I have a friend of a friend who I've met several times. He's an upstanding guy and pretty trust worthy. I happen to be in the market for a kegerator (either build it myself or constructed) when I find out he has one. This is what I know:
The original price was $700. It holds a half barrel and I assume a 5 lb CO2 tank (CO2 tank included). It's been recently cleaned for a sale and he's asking $300 for it on craig's list. He'll sell it to me for $250. He's told me the lines probably need to be replaced. He got it from a wealthy college roommate from his college days for free, when on move out day it was abandoned due to lack of transportation space. But this was probably 4 years ago. I do not think he's used it since, but he has told me he knows for a fact that it still gets cold.
I understand I need to replace the lines and set it up for corny kegs instead of sanke kegs (or at least for homebrewing I've only ever heard of corny's being used) and I'll probably used ball locks for convenience. I will probably only use one tap line for the foreseeable future and use the extra space for cold conditioning bottled beers or another corny keg (I assume there will be enough room).
Here's what I don't know:
1) would the CO2 still be good if there's any left?
2) are there any potential problems with the faucet from aging? (I know there are better faucets than others) and if there are, can you replace the faucet from the tower? or must I buy a new tower?
3) do regulators need maintenance or would it be good to go?
4) and here's the big question: what do I need to know that I don't know I need to know?
Thanks guys. I'm hoping this is a good deal- looking forward to kegging my killer homebrews!
(oh, the important part (sorry, I've had a few homebrews tonight already): I'm checking it out tomorrow, and I'm ready to jump on it if it looks good. really looking for advice though!)
The original price was $700. It holds a half barrel and I assume a 5 lb CO2 tank (CO2 tank included). It's been recently cleaned for a sale and he's asking $300 for it on craig's list. He'll sell it to me for $250. He's told me the lines probably need to be replaced. He got it from a wealthy college roommate from his college days for free, when on move out day it was abandoned due to lack of transportation space. But this was probably 4 years ago. I do not think he's used it since, but he has told me he knows for a fact that it still gets cold.
I understand I need to replace the lines and set it up for corny kegs instead of sanke kegs (or at least for homebrewing I've only ever heard of corny's being used) and I'll probably used ball locks for convenience. I will probably only use one tap line for the foreseeable future and use the extra space for cold conditioning bottled beers or another corny keg (I assume there will be enough room).
Here's what I don't know:
1) would the CO2 still be good if there's any left?
2) are there any potential problems with the faucet from aging? (I know there are better faucets than others) and if there are, can you replace the faucet from the tower? or must I buy a new tower?
3) do regulators need maintenance or would it be good to go?
4) and here's the big question: what do I need to know that I don't know I need to know?
Thanks guys. I'm hoping this is a good deal- looking forward to kegging my killer homebrews!
(oh, the important part (sorry, I've had a few homebrews tonight already): I'm checking it out tomorrow, and I'm ready to jump on it if it looks good. really looking for advice though!)
