Sharing the joy of auto-filling your Keurig... (taking efficiency too far?!)

First, I need to give credit that this is not an original idea... I got this off some YouTube video I found after having to get up from my work for the second or third time in a day to refill my Keurig (yeah, First World Problems, I know...).

With less than $20 in parts and about 30 mins of easy DIY work, you too can forever eliminate the need to refill the Keurig water reservoir.  My wife says this is just me being lazy, I prefer to think it's the engineer in me constantly looking for ways to be more efficient... aBased on the reactions I've gotten from others who've seen this little project, I figured I'd post this so a few other over-caffeinated optimization junkies might benefit from the daily joy this little hack brings every time you grab a coffee or tea... literally, it makes me smile every day. If nothing else, future co-workers/employers may better understand the extent of my fixation on removing waste from systems!  

If you decide to pursue this lifehack, you will need some very basic DIY skills (if you can use a drill, you are pretty much ready) and a few inexpensive parts I found on Amazon (probably can be found at your local Home Depot or Lowes, though Amazon ensured I got them all at once & saved the inevitable multiple trips when I forget a part or the store is out of the one thing I need).    Thiskit (link to Amazon) has most of the parts you will need (union T, shutoff, tubing, female connector), plus this float valve (again, Amazon link). For tools, you'll need a drill to run the 1/4" line through cabinet or similar, something to cut the line (scissors if you have plastic line to your fridge like me, or metal-cutting hand saw/tubing cutter if you have a copper line) and a few drill bits to tap into the plastic top of your Keurig fill cover. I'm not advocating for any of the products I linked, they are just what I used - please do a little looking around at pricing options & recommendations! 

So most refrigerators today come with ice makers... if you own one like this, then you probably already have a small water line feeding the refrigerator.  This is the source line I used for my Keurig's new water supply. Even if you don't have a fridge with an icemaker, adding a line is a pretty simple job, but I'll let you search YouTube for that.  

The steps are really very straightforward & didn't take any special talent: 

1. Shut off the water source to the fridge - this is likely a small valve where the icemaker line meets your main home piping, usually in the basement or tapped into your kitchen faucet. Or since it's such a short project you can also just turn off at your water main if easier.  
2. Cut the line feeding into the fridge and press fit the 2 ends into the T-connector. I made my connection at about waist level behind the fridge but you could do this in the basement or wherever convenient as long as you have enough tubing.  
3. Press fit the new tubing into the remaining opening in the T-connector. Run the line to the location where your Keurig is (mine was next to the fridge so I just had to go through the sides of a cabinet between the two).
4. Add the shutoff valve from your kit of parts somewhere inconspicuous but reasonably close to the Keurig. This lets you turn off the water if you need to service anything or run a cleaning cycle. Leave this closed for now - with it closed, you can turn on the water back to your fridge so your family can get ice.  
5. Now the "hard" part... Hard just means don't rush, you don't want to crack the top of your Keurig reservoir. I used a small drill bit to create a pilot hole, then increased sizes a few times to expand the hole enough to get the inlet end of the float valve through. I was nervous at first but the plastic is soft & didn't feel like it'd want to crack by going slow & building out the hole size. One thing, because the plastic was soft, the bit tended to grab and it took a bit of care to finish the edges to my wife's approval specs!  I used a small knife to clean up the edges after drilling.  You can hide any blunders pretty easily with a plastic washer but go slow and you should be fine.   
6. Connect the tubing to the float valve inlet with the remaining connector from your kit of stuff, and make sure your float valve can move freely inside the reservoir. Mine took a bit of playing with before I was happy, and you will want to watch as the reservoir fills to make sure the float is not obstructed, or you could have water to clean up.  
7. Turn the water back on if you haven't already, and open the shutoff valve leading to the Keurig.  
8. Assuming no tweaks or leaks, drop in a K cup, grab a mug and enjoy!  

Here's what it looks like all done...

You can find plenty of videos on how to do this, just search "Keurig auto fill". I'd advise looking around for a few minutes before diving in... that should also give Amazon's drones enough time to bring you the parts you'll need. Once you finish the install, please triple check to make sure there are no leaks throughout... as fun as this hack is to do, its not worth ruining a good floor over. If you are really handy & do some looking on YouTube, there's all sorts of mods to do from here. For the full IoT experience, you can add water leak sensors relayed into your water valves for preventing overflow, tie into your home automation, etc...   

I hope this brings as much entertainment as it did to me & my kids ... and even my wife, who will now say it was a good idea... as long as I am not within earshot! 

Ryan