Kegerator: Build or Buy?

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Kegerator: Build or Buy? Which is more cost effective?

  • Build your own

  • Spend the money and get a premade one

  • I like pie.

Results are only viewable after voting.
imaguitargod

imaguitargod

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Now, I've seen kegerators on sale for $300, but I also know you can get a conversion kit for $100 (about) and refridgerators for free but then you throw in the labor, rent the truck to pick up the fridge, etc etc. I want to have a kegerator that'll fit two taps and two 5 gallon corny kegs and not have it be a full sized refridgerator. Now is it more cost effective to purchase one pre-made or build one? Also, I'm a very handy guy so building one isn't really a problem. Sorry if this question has been answered before (I did a quick search lready).
 
Keep in mind most commercially available kegerators are for sanke and you're going to have to spend some money to convert them anyway. I let craigslist make my decision and watched for a chest freezer, used kegerator or mini fridge. I ended up getting an Oster for $60 and have since pieced together most of the other parts. I bought a tower setup for $50 shipped off ebay, bought two 5# co2 bottles from a local aquarium site for $90 (included a dual gauge regulator). I have four ball lock kegs I am into for $100, craigslist for 2 and ebay for 2. I just placed an order online for lines, additional regulator body, some perlicks and a few other odds and ends for $100. So far I have spend $400 for a top notch setup. Everything adds up building it yourself, but atleast I know I am not going to have to do any upgrading unless I decide to have more that two kegs on tap.

I also have a decent supply of kegs and an extra bottle of co2 just in case. I could have easily knocked off about $150 if I was trying to cut corners.
 
I was in Home Depot today just browsing and noticed a kegerator on sale. Regular price was $500, on sale for $400. Given that it wasn't too much bigger than a dorm size frig and only had room for 1 keg, I thought that was pretty pricey, even with the sale price. I'd like to think with $400, I could find a pretty good used frig and make a nice and bigger kegerator.
 
Most commercial kegerators under $500 are single tap, designed to hold a single 1/2 barrel Sanke keg. I'll bet a two-four that you're gonna want more than one tap with the ability to hold at least two kegs, if not four. So...BUILD! I like the keezer concept. There's a 19 cubic foot freezer in my dining room just waiting for conversion to my six tap bar of justice.
 
M@! said:
Keep in mind most commercially available kegerators are for sanke and you're going to have to spend some money to convert it anyway...
Click to expand...

What do you mean? I ran across an appliance place which was selling sevral scratch and dent kegerator for about 50% the retail price... i hadnt heard you had to convert them, so i have to ask a stupid question... what do you mean convert it anyway?

Cheers
 
Virtually nothing about homebrewing is about saving money (unless you try to be the thriftiest you can while still going overboard). After all, you're not buying cases of Busch Light on sale instead of brewing, are you?

We converted a Sanyo 4920 to handle a two tap tower and hold the CO2 inside. This required taking the door guts out. All told, the price was about a wash. The one mistake I made was breaking one of the lines that was welded/soldered onto the inside part of one shank; replacing this cost about $40 in parts and a lot of PITA.

The other reason to build the rig yourself is you know just what went in and you can choose the hoses/taps/fittings/etc. In particular you can avoid getting el cheapo (read: junk) taps.
 
You can buy two-tap kegerators for about the same as building sometimes, but why? One of the advantages of building is you can slowly buy the high quality parts over time so you don't have to drop all the dough at once.

I refuse to vote in your poll unless I see a 'cake' option.
 
Dennis Leary said in a standup bit, "Marijuana doesn't lead to harder drugs, it leads to freakin carpentry. Look man, I made a bong out of my buddies head!"

Homebrewing is similar. Doesn't lead to alcoholism or laziness, it leads to freakin McGyverism!!:D

At least half the enjoyment I derive from this addictio...er Hobby, is from finding new ways to do things. Undergravel aqurium pump on immersion chiller, scaffold as brew stand, vertical cuff on mini-fridge to make a kegerator. You get the idea.

Jees, just build something would ya!:mug:
 
Scotty_g said:
Virtually nothing about homebrewing is about saving money (unless you try to be the thriftiest you can while still going overboard). After all, you're not buying cases of Busch Light on sale instead of brewing, are you?
Click to expand...
Very good point. It's not that I'm trying to be cheap, I just want to save money where I can without cutting corners. It's all about researching my options and choosing the best route. :mug:

EvilTOJ said:
One of the advantages of building is you can slowly buy the high quality parts over time so you don't have to drop all the dough at once.

