Kegerator - Buy or Make?

Hi all,

I am in the planning stages of building a kegerator out of a mini-fridge. I've targeted this fridge for conversion due to it's size, price, and free shipping. I basically want a draft tower with two faucets, drip-tray, and 5lb CO2 tank. I'd like to have the option to tap a 1/6 keg as well as Cornies.

I also came across this pre-built kegerator for basically twice as much money. It also has free shipping and comes with all the goods (CO2 tank, regulator, coupler, beer lines, air lines, tap, tower, drip tray, faucets and faucet handles).

My question is, will I save any money by building my own kegerator out of the mini-fridge I listed above? I don't have a hole saw rated for plastic (just wood, drywall, etc) so would the cost in tools and all of the additional things I would need to purchase add up to the $300 difference?

Thanks.

I have a similar dilemma and I look forward to hearing what others say about this. Build your own or buy completed?

I've personally never done a tower conversion with a mini-fridge, but just doing quick math the fridge you're looking at is $288.99 and a 2 tap tower conversion kit from Micromatic with CO2 tank is $273.90 + shipping, probably around $15. You're looking at about a $580 investment to build you own. I'm all about DYI, but in this case I don't think it would be worth it.

Now, if you can find a used fridge and/ or kegerator parts it might be worth it. Just my opinion.

I would think for 300 you could convert that other one with very nice equipment including stainless perlick faucets in stead of chrome.

A hole saw is cheap too. co2 tank and all the lines can be had for well under 100 depending on size.

It would be close but you would get a better product in the end built your way.

If you buy that Sanyo for $300, I think buying the completed kegerator will be cheaper. Keep in mind you'll need to swap out the sanke fittings for corny fittings.

The big advantage on the DIY route is that you can choose the components. I did a stainless steel tower, perlick 525ss, taprite dual output regulator. I think I paid around $320 for my setup excluding the kegs and fridge. Plus $180 for my fridge and then the hole saw, plywood, spray foam, adhesive, etc. Maybe $40 in ancillaries. I guess total was still under $600.

Advantages of DIY
Get to choose components
Cheaper

Disadvantages
Void fridge warranty by drilling it
Takes time to build
Commercial kegerators generally have more room inside

^^^^^Pretty much sums it up. Another advantage is simply the DIY factor. I get a lot of pride when people see my keezer and say they love it and I get to tell them I built it. My wife is more thrilled to show it off sometimes than I am!

I would rec'd DIY, but then again we got a similar fridge (if not the same one) for $75 off of craigslist. Just the process of building a dual-tap tower kegerator from scratch was part of the appeal for us. Like Brewnoob1 said, it's about pride in your work. But saving a few bucks can be part of it too...

I would certainly enjoy building it myself. Can anyone link a really good tutorial on how to do this (mini-fridge, 2 faucet tower) for me?

I plan to (eventually) have a nitro tap so I am guessing I'll have to have the gas tanks outside the kegerator. A tutorial illustrating this arrangement would be excellent.

Thanks.

I'm currently building my own and it's quite fun and I should be done within the next day or two. My wife purchased a Holiday 5.0 chest freezer from Lowes for Christmas and had my Dad build the collar. I painted the collar white to match and the black is actually chalkboard paint so that I can write what the beer is as I'm planning on having 2 taps. Here are some pics of my progress thus far....

Picture of collar painted and installed:


2 homebrew kegs with room for tank and another keg where 6 pack is.


Picture of all the parts...

I did the Frigidaire 4.4 from Lowe's. There's a big thread on it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/fr...erator-conversion-89013/?highlight=frigidaire

I don't see your location, but if you're near Philadelphia, I still have some plywood, spray foam, and the hole saw from my build.

I'm currently building my own and it's quite fun and I should be done within the next day or two. My wife purchased a Holiday 5.0 chest freezer from Lowes from Christmas and had my Dad build the collar. I painted the collar white to match and the black is actually chalkboard paint so that I can write what the beer is as I'm planning on having 2 taps. Here are some pics of my progress thus far....

Picture of collar painted and installed:


2 homebrew kegs with room for tank and another keg where 6 pack is.


