Mini Keg Mp3 Player

The Mini Keg Mp3 player is a great way to show off at the beach or a party. Costs about $60 to $80 and simple to make.

Class T- mini amp
12v rechargeable sealed lead acid battery
(1) Aux cable
(1) Aux cable extender
(2) bolts (any length you want)
(4) Nuts
(5) small screws
(6) medium drywall screws
(4) female spade clips
(1) 9" car radio back strap
(1) 6 1/2" MDF speaker ring (any wood ring will do)
(2) 6" or 6 1/2" MDF scraps to mount your items. (or your chose of wood)
(1) 6 1/2" Car Speaker
and of course the Mini Keg but this could work with any body style you wish.

Once the mini keg is empty, drill a few holes on the face to make sure the air pressure is out of it. Then cut the face, making sure you have at least 1/4" of lip left over. Be careful with the sharp edges when you wash the inside and outside very thoroughly with soap and water. I used electrical tape to cover the edges while I worked on the inside so I don't hurt myself. Don't forget to take it off when you are about to close the boom box.

Trace the speaker on your MDF wood to make a speaker ring and give it a 1/4" to 1/2" thickness, this will keep the speaker in place. I used a plunge router drill to make the exact ring I wanted but it does not have to be perfect, it will not be visible.

I roughly sanded and added super glue on the ring and the keg 1/4" lip that we left for added support.

Put your speaker on and drill out the screw holes before hand because the MDF will crack if you add the screws with no pilot holes.

As a tech, I learned very many times that you must check all your components before the install.

Plug your Amp to the speaker of your choice and the battery. I used the Dayton Audio Class T DTA-2 for a few reasons.

1: It has a separate volume knob.

2: You can choose from two different power source plugs.

3: It is a build it yourself amp and this was a great way to teach my daughter about building electrical components from scratch and how to solder them.

The Dayton Audio amp has instructions on how to plug everything up, and it comes with all the wires you need except the Aux cable. This amp is 81% efficient at 15w, 4omhs or 90% efficient at 10w, 8ohms so choose your speakers wisely. I used a Memphis audio 6 1/2" 2 way speaker I had laying around.

Play some music and make sure everything works the way you want it. This is the time to make adjustments.

Once everything is working the way you want it, unplug everything and set it aside.

Make the Battery mount. You don't want this thing sliding around (its not light).

For my battery, I went with the power king 12v 5ah rechargeable sealed lead acid battery. This should give you sufficient amount of playing time. For $24 it comes with the charger.

Now use one of the MDF scraps for the base, you can use any piece of wood but I had this laying around after I made my speaker ring. Fold the radio back strap to the shape of your battery and screw it down. They are all different shapes and sizes so make sure it fits before you buy one. Measure twice cut once, right?

I left the front open so I can remove the battery whenever I need to, you don't have to worry about the front because the keg will be tilted back a little anyway.

NOTE: when the battery gets installed, make sure that the power leads are facing the speaker not the rear. (very important)

Drill out the Aux port hole, the volume knob port, and the power light port.

When you drill make sure and use a light touch because the aluminum is very easily bendable, don't push too hard. Also, when you are done drilling out the power light hole, put the speaker on and make sure it clears correctly. You don't want to add the speaker and rip out the light after all your hard work.

Next mount the amp to the second MDF scrap wood. I cut a groove for the power cable but only because I got a new Dremel and wanted to try it out. You don't have to do that if you don't want to.

The Amp is sensitive and does not sit flat, so be careful when you screw it onto the wood piece.

Next add the female spades to the wire tips and plug everything in. Make sure everything still works. You can remove the ground cable from the battery so you don't short anything out and plug it in last.

Add the Volume knob and the Aux cable extension. For a more manageable wiring layout, zip tie the excess wires to the appropriate length but not necessary.

For the legs, use the 2 bolts and 4 nuts. One nut on the inside and one nut on the outside of the keg wall. Same for other leg. I just guessed about 1 1/2" to 2" apart from the bottom crease and drilled holes in and added them. In hindsight, I would have placed them a little closer in towards the crease.

Add superglue to the edges of the MDF wood and add the battery on the lower tier.

Then plug the Aux extension and add superglue to the Amp's MDF wood edges and place above the battery. Make sure and keep the speaker plugs where you can get to them to plug to the speaker.

Forgive the clutter, I got excited and shoved everything in without laying out my wires properly. I'll most likely go back and fix this at a later time.

If you unplugged the ground wire, make sure and re-connect it at this time. Double check everything is in working order at this point.

Finally, plug in and add the speaker.

Some speakers come with covers and some don't. For mine, I had to add the speaker then add the cover and screw both down at the same time. Also some speakers use different amounts of screws, mine used 6. For speaker mounting to MDF wood, I always use drywall screws. Use your judgment on which ones work better with the wood you are using.

Plug the aux cable to your mp3 player and you are done!! Enjoy and show off to your friends.

"Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs." -Farrah Gray