I refuse to vote in your poll unless I see a 'cake' option.
Click to expand...
Excellent point. Also, "There is no cake". But if I did add a cake option, then someone would want an "or death" option which of corse would be the only choice since "there is no cake".

TeufelBrew said:
"Marijuana doesn't lead to harder drugs, it leads to freakin carpentry. Look man, I made a bong out of my buddies head!"
Click to expand...
It's true!!!!! I built a water bong out of a 12 ounce water bottle once. Took me two minutes flat!

TeufelBrew said:
Jees, just build something would ya!:mug:
Click to expand...
Here's the last monstrosity I built. It's a "Winter Sink Trap".
wintersinktrap2.jpg


buckeyebrewer said:
You should buy one of mine....I have 2 left.
They work great. I just remodeled my basement and put one of these in it.
Only $800 and your only 2 hours away.

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n337/dicknixon74/Perlickkegerator.jpg
Click to expand...
Oh god it's beautiful!!!!!! It's also way out of my price range......but man that's amazing.



Great responses folks! Looks like I'll be building it!
 
There is a wealth of information on building. I did mine and it is so cool to have someone say "Where did you get that?" And then you tell them you built it.
 
imaguitargod said:
Excellent point. Also, "There is no cake". But if I did add a cake option, then someone would want an "or death" option which of corse would be the only choice since "there is no cake".
Click to expand...

The cake is a lie.

I'm building a keezer. Of course it will probably take 6 months before I've got all of the parts put together to get it done, but it's going to look sweet when I finish. It'll also cost quite a bit less than an equivalent 4 keg kegerator would have cost me.
 
I took the route of "buy a used 1/2 barrel kegerator for cheap ($250) and install a 3 SS faucet tower with Perlick taps". So, it ends up looking very professional in my home and still allows me to dispense commercial kegs on occasion.
 
Haier Kegerator HBF05EABB-2 Keg Beer Tap | BeverageFactory.com

I am thinking of this one for myself, its $478 but its all done and its a 6.4 cf which is much bigger then Sanyo models. Supposedly you can fit 3 cornies + 5 # of co2, you can definitely fit 2 cornies without any kind of mods and still have room for more.

I am an apartment brewer so space is of an issue for me. I cant have a 10 year old white with yellow spots fridge in the middle of my living room dispensing home brew.
 
Pivzavod said:
I'd rather have bottles :)
Click to expand...

I was thinking, ya, I've been doing bottles and this way I can give some to friends...but nothing beats a fresh tap. Plus, I don't have enough bottle, nor do I have the money to keep buying more beer bottles, can't get enough free ones from the bar. So I just resigned myself to kegging.
 
If looks are not important and you want to save some cash look at my blog. I have a mini fridge i got for free turned it into a 4 tap unit. When i started it would not even hold one keg.

But a keezer is the way to go in my opinion. as soon as you get 2 taps you want at least 2 more. 1 tap bitter (ipa), 1 tap dark (stout),1 tap girly (cider),1 tap for something really strong like a IIPA. Then you start thinking about adding one for soda water or root beer. it never stops.

Then when you have guests over some guy always says something insane like, "Oh yeah i love beer, do you have anything like bud light." So for that guy you have to pee in a keg and install a tap for him.

Basically plan to go big. You can never have too much beer on tap.
 
TeufelBrew said:
Homebrewing is similar. Doesn't lead to alcoholism or laziness, it leads to freakin McGyverism!!:D
Click to expand...

Hands down, this was the best post on the forum!

Here is the low-down: I just built a 2 tap Oster conversion. One month later and I wish I did a Keezer 4 tap. But, if I finish that, I will bet I will want a 6 tap Keezer or something bigger. Plus, I LOVE all the finagilling with stuff along with recipe building.

