Bare Minimum Needed to Keg

Hello all! I'm a college student on a budget but I really want to get into kegging. I was wondering if any of you guys had a "grocery list" of items I need to start kegging. I already have a 20 cu ft. chest freezer and a collar for it. I was thinking of just buying the whole starter kit on kegconnection.com for about $200 but I figure it must be cheaper to buy separate parts and put it all together myself.

I know I'm going to need a corny keg and a co2 tank but as for everything else, I don't feel like I know enough to look for and buy those things on my own yet.

craigslist always has kegging stuff in my area...

Yeah I've been looking around on craigslist for a week or two for kegs and co2 tanks but I'm not entirely sure what I need to get besides that. Can I just go to a hardware store and grab some 5/16'' hose for gas and 3/16'' for beer lines? Is a faucet wrench necessary? Where can I find a cheap, but quality regulator (or do they always come with the co2 tank). Sorry for all the questions!

NoClueBrewMaster said:

craigslist always has kegging stuff in my area...

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must be nice.. there isnt **** around here

You can save the cost of a tower by using a picnic faucet.

luckylindy345 said:

I was thinking of just buying the whole starter kit on kegconnection.com for about $200 but I figure it must be cheaper to buy separate parts and put it all together myself.

I don't feel like I know enough to look for and buy those things on my own yet.

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Sometimes the best thing to do is get the pre-built kit.
It takes away the worry part of building your keezer. The Kegconnection folks are very helpful. Learn from the kit, use them as a resource. Email them or give them a call.

It can be cheaper to piecemeal a project. But until you've done it a few times, something is always missing. That adds to frustration and eventually the dark side.

question: where were you going to get your co2? would it be cheaper to do a bottle exchange rather than buy a new shiny tank? I opted to not purchase a new tank and saved some $$.

Bare minimum for kegging...

1 Keg!

For dispensing you'll also need...

CO2 bottle + Regulator
1 black quick disconnect
1 grey disconnect
beer/gas line
picnic tap

But some very small additions can make it alot nicer...

I bought the two keg starter system from Midwest.

I really like the dual regulator setup, and it came with a brand new aluminum CO2 tank.

I shopped around, and you can buy a piece here and a piece there a little cheaper, but shipping will eat up most of what you save.

I just did this, and have pretty much a "bare minimum" setup. It consists of:

10# CO2 Bottle
CO2 Regulator w/ single shutoff/check valve
2 corny kegs (ball lock)
1/2" Air Line
3/8" Beer Line
SS 1/2" hose clamps
SS Tee fitting
4 Ball Lock Quick Disconnects (2 air, 2 beer)
2 Picnic taps
Total Cost: about $200

You could cut that cost in half if you want just a single keg, and go for the 5# CO2 tank. There are some good kits on Midwest, like this one: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7737

Here are some pics of my setup:




All of it jammed in my little modified mini fridge:

Okay. The midwest kits don't look bad at all, but can I upgrade to a tap with a shank and everything so that I can have to tap coming out of the freezer through the collar or would I have to open the freezer every time I wanted a beer? It looks like they all come with picnic taps...unless I don't understand what a picnic tap does, it appears that I'd have to open the freezer to get a beer.

luckylindy345 said:

Okay. The midwest kits don't look bad at all, but can I upgrade to a tap with a shank and everything so that I can have to tap coming out of the freezer through the collar or would I have to open the freezer every time I wanted a beer? It looks like they all come with picnic taps...unless I don't understand what a picnic tap does, it appears that I'd have to open the freezer to get a beer.

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Sure. You can upgrade to faucets later. All the picnic tap is is a cheap plastic "tap" at the end of your beverage line. If you've been to a "kegger," you've used a picnic tap. And yes with such a tap you'd need to open the door for a beer.

Lots of people start with such a system. When you want to move to shanks/faucets, just remove the picnic tap and run the beverage line to a proper shank connection. Or more likely just use a new line and stick the old line/tap in a drawer for some inevitable future use. I got my first stuff from Midwest as part of their kits. No problems.

4 cornie kegs for $76, couldn't pass it up myself.

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Picnic tap is just a little thump tap on a hose like you have at all your college keg parties.