Start with a free chest freezer, then ? $$$

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davepeds

davepeds

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Hey gang,
Just wondering...
I'm trying to compare expected prices of newish equipment to some used stuff. There's lots of cheap chest freezers on the market. If I started there and wanted to have about 4 taps going, how much money am I looking at in the regulator, the taps - all but the kegs.

Because...there are also used kegerators/keezers on the market. I feel for the folks that built them, because I'm sure it wore them out and cost a lot of time and money. But, since I'm shopping, how do I know if I'm paying more money for their time/labor than I would value my own? Or, what should I expect to pay in supplies if I did it myself?
DOB
 
Hi

Based on the five I've done so far, the "rest of the stuff" generally runs about twice the price of a new freezer. That assumes you buy good stuff and get it new. You can save a lot buying odds and ends on Craig's List.

Bob
 
Well, I'm over a grand into my keezer, (utilizing the collar design) including the $180 for my 7 cu chest freezer. It's got 3 taps though it can hold 5 kegs. I bought 4 kegs for about $140, Spent about $360 on on the co2 tank and regulator, and all the stuff necessary for the gas and liquid lines (including tap hardware and lines,) I spent about $160 for a secondary regulator. $30 for my Ebay Temp controller. The stuff for making my own taps (in THIS thread.) Everything else was lumber, stain, insulation, sealer, silicone, and all the miscellaneous hardware and crap from home depot and harbor freight, including the electrical stuff for the temp controller..

I also ended up buying an orbital sander and a saws-all.

I spent $44 on a 12" drip tray, and another $30 for a nice old time bottle opener and cap catcher for decoration.

It came out to be much more than I expected, but when mine's done it's going to be nice.....
 
Depends on which type you go. Collar or towers, types of faucets, etc.... I'm guessing you can probably get away with a few hundred dollars minimum up to over a grand depending on how extreme you want to go with it. mine is as follows...

I set mine up for 8 taps and just converted one of the taps for a nitro tap.
14.8 CF chest freezer 300
Draft towers (3) 390
upgraded to perlicks 200
10# co2 tank 80
Nitro tank 50
5 gallon kegs (6) 180
3 gallon kegs (2) 160
Wood for kegerator 100
Drip trays 32
Temp controller 40
Nitro tap free
nitro regulator 40
Dual co2 regulator 80
Gas splitters 40

Total 1692

I'm sure I'm missing some little stuff but I also had some stuff. Guessing mine is upwards around 1750.
 
Revvy said:
Wow John, you have an nitro setup for so cheap? I'm looking at adding one later, and it's like another $300 bucks.
Click to expand...

The place where I get my gas fills beer gas in co2 tanks so I was able to use a 5# co2 tank for that. Regulator was cheap from beverage factory but works fine. The faucet I got for Christmas as a gift but I believe is about 70-80ish from homebrewing.org. Overall I'm happy with it. Definitely happy on my cost for that.
 
Hi

If you are going with commercial kegs, you will need couplers. D types for domestic beers will run about $120 for four of them. If you are into imports they could run you $280 or so. Likely you will wind up with a mix of this and that. eBay used couplers are cheaper, but you may spend money fixing them up (if you can find parts). I have two buckets full of bits and pieces from those adventures....

One CO2 bottle is nice (at $120) until it runs out in the middle of the party. Other than weighing it, there's no easy way to tell when one is going to run out. Two bottles ($240) is better, but *only* if you remember to get them filled when they run out. :drunk:

You will need to clean your beer lines weekly (lot of work) / monthly (more likely) / yearly (yuck). I use a crony keg to push fluid through the lines and to flush them. There are other ways. Figure $40 for the keg and another $40 for fittings and hoses.

Then you can always go for a 10 channel Fluke 2190A thermocouple thermometer off of eBay to *really* watch what's going on with your temperature control. $125 gets a very nice one, less than that if you are lucky.

Bob
 
You can do it a lot cheaper if you are patient. Keep an eye on Craig's List and watch for sales. Hit area garage sales etc etc. There are probably as many people that get out of the hoby as get in and they sometimes sell their equipment pretty cheap. I got a used freezer at a garage sale for $65 and I found a two tap jockey box with a cold plate for $75-it included a brand new 5lb CO2 bottle. A friend gave me a 20lb bottle for free and it was full! I repurposed oak table leaves that belonged to an antique table that got destroyed in a move for my collar. E-bay temp contoller was about $25. $40 for a four way manifold from Morebeer. I haven't bought taps and shanks yet, but I am about to pull the trigger on 4 chrome plated Perlicks and shanks for about $120(with free shipping). You can spend more for all stainless or less for discount equipment. I've seen discount taps for as low as $9.95 Look for free shipping deals and coupon codes. Kegs can be expensive, but I bought one for $7 at a garage sale... There is a thread in the DIY section that explains how to make a beer line cleaner out of a lawn sprayer from Home Depot for about 20 bucks total.

Bottom line: You can spend a ton of money on a kegerator/keezer, but you don't have to
 
Whoa ****!

I got away cheap!

Craigslist is your friend. Shop online!

Someone was selling their 2 tap kegerator for 1/3 the price of building my own, I didn't buy it cuz I wanted MY OWN stuff. Now I wish I would have pounced on it. Even if I threw away the freezer, I would have been $$$$ ahead.
 
