Commercial kegerator recommendations?

The fiancee and I are buying our first house and she's said I can finally get a kegerator based on a few stipulations: somewhere between $400 and $1200, ideally stainless steel finish, two taps and room for 2-3 corny kegs minimum, and I'm not allowed to build it (almost certainly for the best). These rules seem more than fair to me, but there's so many out there that fit the bill, and I don't have a ton of faith in online reviews.

I knew this was the place to get the real experts' opinions on the best kegerators within these criteria....so, what do we get?

Thanks a ton!

Hi

Well from what I have seen - there's nothing in the sub $800 range that I would call "commercial grade" gear. The only truly decent stuff I have seen is well above your max price.

I'd go for one and count on replacing it in a few years. More or less buy the $600 one twice rather than the $1200 one.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. Just to clarify, though, by "commercial," I just mean she doesn't want me hacking up a dorm fridge with the bone saw on my Leatherman and a tube of model glue....we're not looking for anything used by professionals, just made by professionals (I'm not what one would call "handy"). Not sure if this changes your position?...

I would try for a large freezer, with temp controller. Get one large enough for three cornys on the floor, and use picnic taps so you won't have to build a collar. It will just look like a chest freezer.

I would say anything by Summit might be good. I went the cheapest route myself and got a Nostalgia. Works like a champ.

HalFriday said:

Thanks, Bob. Just to clarify, though, by "commercial," I just mean she doesn't want me hacking up a dorm fridge with the bone saw on my Leatherman and a tube of model glue....we're not looking for anything used by professionals, just made by professionals (I'm not what one would call "handy"). Not sure if this changes your position?...

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Hi

It does and it doesn't. I would still be careful about the longevity of stuff in the price range. My experience has been that they really don't last as long as you think they should. Wine coolers are in the same category as far as I'm concerned. You can get one that will run for 10+ years. Another one from the same batch might only make it 5 years.

You might find somebody locally who's done it before to build one up for you. I'm on number five at the moment. People keep asking ....

Bob

Bob