Back in the winter of 2014-2015, I wanted to build my own Kegbot. I had been watching the project on Github as it progressed and obsessed over the various builds for how I would implement my own. While it would live in the garage, I didn’t want to dedicate a full size fridge or chest freezer to the cause as we also used it as a home gym and otherwise hangout space. A chance find of a particular 2-ponies-in-a-mini-fridge build and an even more serendipitous Craigslist find of the exact model (it had been discontinued by then) had me pot-committed. Adding to a Pi2 + Display I already had, I purchased the rest of the tap parts from Beverage Factory, the main electronics from the Kegbot project itself, and added electronics from either eBay or other resellers and got to work.
The final feature set included 2 taps, a flow meter and a valve for each tap, and a NFC card reader. Not only did the bot produce ice-cold beer, but it could tell me exactly how much had been consumed, when, and by whom. Being able to remotely lock out any freeloading friends was a bonus 😉
These days the Pi and NFC card reader have been replaced with a dedicated Nexus tablet, some other parts and thermistors have been replaced, but the general build remains the same. We’ve changed houses a few times in the meantime but it came with us still living in a garage and working like a champ.