Picture of all the parts...

I have the Frigidaire and planned on converting it, although I never did (I now have a full sized fridge that was given to me which will be converted soon instead). Shortly after I purchased it, a couple friends of mine found one at Costco already set up AND it included a CO2 tank and regulator for like $350 or less. I think it's this one, which is listed here at $399 so maybe they got it on sale:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11751870

At that price I would've gone that route had I known. Having everything already done, plus getting the tank and regulator included is pretty nice for what it costs I think. I imagine it would be really easy to add one more faucet to that setup as well.

For around $250 you should be able to get everything you need including two kegs, CO2 tank, dual gauge regulator, manifold, QDs, shanks and faucets etc. I got the whole package from keg connection and had everything installed in one hour.

It's nice to have two beers on tap, a bunch of extra fridge space and an extra freezer.

Looking at the original post and the COTS kegerator for $600- You'll probably want to upgrade to perlicks so you don't get stuck faucets. That being said you'll save a few bucks + DIY pride doing it all new. But you'll knock off $couple hundy getting the fridge and other bits off craigslist/ebay. That costco setup is a good deal tho.

+1 on the craigslist thing.. I'd watch a college town and pick up one that some senior isn't taking to their new life.

I was trying to think of a clever way to allude to the Timbuk 3 song, but I've got nothin.

I bought everything new and chose not to use craigslist. I built my 2 tap, 7.0cf freezer, using perlick 525ss faucets, dual stage temp controller (ebay aquarium build from the DIY section here on HBT), 2-way air distributor, and all build materials for under $550. Obviously that doesn't count my kegging equipment, but a keezer with 2 taps that can hold 5 kegs, I call a win. I have been asked why I didn't go with more taps due to the amount it can hold. Short answer, cost of extra taps as well as I'm the main beer drinker in the house and thought it was a waste to have more than 2. Especially since I can naturally carb kegs in waiting and let them condition/age so when one keg blows, I simply put a new one in. This setup works well for me.

Not too grand like some of the other threads, but this was built with cost and functionality in mind. However, I didn't want to skimp on Perlicks since they are the best out there.....at least that I've seen.

I was originally looking at doing a keezer, but plans sort of changed and I ended up moving into an apartment that is short on free space. The mini-fridge seemed like the most logical option. I'd really like to not have to move the thermostat. What are some of the easier fridge models to convert? I read a lot about the Sanyo 4912M...

Sanyo is probably the most common conversion. If you could do one of those, there are tons of builds on the forum of those.

scruff311 said:

I was originally looking at doing a keezer, but plans sort of changed and I ended up moving into an apartment that is short on free space. The mini-fridge seemed like the most logical option. I'd really like to not have to move the thermostat. What are some of the easier fridge models to convert? I read a lot about the Sanyo 4912M...

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I'm in the process of building my own kegerator myself, and was trying to decide between pre-built and DIY. In the end I choose DIY because I was able to get EXACTLY what I wanted (ie, SS perlick taps instead of chrome plated, a 3 gauge regulator so I know how much CO2 is left, etc). If in the end you just want something that works and looks nice then go pre-bought. But if you want specific things and quality you are best off to DIY.

As for fridge, I ended up going with a Danby found cheap at Walmarts:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-Designer-Compact-Refrigerator/5893621

There are quite a few tutorials on how to convert this fridge:
http://www.kegkits.com/kegerator4.htm
http://missionarybrewer.wordpress.com/how-to-build-your-own-kegerator/

- Houdini

Here's a 500 dollar option: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XMKE5S

I just got done buying all the pieces for mine.

Here is the breakdown:
Kegs ($0, I already had them)
Double Faucet SS draft tower w/ 2 perlick 525ss ($188 shipped from Birdman Brewing)
Sany SR-4912M ($100 Craigslist find)
Misc Parts (Hole saw, 5' copper pipe, hoses, and air tubing): Around $30

I am still looking for a CO2 tank w/ a dual bodied reg, so thats another $100 or so. All in all I'm looking at just around $400 which I think is great.

