.

 

First thing I did was swap out the tower that came with my Danby kegerator with a heavy duty one from ACUmetalfab - although any other reputable place will likely have similar quality, but they were local at the time so I didn't have to pay shipping.

 

I'm working on upgrading my Danby right now. I ordered a coldtower and I want to replace the beer line just like the OP. My issue is that I don't seem to have a tool appropriate to remove the nut on the back of the shank. I'm curious if anyone has any tips or advice for this.

FYI (if anyone cares), I'm also upgrading to a perlick SS faucet and picking up a quality thermometer. I plan to get it all together and test with a 5 gal bucket of water. Once I have the temp dialed in, I can put in a keg and tweak the CO2 pressure. Hopefully at that point she'll pour like a dream.

So...thoughts on the shank nut?

 

In an ideal world, you would own a draft arm wrench used by draft installers and technicians. It looks like this:




So...you have a couple of options.

1. You can see if your local homebrew shop has one...and you can purchase one (trust me, you will use it again)
2. or...you can ask the shop to loan one to you if that is an option
3. I've seen narrow CHANNELLOCK® pliers do the trick as well as...
4. ...needlenose style vice-grips

(Options 3 & 4 generally make a mess out of the nut, but it is hidden)

Heck...I'll even send you one of mine for $20 + shipping (Note to Mods: I am not soliciting)


I'd start with 6 ½' of beer line...you can always shorten it down the road if necessary.

 

IceAce - thanks. I found what looks like that exact wrench on Amazon Prime so I ordered that. I'm not in a huge hurry since I have to install the coldtower and pick up the beer line, neither of which will happen before next week. I also promised the Mrs that I'd whittle down the bottled beer in the fridge before I pick up a keg.

 

Happy to help.

Just a word of caution...a spanner/hex wrench will not work in this situation as the nut is just a wee bit larger than the hex (which is used for beer nuts)

 

Yeah. Uh Huh. Remind her that you are saving money when you buy beer in a keg. She does not want to waste money, right? Of course not!
You are welcome.
Cheers.

Edit
I will add that once you have the tool and know how to do it, replacing beer line is possibly quicker and easier than cleaning the beer line. It is an option. I think the cost between BLC, a pump and the time needed is almost even with 50' of beverage line.

 

Actually, she bought the kegerator for me. She's just been a little miffed because I got wholesale into trying new beers and haven't had a keg on tap for over a year. I ended up putting the shelves back in the kegerator and just using it to store bottles. I decided last week to thin the herd on bottles and go back to a keg.

 

OK, this is strange. The wrench arrived and it's too small. It has a 1" and a 1 1/16" end, and both are too small. I slipped a crescent wrench over the nut, then measured that and it measured 1 1/8". So I went and bought a 1 1/8" wrench. Since I'm replacing the hose, I just cut it off and tried the new wrench. It's still too small, but by like 1/32" or less.

Is it metric? Anybody know what size the nut is on a Danby fridge? This is really starting to annoy me.

 

I have always just used slip joint pliers and broken the nut loose by turning the faucet a little.

 

OK, I tried this, but it would not budge. I even put gloves on because the faucet was digging into my hand. No joy. I finally got smart and grabbed my calipers and measured the nut: 1 3/16". I ordered a combination wrench on amazon for $8 shipped, which arrived yesterday. I was expecting a struggle, so I grabbed the gloves, set everything up for maximum torque, and went at it. It came off with ease. I do not know why turning the faucet did not work, but I'm good to go now. I'll mod the wrench so I can slip it over a hose and I'll be all set.

I also ordered some adhesive wire clips so that I can clip my coldtower hose to the side and ceiling of the kegerator...just like to keep things neat. Those came yesterday too. I had heavy duty velcro that I use for guitar effects pedals, so I'll use that to stick the fan to shelf in the back and the side wall. That'll keep it from vibrating and it'll stay put. I'll post a pic when I get it all set up. I want to get everything installed, put a 5 gal bucket of water in this weekend and see how it all works with respect to temp.

 

Make sure you get the tower cooler outlet all the way up under the shanks - I wired mine right up against the underside of them.

 

I was going to tie-wrap it to the beer hose so that it's about 2" from the top of the tower.

 

Take it all the way up.

 

I'll do what I can with the idea of ensuring I don't obstruct the airflow.

 

Getting the hose to about an inch shy of the shank works well and is the standard BevAir, True, Micromatic setup.

 

Sounds perfect to me.