WTF did I get myself into....

[djc]

Run the wire through the drain hole.

[BKBuilds]

Actually there is just over 5 inches of space between the back of the unit and the wall. This is due to the large double wide power strip I installed behind them to accommodate the tower fan power.

[pvs6]

So I went back to look at your photos more closely to confirm that it's safe to drill the top right hand back corner where on other units the Co2 line enters. Good news and bad news. Good there are no coolant lines on the top, bottom and back of unit (exception being the back where the cold plate supply and return line enter up throught the back shelf). On the cold plate that little cut out notch top right corner where you see the line exit off the plate and go back down through the shelf is where the Co2 line hole is run. Drilled between the cold plate and the line and the bottom of the notch. It's safe to drill a small hole there to run power supply lines, silicone seal it when wires are in place.

The only place left then for the coolant lines is the sides of the unit. Those lines are in direct contact with the metal sides of the unit. They S loop all down the side then run across the very front of the floor of the unit just behind where the bottom door seal makes contact. Then S loop up the other side. The reason they are connected to the sides of the unit is because they use those surfaces as a radiator to disipate the heat.


Now the Bad News.

As the label says on the back of your unit this is a stand alone only unit. Their way of saying it can't be built in and that it needs air space round it to allow it to radiate off the heat it is removing from the keg space. The compressor gets hot when running 100 to 150 degrees is about normal. It needs to cool back down to room temp. again before cycling back on if it is to be efficient. All of the units literature I've seen seen call for 3 inches min if not more from the back of the unit to the wall. Yours appear via your photos to be pushed back tight against the wall. Easy fix just move them forward 3 inches. It also appears in the photos that the units are resting against one another. If this is the case you will cut the cooling efficiency rate in half on both units since your are only allowing one side of each unit to radiate off heat. I would think that you would need at very least 6 inches between them and maybe a fan blowing through the seperation pushing the built up heat out of the confinement.

When it's running and the compressor has been on for a minute or 2 put your hand on the side and feel how much heat is being generated there and you will see that only allowing one side of the unit to release all this heat is not what it was designed for. It will keep the compressor from cooling back down in the off cycle. Also force a shorter off cycle and a longer on cycle since it has to work twice as hard to removed heat, deprived of 1/2 it's radiating surface. This could one might imagine cut the unit's lifetime also in half.

It looks like you have room to allow the min of 3 inches in back, 3 on the out sides and 6 in between the middle. Personally I'd want more or some fan forced air ventilation around both units. Sorry to be a wet blanket but thought you should know this could be a problem.

[BKBuilds]

Imagine that... It actually does have the drain hole you speak of!

[djc]

Air temp is unreliable and you aggravated it by the wire running past the seal. On the hump at the back of the unit, behind the CO2 bottle, is there a drain hole?

[BKBuilds]

Its the air temp. I switched back to the setup I had before with just a battery fan blowing air around inside the refrigerator. I'll see what the temps look like when I get home from work. The door seal was not fully set since I was running the power wire for the tower cooler out of the door. I don't want to drill into anything until I know where its safe to drill.

[djc]

Air temp or liquid? Also make sure you door seals are good - put a flashlight inside the unit and turn off the lights. Look at the sides to see if there is any light getting out. One other thing to be mindful of is that the air you are forcing up the tower needs to get back down and often times you have to enlarge the hole to do that.

[BKBuilds]

Tower cooler has been running for 24+ hours now. The tower is very cold to the touch. But my temp inside the unit has crept up to 43... I've turned the thermostat down a little, we'll see if it gets back down to the previous range. 37-40.

[BKBuilds]

Tower cooler installed and blowing cold air right on the shank. Will check back on it in a few hours. The foam insulation was very hard to push back in. I'm going to see if its adequate now with the large air line running in the tower next to the beer line.

[BKBuilds]

"I can guarantee the stock faucet would work perfectly IF you took out the spring" - I did take the spring out and try it. It didn't work. I still got just as much foam. But that was prior to changing out the lines and shank. I wasn't going to put the stock faucet back on after replacing the lines and shank since I already had the Perlicks in hand.

"did you take it apart to see how parts break down and see if any other extra parts" - Yes, nothing was extra. They just send lots of extra washers and gaskets. The only thing I missed was the check value on the coupler.

"In your case everything is probable" - I would disagree, I would say 100% the faucet needed replaced. The Perlick when closed has a much firmer seal. The Stock faucet it felt like you could just blow on it and it would open without the spring. The Perlick actually seats in a forward position and requires a small amount of pressure to open.

"Did you remove shank as I posted in my newbie thread?" - Yes the first one had to be removed by first loosening the nut by twisting on the faucet. The second was actually just finger tight to begin with.

"how did you make it "super easy to remove"?" - I didn't make it Super easy to remove, MM did. With the wrench I ordered from them its super easy to tighten down the nut. The issue with the stock one was the nylon spacer between the nut and the tower was preventing the wrench from getting a good bite on the nut to turn it.

The bottom line, I don't regret spending the extra money on replacing all these parts. I'm right at or slightly over what the cost of the cheapest unit was on Amazon and I might have had to spend money replacing parts on it anyways.

My next step will be installing the tower cooler, checking to see if the Kegerator still holds temp, and then replacing the stock foam insulation in the tower. The stock foam leaves a gap between the insulation and the tower itself. I want it to be tight to the tower walls with a large diameter hole in the center for the line and cooling tube to run through and enough space for air to flow back down.

[KillianBoy]

BKBuilds,
I can guarantee the stock faucet would work perfectly IF you took out the spring (meant for Steve Rodgers pre-serum, since he couldn't close faucet without spring) and done what I said, did you take it apart to see how parts break down and see if any other extra parts?
To say the shank "probable" is just a guess, I will tell you something is seriously wrong with some of the stock shanks, either the ID is wrong size or inside is not smooth enough, don't know, but to say shank "might" be the problem is just guessing. In your case everything is probable since you replaced everything, though I will concur with replacing that stupid regulator, any regulator that has NO means to adjust by increments of PSI and by guesswork needs to be replaced.
Did you remove shank as I posted in my newbie thread? I find it way easier to get it off than it is to get it on (straight) and how did you make it "super easy to remove"?
KB

[pvs6]

Once you round it out with the tower cooler and maybe a small P.C. fan in the box even your 1st pours will be acceptable.

[BKBuilds]

Ok so everything came in except for the tower cooler. Removing the stock elbow shank was a bitch but I got it done. Installed the new shank which is now super easy to remove. Installed the new 10' lines, tail pieces, and Perlick Faucets. Initial pour is about a half a glass of foam and then nice golden beer. After that I can pour beer after beer with about a inch or so of foam.

So to close the loop on my foam issues with Avantco Kegerator.... New Regulator is a must, new Faucet is a must, 10' lines and shank was Probable.

[BKBuilds]

My order from MM came in today, Faucets will be in tomorrow, not sure when the tower cooler will be in.

[KillianBoy]

BKBuilds,
I have never had to replace Faucet coupling washer, but if somehow the faucet doesn't have one then sure, the neoprene washer is the one you might need more of. The main mistake people make is putting the neoprene washer it the place where Faucet coupling washer goes.
KB