Forget buying a "ready" kegerator, you will rip it apart anyway. :cool:
 
Hey, there was a article in BYO Magazine in November on building a kegerator, did anyone read it? Is it worth my time to purchase that back issue?

madewithchicken said:
see on the left where it says "BLOG ENTRIES:" click the "1."

or

http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/madewithchicken/

or

i think if you click on my name and do some searching you can find in my profile.
Click to expand...
Ah! Didn't know there was a blog feature here. Thought you were talking about a off HBT site. My bad.
Sparky said:
Here is the low-down: I just built a 2 tap Oster conversion. One month later and I wish I did a Keezer 4 tap. But, if I finish that, I will bet I will want a 6 tap Keezer or something bigger. Plus, I LOVE all the finagilling with stuff along with recipe building.
Click to expand...

"Give a mouse a cookie, he'll probably want some milk", etc etc.
 
You can convert a small fridge into a kegerator for "about" the same price as a retail unit, but then you only get the two kegs.

If you went with a small freezer, and made a keezer, then you have spent about the same, and you can usually fit a few more kegs in there. If that matters to you.

Personally, I'd build one myself. I like building things. I'd also shop around for a good used unit and save some $$. Try craigslist.

I think the only reason for buying a retail kegerator is to not have to build one. The conversion has to be very simple if you get one with sanke tap.
 
Homercidal said:
You can convert a small fridge into a kegerator for "about" the same price as a retail unit, but then you only get the two kegs.

If you went with a small freezer, and made a keezer, then you have spent about the same, and you can usually fit a few more kegs in there. If that matters to you.

Personally, I'd build one myself. I like building things. I'd also shop around for a good used unit and save some $$. Try craigslist.

I think the only reason for buying a retail kegerator is to not have to build one. The conversion has to be very simple if you get one with sanke tap.
Click to expand...
Depending on the space available to me in the basement, i might go with the keezer. This way I could fit a carboy in there and I'll be able to do lagers!!!! :mug:
 
Not if you want it for the article on building the kegerator. You'll get more in-depth information here than in that article. I was fairly under whelmed with that article or the next with the "Stout faucet conversion" article. *yawn*

That being said, BYO is worth subscribing to just to keep a beer magazine. It's great throne reading and they have some interesting interviews with commercial brewers.
 
I am looking into my kegerator options right now and reading through here Keezers sound interesting. I want something about the size of a mini fridge since it's in an apt that looks nice. More taps the better. Question on the keezer, wouldn't that be too cold or can you dial them back a lot?
 
I love my fridge, because even though I can only put 2 kegs in there, I can fit the whole front shelves with bottles, plus the drawer in the bottom, and it has a freezer for ice or ice cream. It's basically a standard dorm fridge but taller.

If I was going to just do kegs, then a small keezer would be the way to go for me. Figure out how to mount the taps (on a collar, or in a tower) and you could fit a few kegs in there, and use it as a lagering device.
 
Dionysos911 said:
I am looking into my kegerator options right now and reading through here Keezers sound interesting. I want something about the size of a mini fridge since it's in an apt that looks nice. More taps the better. Question on the keezer, wouldn't that be too cold or can you dial them back a lot?
Click to expand...

Oops, forgot to answer this question!

You'd have to buy a temp controller. I think I've seen people posting around $25 for one online. Simple to install.

Check out the show us your kegerator thread for examples of what different kegerators look like. The small keezer can look pretty good, but some might not want to put a tower on it due to it being in the way when the lid is lifted (to mess with the kegs), and others dont' want to mess around with building a collar and mounting the taps on the front. Either or.
 
hungrymonkey said:
would lager temps make for warm serving temp from the tap?
Click to expand...

Not if you like to serve at cellar temps, like at an English pub. You'd be fermenting in the upper 40s or MAYBE the low 50s, which is just right for UK pub serving range.

Of course, the actual "lagering" part would be colder, so you're back to lower temps then.

I ferment and lager (v.) lagers (n.) in my "keezer" and the hardest part, I guess, is keeping it balanced in the first day or two when I switch from fermentation to lagering (or vice versa), since the temp differences affect the amount of psi required to keep things carbonated and properly balanced for serving. But that's a little tweaking and adjusting every few weeks, at most... well worth it, IMO.
 
imaguitargod said:
I'm bumping this b/c of the above question.
Click to expand...

Why not first download the relevant episode of Basic Brewing Radio where they talk with the editor of BYO about the article for about an hour? They cover most of it there... and you'll definitely have a good idea if you want to fork over $$ for the specific issue after listening to the (free) podcast episode dedicated to the article.
 

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