Kegorator $

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Chris_Dog

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It seems as though bottling is the most labor intensive and time consuming part of this hobby. (Really brewing is more time consuming but I really enjoy that!) It makes sense to me to move to kegging. I am looking for a rough estimate of the cost involved. I realize that much like anything else you can spend as much or as little (within reason) as you want. I am not planning to make this move until around Christmas. Lets remove the fridge from the equation, also lets assume that I am not the best shopper in the world (which I am not). Not really looking for a parts list just an estimate. Also my plan is to DIY rather than buying one ready to go.

SHMBO would freak if I was to start spending $ on a kegorator right now. I was enjoying a Bass clone homebrew last night and she asked if that was about a $20.00 beer. Stupidly I said it might be more:eek: (However this came from the first good batch of many, I hope)

Thank you & Cheers!!! :mug:

Oh... where do you get CO2 tanks filled and roughly how much do they cost?
 
Kegs themselves are anywhere from $20 to $35 a pop, depending on where you buy them, once they're re-conditioned. You probably will want at least three or four to start, so you can have a couple on draft and a couple conditioning at the same time.

I spend a little more than that on my CO2 refills ($2/lb), but I could swap in my 10lb tank for $14 if I chose to. If you get an old tank, it might need to be recertified, which could run from $20 - $30 (usually). You can get them filled or swapped at industrial gas places (like Airgas) or places that recharge fire extinguishers.
 
OK roughly (if I am reading this right)...

Kegs (Can I recondition them myself) $25-35.00
CO2 Tank (I am assuming that I will only need 1) $70.00
Regulator (Each keg?) $40.00
Plumbing per keg $15.00

I would imagine (2) taps, tower, and other needed supplies
might total $100-150.00

How long will a 10# CO2 tank last?

That comes to $470.00 for 4 kegs and 2 taps prior to the fridge.
 
You only need one regulator; you split the gas line between the various kegs after the reg drops the pressure. You'll only need more than one reg if you want different kegs to be under different pressues (so you can have a highly-carbed hefe and a low-carb English Bitter on tap at the same time). If you can live with a single serving pressure, you just need the one regulator, then you can split the line with a cheap "T" (I think $4 - $5 for a stainless steel T) or you can get a CO2 distributor, which usually runs between $25 and $50 depending on how many kegs you can hook up to it.
 
co2 varies from locality to locality, and even from store to store in a single locality. i live in austin, and the cheapest i've found for co2 was 13.50 for my 50# tank. at the same shop, a 20# tank was around 11, so all the swaps were pretty close. i know that in other cities, the co2 is more expensive.

i definitely recommend getting more than one tank, at least eventually. i have seven currently. haha. the co2 will always seem to run out at the most inoportune times. having a second tank full will alleviate any worries. craigslist is great for finding co2 tanks on the cheap. i've never paid more than 20 per tank off craigslist. they needed to be tested, so add another 10, and then the cost of the fill, around 13 dollars. so for a bit over 50, i have a full tank of co2.

with kegging, you can start out as cheap as you want, or as extravagent as you want. i woudl say to start with just the basics, and then see what you want to do from there.
 
greatest advantage is to tell if you have a leak in your system.

second to that, it tells you when you are just about to run out of gas.
 
Also start checking places like craigslist regularly. I got a 20 pound CO2 tank and regulator (as well as a fridge and sanke tap) for free off there. Fridges or freezers are also cheap if you wait for the right one to come along.
 
Honestly, the second gauge is really just an indicator if the tank is on or off. You'd be better off sitting the tank on a cheap scale to know how much CO2 you have left.

If you have no leaks, you'll probably get about 16-20 kegs (carbing and serving) out of it.
 
i beg to differ about the high pressure gauge. it is the best way i have found to see if i have a leak. once it lets me know i have a leak, then i isolate it, but i use that high pressure gauge initially, and i would have to wait a long time to figure out if i had a slow leak using just the low pressure gauge.

given that, you would really only need one regulator with a high pressure gauge (i have many regulators, all of which have a high pressure gauge, but only one would be needed to find a leak if the regulator itself isn't leaking)
 
I am also looking at getting into kegging. kegconnection.com seems to have some pretty reasonable priced setups. A 2 keg system for about $198. There is also a guy on ebay that sells complete setups for similar prices. Has anybody had any experience with these vendors?
 
Happy Fathers day!!!
Will a dorm fridge (Sanyo?) hold 2 cornies and a 10# CO2 tank? also other than craiglist where should I look locally for kegs and/or C02 tanks?
 
i believe a 10# tank is too larger, the largest tank most people use is a 5# tank.

you can look for kegs locally at your soda distributor, i've heard of people having good luck there. what's wrong with online ordering though? if you buy in sets of four or so, shipping shouldn't be too bad.

co2 tanks - call all the local welding supply and fire extinguisher filler places. prices will usually vary somewhat, so choose the cheapest place.
 
I'm joining the kegging party as well. I'm done with bottles. I thought I could wait it out but they take up too much space, they slow my brewing down, and it's just too much damn work. I've already brushed the subject with the wife so now I need to do some research. I think I can find a fridge cheap here. Then I would just need a fridge converter kit.

I'm excited.


Dan
 
for those of you looking at kits, remember that usually you can piece it together cheaper than buying a kit if you are willing to wait and buy things when you find a good deal. the kits are there for convenience. if you don't have the time or patience to scour craigslist, or hunt down cheap kegs, then those kits are a great option. if you want to save some money and have the time and patience, then you can get things a lot cheaper sometimes. sometimes a brewer gets out of the hobby, or you score a lot from ebay, etc. craigslist is great for this. i've bought most of my co2 tanks for 20 dollars, all my kegs i have paid anywhere from 5 a piece to at most 20 a piece. there are a lot of other areas you can save money on too if that is a concern (it is for me).
 
