Hello. It is my first post here. I have been extract brewing for a few years and am about to take the plunge into kegging. I have a full size Kenmore refrigerator (freezer on bottom) in my garage that should be perfect for a kegerator. I figure that I can fit 5 cornies and a 20# CO2 tank inside. I am planning on a 3 tap system. I think that I know what I want, but I want to make sure that I get some good advise before buying. I want to do it right the first time instead of having to replace/rebuy equipment later on. Here is my current plan:
I'm looking at the 3 tap conversion kit from kegconnection as that seems to be the board favorite to order from. I'm going to upgrade to taprite regulators and leaning towards the 3-guage version so that I can run one keg at a different pressure. I plan to always have one stout (for me), one Alt (the wife's fav), and a misc on the third tap. I like my stouts to be low carbed, and the Alt should ideally be on the high side. Wouldn't a regulator for each keg (three regulators) be best or should I just stick with the 3-guage? Is this more trouble than it is worth? Maybe just the 2-guage is fine, and run them all at a compromised pressure?
The second big decison is the faucets. As I won't be drinking every night, I don't want to deal with sticky faucets. I will be upgrading to Perklicks. Is it worth getting one creamer version for the stout. I know that ideally I should go nitro, but I don't want to go through the trouble of another complete system. I figure that I can carbonate the stout at a low pressure and make up for it with the creamer. Is this a stupid idea?
For the tank, I called a lot of places locally and most just do an exchange. I am just going to buy a filled 20# tank from airgas instead of ordering a brand new shiney aluminum one with the system that I will just lose the first time that I go to get it filled.
One more question. I used all of the calculators and it seems like 5 feet of beer line will be balanced for my system, but it looks like most people use much longer lines. Should I order my system with longer beer lines than the 5 ft standard?
Sorry for the long first post. I just want to make sure that I order the right stuff.
I'm looking at the 3 tap conversion kit from kegconnection as that seems to be the board favorite to order from. I'm going to upgrade to taprite regulators and leaning towards the 3-guage version so that I can run one keg at a different pressure. I plan to always have one stout (for me), one Alt (the wife's fav), and a misc on the third tap. I like my stouts to be low carbed, and the Alt should ideally be on the high side. Wouldn't a regulator for each keg (three regulators) be best or should I just stick with the 3-guage? Is this more trouble than it is worth? Maybe just the 2-guage is fine, and run them all at a compromised pressure?
The second big decison is the faucets. As I won't be drinking every night, I don't want to deal with sticky faucets. I will be upgrading to Perklicks. Is it worth getting one creamer version for the stout. I know that ideally I should go nitro, but I don't want to go through the trouble of another complete system. I figure that I can carbonate the stout at a low pressure and make up for it with the creamer. Is this a stupid idea?
For the tank, I called a lot of places locally and most just do an exchange. I am just going to buy a filled 20# tank from airgas instead of ordering a brand new shiney aluminum one with the system that I will just lose the first time that I go to get it filled.
One more question. I used all of the calculators and it seems like 5 feet of beer line will be balanced for my system, but it looks like most people use much longer lines. Should I order my system with longer beer lines than the 5 ft standard?
Sorry for the long first post. I just want to make sure that I order the right stuff.