Houdini said:

As for fridge, I ended up going with a Danby found cheap at Walmarts:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-Designer-Compact-Refrigerator/5893621

There are quite a few tutorials on how to convert this fridge:
http://www.kegkits.com/kegerator4.htm
http://missionarybrewer.wordpress.com/how-to-build-your-own-kegerator/

- Houdini

Click to expand...

+1 here. Sourced my two tap tower setup, kegs, and C02 tank from Keg Connection and had my fridge shipped to my local store. The Danby makes for an easy conversion as nothing needs to be relocated and folks have already identified where the coolant lines are so it's fairly safe to take a [cheap] holesaw through the top.

Oh, the most time-consuming part was replacing the molded door panel with a sheet of florescent light diffuser acrylic from Home Depot - I went with the slightly more expensive stuff because it wasn't as brittle as the cheaper one.

Here I match-drilled it using the old door panel as a template...

No way i'd risk drilling on a brand new $300 minifridge. 1mm off and you end up with a $300 hunk of plastic.

I have 3 Sanyo 4912 minifridges that i use to ferment..paid anywhere from $25-$75 each used on craigslist

Gritsak said:

No way i'd risk drilling on a brand new $300 minifridge. 1mm off and you end up with a $300 hunk of plastic.

Click to expand...

Too each their own I suppose... it was something I was comfortable doing as I do know how to read a tape measure, and on this particular fridge it's been done (and documented) many times before. The risk was low, much lower I think than trying to bend coolant lines and evaporators out of the way as you have to do on other models (and even then there's no guarantee of the location of power or coolant lines).

Oh, there's more than 1mm leeway, the outer shell is steel (not plastic) and the fridge was only $179 brand spankin' new...

jbwebst said:

Too each their own I suppose... it was something I was comfortable doing as I do know how to read a tape measure, and on this particular fridge it's been done (and documented) many times before. The risk was low, much lower I think than trying to bend coolant lines and evaporators out of the way as you have to do on other models (and even then there's no guarantee of the location of power or coolant lines).

Oh, there's more than 1mm leeway, the outer shell is steel (not plastic) and the fridge was only $179 brand spankin' new...

Click to expand...

That's great and all, and feel free to give yourself a big pat on the back, but i was referring to the $300 sanyo linked in OPs post. Not yours.

Gritsak said:

That's great and all, and feel free to give yourself a big pat on the back, but i was referring to the $300 sanyo linked in OPs post. Not yours.

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Sorry, my bad... couldn't help but think it was an attack on my post since your reply immediately followed mine and you didn't quote anyone - honest mistake I think.

I was in the market for a dual tap kegerator also a week ago. I was doing my research and had a hard time deciding between converting a Sanyo or just buying a pre-built kegerator. Danby's had bad reviews so I knew I didn't want those. Plus, you would have to buy ball-lock attachments to change out the disconnects. I finally decided on buying a dual-tap ball-lock conversion kit that included all the hardware plus 2 corny kegs and a 5 lb tank ($300) and an Edgestar kegerator-ready fridge ($350). Reason being that I know myself and I'd probably destroy a new fridge if I went the DIY route and I didn't want to deal with replacing the door cover, etc. This way you get a pre-drilled fridge and semi customizable towers/tap.

I've converted two (both written up here) and both were easy with no real issues. I did the conversion since I could get high quality parts and a reliable frig. If you look at a higher-quality prebuilt kegerator, the are much more expensive than you can build on your own.

Easy answer. Make your own. It's easier than I thought. Took me 2 hours to convert a stand up fridge to kegerator. And if you can get a hold of a regular refrigerator (and for free) than go for it.

brewzofo1 said:

Easy answer. Make your own. It's easier than I thought. Took me 2 hours to convert a stand up fridge to kegerator. And if you can get a hold of a regular refrigerator (and for free) than go for it.

Click to expand...

I did the same thing! I bought a heck of a nice used stand up refrigerator for $25 and like you said, it only took a few hours to set it up. It was fun and a LOT cheaper than buying one. Nothing fancy or stand out about mine, but here it is: