Should I pick up this old keggerator???

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
GC89

GC89

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
175
Reaction score
0
Location
Spokane/Pullman
A friend of mine has an old kegerator that some tenants left in his rental house (trashed the place) I can take if off his hands for 40 bucks but since the power is shut off there we have no idea if it works. I would think likely not since they left it but took the shank, faucet, and all the lines ect out. I just started building my own not a week ago using a Frigidaire mini otherwise I would be all over it. Anyone have experience with these older ones? I dont have any experience when it comes to the cooling systems in these units as I am sure they are set up differently than a regular fridge. If salvageable I am thinking it would be good to build into a bar when I get around to it. How hard is it to come by parts for these and to have them repaired. I am going to look at it again tomorrow and could ask the neighbor for an extension cord I suppose, what should I look/listen for and check when I plug it in? I can get more pics tomorrow if it helps

Also I will stripping the whole thing and either painting or brushing the door depending on the type of steel it is made of. I know its hideous in its current state.

DSCF5531.jpg


DSCF5532.jpg




Cliff notes: 1. Is this a decent unit?
2. what to check?
3. how hard and $$$ to get parts and or have it repaired?
 
GC89 said:
A friend of mine has an old kegerator that some tenants left in his rental house (trashed the place) I can take if off his hands for 40 bucks but since the power is shut off there we have no idea if it works. I would think likely not since they left it but took the shank, faucet, and all the lines ect out. I just started building my own not a week ago using a Frigidaire mini otherwise I would be all over it. Anyone have experience with these older ones? I dont have any experience when it comes to the cooling systems in these units as I am sure they are set up differently than a regular fridge. If salvageable I am thinking it would be good to build into a bar when I get around to it. How hard is it to come by parts for these and to have them repaired. I am going to look at it again tomorrow and could ask the neighbor for an extension cord I suppose, what should I look/listen for and check when I plug it in? I can get more pics tomorrow if it helps

Also I will stripping the whole thing and either painting or brushing the door depending on the type of steel it is made of. I know its hideous in its current state.

DSCF5531.jpg


DSCF5532.jpg




Cliff notes: 1. Is this a decent unit?
2. what to check?
3. how hard and $$$ to get parts and or have it repaired?
Click to expand...

Man that's nasty. I would pass and spend the $40 elswhere.
 
Looks like a pos. Let's start the bidding at your buddy paying you 20 dollars to take it out on the street and shooting it.
 
Ya its definitely dirty, the upside I saw was I could strip off the 80s wood "wallpaper" and hit it with paint. The inside looks like rust in the pics but its actually dust and red clay dirt from the garage. I wouldnt even consider it if it wasnt for the fact that it could fit a half barrel or 6 cornys in it. Him saying $40 will really work out to me telling him I'm just taking it cuz I agree its not worth paying for. but I figured if it tcools then I already have all the parts to get it in working shape.
 
I would say you take it for free, and if it works, then your pay him $20, the other $20 can be for your time, gas and effort to clean and rebuild it. If it doesn't work he buys you a beer for hauling it away.
 
Some buddy...you would be doing him a favor taking it off of his hands. I would not pay him for it. The unit def has potential. But it will need more work than what he wants. Make him a proposition, you will take it off of his hands in return for fresh home brew.
 
If you can pick it sure pick it up...........................and then throw it as far as you possibly can. :rockin:

Personally I wouldn't pay for that, maybe if someone was giving it away I would take it and see what I can do with it.

IMHO its fairly cheap of your friend to try and sell something he is going to have to pay to get rid of anyway.
 
I had that same model and sold it due to the fact it did not work, the guy who bought it needed the cooling system, and I had a double and single tower with every tap imaginable. It would have been a pain in the ass to fix anyways. your better off buying one off craigslist for a couple hundred $$$.
 
So I plugged it in today kicked on right away and let it run for about 2 hours. When I checked it if felt cooler inside but not super cold. The compressor and coils were both hot though. I would have thought 2 hours would have been enough for it to cool down. Maybe it needs a recharge? Also I misunderstood my buddy said he was thinking of throwing it on craigslist for $40, if I wanted it its free. So free or not Im not sure its worth the effort, would be a cool built in for a bar though. 6 homebrews on tap!
 
Free is good but like you said is it worth your time. Only you can really tell how much work it will need and what it's worth to you. I would plug it in and let it run 24 hours just to make sure you didn't give it enough time to cool down.
 
Yea.. 2 hours is definitely not long enough to let it cool. Let it sit for a day, and then measure the temp (thermometer in glass of water).
 
Hey, sounding like your friend is not too bad, and you may have a working unit. Possible recharge, lots of cleaning and you might be very happy.
Or you may have wasted some time and learned a little, I would consider it a good trade off if you can pay your friend with homebrew.
 
I cannot think of any reason for stripping the works out of a kegger, other than it has failed.
 
If it doesn't work see if you can salvage the tower and drip try and use them in your bar build.
 
Oh and did I mention they also left 20 swing top bottles and a stainless half barrel so i now have 2 for my AG set up. Now I just have to figure out the best set up using only 2, probably go just MLT and BK
 
jmilton1987 said:
Dude, if you only have two kegs use one as the HLT buy a cooler for like $25 for the MLT and use the second keg as your brew kettle and all will be good for you.
Click to expand...

I considered this but Iv never been keen on having anything plastic in my brew set up. Just never liked the though of it. Im planning on putting a 5500w element in the mlt keggle and if that wont bring it up to temp fast enough I can always use preheated water with my 16qt pot
 

Similar threads

TheBeerGuy
Keezer Tap Towers
Replies
1
Views
346
OakIslandBrewery
OakIslandBrewery
Nagorg
Nagorg's First Keezer Build
Replies
14
Views
821
YeastFeast
YeastFeast
H
Withdrawn Kegerator - 3 tap Glastender BB60 - DFW
Replies
5
Views
499
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
B
Iowa Bottoms Up Beer Dispensers - Used, Untested - $100
Replies
3
Views
815
Bryce Brewer
B
Clint Yeastwood
Prose from the Pros
Replies
6
Views
491
DBhomebrew
DBhomebrew
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top