FWIW i just ordered a 4-pack of ball-lock corny's for 46$ with46$ for shipping(to Alaska,no less)on E-Bay "buy it now".Being in the sticks i thought under 100$ for 4 was a fair deal.
Cheers:mug:
 
On craigslist I found a 5lb CO2 tank with regulator (with a check valve) for $35 and it still has CO2 in it. It will cost me $20 to refill the 5lb tank at my LHBS but it I may try calling around to see if I can get it filled for less.

On craigslist I found two cornies for $40 - they stilled smelled like Pepsi so I needed to clean them out - but once cleaned and fit with new seals they hold pressure and work just like they are supposed to work - Oxyclean worked well for cleaning

I spent $60 at my LHBS for the ball lock fittings, tubing, clamps, seals, poppits and lube - I could have paid less on line but I didn't want to wait.

All in all I spent $135 for my kegging set up - minus the fridge - am currently drinking my first kegged beer and it is great

I will probably attempt to sell my bottles in the near future - life is good
 
I'm not even going to tell you how much I have invested in my Keezer so far (and it's not even up and running yet!) because I don't want to know myself. I was tallying the cost, but stopped when the number got too scary. Now it's just "I want to make something that works great, and looks so nice that it can be considered a piece of fine furniture, and it will cost what it costs." :)
 
if you want to be able to fit more kegs, make sure you get a chest freezer that has a corner compressor rather than a bench compressor.

it is also much easier to add a collar if the hinges are on the exterior, rather than internal hinges.

most new freezers you buy nowadays should be pretty efficient, but just take note to make sure.

other than that, find one that fits your needs, whether it be only 8 cubic feet, or 24 cubic feet.
 
you'll have to tell your shmbo that the equipment (as long as kept in good contition) could always be sold for nearly what you payed for it. So that cost is technically neglible :)
 
The Whirlpool 9.8 cuft model (at Lowes) I used is about as perfect as it gets for 5 cornies. It has the corner hump which will also accomodate either a 5lb co2 tank or a 3 gallon corny.
 
A few more questions if you guys don't mind...

1. What is involved and how often do you clean up your beer lines/faucets? I am assuming the taps and kegs need it every time.
2. I think I will need to put the kegorator in the garage. It seems like a good idea to cool the tower as well. Can you point me to some info. on doing that?

Thanks Again!
 
clean my faucets? haha... not nearly as often as i should. maybe once a six months? i do have forward sealing faucets which stay cleaner longer, but ideally, the faucets should be cleaned before/after each keg, same with the lines. i just replaced my lines after almost a year. i'm thinking i will make that a habit.

are you sure you want a tower? why not build a collar and just use shanks? this way you can also turn it back into an operational freezer if you need to for some reason.
 
gnef said:
clean my faucets? haha... not nearly as often as i should. maybe once a six months? i do have forward sealing faucets which stay cleaner longer, but ideally, the faucets should be cleaned before/after each keg, same with the lines. i just replaced my lines after almost a year. i'm thinking i will make that a habit.

are you sure you want a tower? why not build a collar and just use shanks? this way you can also turn it back into an operational freezer if you need to for some reason.
This brings me to a question. Which is better? Shanks or tower? Or neither?
Also, if I want to start kegging, do I need a kegerator right away? I have a fridge in the garage but it's not mine so I can't start cutting into it. Would I just get a kegging system and use picnic taps? Does anyone else do this? I'm just supremely sick of bottling right now.


Dan
 
Some people use picnic taps in unmodified fridges and it seems to work just fine. The only problems you may run into would be increased condensation and lower efficiency from opening and closing the door more often. As far as the tower vs shank debate, it is mostly personal preference. With a chest freezer and shanks you have the added benefit of being able to revert it back to its original state if you ever care to sell it or use it as a freezer again... pretty hard to do if there is a 2-3" hole on the top lid. Take a look at the costs as well, generally speaking 3-4 shanks are a lot cheaper than a 3 or 4 faucet tower.
 
Gotcha. Thanks for the reply. I'm looking into a chest freezer purchase for my kegerator but it's going to be a couple months before I have the cash to get one.
:(
 
Tower vs Shank.
Form vs Function.

The tower has a sweet look, but the shank keeps the product temperature better and is more efficient.
 
olllllo said:
Tower vs Shank.
Form vs Function.

The tower has a sweet look, but the shank keeps the product temperature better and is more efficient.
Cool...I'm a function over form kind of guy so the shanks should work out well for me.


Dan
 
i definatly want to use a chest freezer for my keggerator and for the time being picnic taps. my question is would i need to modify the freezer in anyway? temp control or nehting?
 
grrtt78 said:
i definatly want to use a chest freezer for my keggerator and for the time being picnic taps. my question is would i need to modify the freezer in anyway? temp control or nehting?

Nearly all freezers I can think of do not have a warm enough setting to keep everything from freezing... which makes sense. Many people on the net are using Ranco temperature controllers, do a search around the board or google for them. There are other options but they seem to be the most popular.
 
Thats a pretty good deal on a digital controller, if you are a little braver you could find a used industrial temp controller on eBay for around $20 if your lucky. Thats my plan at least. Should have all the features needed for a simple freezer and probably a ton extra... but the price would be right. Just do it at your own risk and don't hunt me down when something goes wrong.
 
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