CGVT said:
You can do it a lot cheaper if you are patient. Keep an eye on Craig's List and watch for sales. Hit area garage sales etc etc. There are probably as many people that get out of the hoby as get in and they sometimes sell their equipment pretty cheap. I got a used freezer at a garage sale for $65 and I found a two tap jockey box with a cold plate for $75-it included a brand new 5lb CO2 bottle. A friend gave me a 20lb bottle for free and it was full! I repurposed oak table leaves that belonged to an antique table that got destroyed in a move for my collar. E-bay temp contoller was about $25. $40 for a four way manifold from Moorebeer. I haven't bought taps and shanks yet, but I am about to pull the trigger on 4 chrome plated Perlicks and shanks for about $120(with free shipping). You can spend more for all stainless or less for discount equipment. I've seen discount taps for as low as $9.95 Look for free shipping deals and coupon codes. Kegs can be expensive, but I bought one for $7 at a garage sale... There is a thread in the DIY section that explains how to make a beer line cleaner out of a lawn sprayer from Home Depot for about 20 bucks total.

Bottom line: You can spend a ton of money on a kegerator/keezer, but you don't have to
Click to expand...

THIS!:mug:

If you're patient you can do it really cheap. It just really depends on timing and things like that. You could hunt for 6 months and do it really cheap.
 
Revvy said:
THIS!:mug:

If you're patient you can do it really cheap. It just really depends on timing and things like that. You could hunt for 6 months and do it really cheap.
Click to expand...

Hi

The key issue there is to stay picky. It's amazingly easy to start grabbing junk after looking for five months. Yes I do indeed have a couple of piles of "interesting stuff" in the garage...

Bob
 
Having recently built a keezer, I would recommend that you start out with a refrigerator rather than a freezer.

I built a 3 keg keezer out of a Lowe's 5 cf freezer. I built a 6" hardwood collar and insulated it with 2" of rigid insulation board. Sealed up all the holes and installed a fan and a container of desiccant.

It worked great until the weather got warm and humid (my garage gets warm in the summer) and then I just couldn't keep moisture out of it. Chest freezers aren't designed to deal with moisture when used as a refrigerator.

I bought a used 14.4cf fridge (small) off CraigsList for $150 and converted it. Everything stays dry as a bone unless I leave the door open for a while and then all the moisture disappears in a few hours. It fits my 3 kegs perfectly.

If you bide your time you can find a good used fridge on CL cheap and the larger fridges will hold 4 or 5 kegs.

Just my .02
 
carlisle_bob said:
Hi

The key issue there is to stay picky. It's amazingly easy to start grabbing junk after looking for five months. Yes I do indeed have a couple of piles of "interesting stuff" in the garage...

Bob
Click to expand...

I live in an area with a ton of homebrewers, BUT I never seem to have any luck in the scrounging/garage sale/craigslist arena.
 
Revvy said:
I live in an area with a ton of homebrewers, BUT I never seem to have any luck in the scrounging/garage sale/craigslist arena.
Click to expand...

Hi

Having a ton of competition isn't always a good thing ....:mug:

I'd say that for every "great deal" I've scored, there are at least another 100 or so that somehow I "just missed".

Bob
 
davepeds said:
Hey gang,
Just wondering...
I'm trying to compare expected prices of newish equipment to some used stuff. There's lots of cheap chest freezers on the market. If I started there and wanted to have about 4 taps going, how much money am I looking at in the regulator, the taps - all but the kegs.

Because...there are also used kegerators/keezers on the market. I feel for the folks that built them, because I'm sure it wore them out and cost a lot of time and money. But, since I'm shopping, how do I know if I'm paying more money for their time/labor than I would value my own? Or, what should I expect to pay in supplies if I did it myself?
DOB
Click to expand...

Hi

So is this the thread we should be posting in or should we be using one of the other two duplicate threads you started?

Bob
 
Refrigerators are easy and no hassle with temp control.

My set up was around $450

Fridge $50 (It is in great shape and will hold 6 corny kegs, my 5lb CO2 tank and the drain resevoir)

Cornies (5) $150

This kit $125

HK2200S.jpg

5lb CO2 tank $65

4 Faucet stainless steel drip tray with drain - $60

I I were to do it again I'd upgrade to Perlicks and only buy a two faucet drip tray.
 
Hi

One thing to consider with any used freezer or fridge - these things only last just so long. That's even more true if they lived around here (hot summers / cold winters) in a garage. Yes I've had some that just run on and on. Others seem to die an early death.

Truth in advertising - brand new ones die early (as in DOA) as well. Had that happen last week....

Bob
 
I'm thinking some more about this.
SWMBO very handily vetoed a $400 keezer with a collar, 4 taps, lines, and a regulator because it doesn't match the curtains. She's given me the green light to build a "nice" keezer. By "nice," let me say that Jester and Hop Dog's gorgeous builds would be acceptable, but barely. Holy crap! I don't know if I have the badassness to top their builds.

Now, there are chest freezers on craigslist - 22cu for $30 and 14.8cu for $200. I have a garage. If I bought the freezer, then a temp controller, could I just use picnic faucets and leave all the lines and gear in the freezer? Then, I get a special lock for the freezer and she can't have any. While this set-up marinates, I can measure, build, and work on the big job while still enjoying my beer (not at the same time - power tools and Daddy's hooch don't mix).

Does anybody see anything wrong with that plan?
 

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