Fridge or Freezer?

Hi there. Getting parts together for a kegging system and have to still get replacement rings for the corny kegs and...something to chill with. (ok, and a regulator thermostat)

As a first-timer, do people suggest a fridge or a freezer? I suppose a large chest freezer will give more room once I get hooked on kegging...

Thoughts / votes? (and reasons? ie: access, etc.)

Thanks!

If you want it in the house in a small area, minifridge
if you have the space, Chest freezer

you can get a cehst freezer that will hold 4 kegs without a colar for about the same price as a minifridge that will only hold 2. then when you get hooked, and want more, you add a collar and then can fit 6, and even upgrade to faucets rather than cobra taps.

If you do a chest freezer, I would recomend starting witht he cobra taps, they are alot easier to maintain than a faucet that does not get used daily.

Thanks. And, excuse the noobieness, but "collar"? And cobra taps, I gotta do my homework!

Jfriah said:

Thanks. And, excuse the noobieness, but "collar"? And cobra taps, I gotta do my homework!

Click to expand...

cobra taps are the little plastic "Picnic" taps


as to the colar.... it is a ring that sits between the lid and top of the chest freezer to make it deeper. It also allows you to pass your gas line in to the chest freezer, as well as a place to mount faucets.

With colar and faucets


Without colar, using Cobra Taps

Chest freezer. Unless you really do your homework and get the correct mini fridge, you run the risk of ending up with the wrong kind. I got one cheap off of CL that ended up having a metal plate freezer. Despite that people said I could just bend the freezer back, it didn't work right. The coolant line popped making the fridge useless.

Aha! Cobra...picnic tap. Yep, looks like a cobra! Gotcha.

And sweet collar---is that your own setup? (assuming so)

Nicely done!

Yeah, I have to talk the wife into getting a newer, smaller freezer, so I can use the BIG one for storing my brews...and not having to have food sit at the bottom of a freezer and forget about it. Works on both fronts!


by the way..Newcastle Brown...mmmmmmm

Keeping the CO2 in the cooler? Benefit or just to hide it?

Danby 4.4 works perfect for a kegerator. I like the tower look better myself and it can be converted relatively easily. Fits 2 kegs and a 5# co2 no problem and no coolant lines along the top.

Jfriah said:

And sweet collar---is that your own setup? (assuming so)

Keeping the CO2 in the cooler? Benefit or just to hide it?

Click to expand...

Not my setup, just a picture I found to show you. My setup is a 7.2CF MagicChef with no colar. I open the lid and dispense from a cobra tap. 4 kegs, a 5lb tank, and about a dozen cold pint glasses fit easily inside.

There is no benefit to keeping the CO2 insde other than to hide it. the benefit to keeping it outside, is you get more room.

If you have the room get a freezer. I have a sanyo minifridge with 2 taps and I wish I had a freezer so I could have more!

Arkador said:

Not my setup, just a picture I found to show you. My setup is a 7.2CF MagicChef with no colar. I open the lid and dispense from a cobra tap. 4 kegs, a 5lb tank, and about a dozen cold pint glasses fit easily inside.

There is no benefit to keeping the CO2 insde other than to hide it. the benefit to keeping it outside, is you get more room.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

And good to know the Danby 4.4 holds 2 kegs---that's what I have right now.

For now...then I will start lagering and, oh my... I'm gone!
:cross:

Arkador said:

Not my setup, just a picture I found to show you. My setup is a 7.2CF MagicChef with no colar. I open the lid and dispense from a cobra tap. 4 kegs, a 5lb tank, and about a dozen cold pint glasses fit easily inside.

There is no benefit to keeping the CO2 insde other than to hide it. the benefit to keeping it outside, is you get more room.

Click to expand...

Well there is a bit of benefit to having the CO2 outside the freezer/fridge. Inside the temp is much colder than outside (unless you live up north during the winter). Colder temp means lower pressure (basic thermodynamics) so you will actually get less CO2 out of your tank if you keep it cold, just a little FYI. In reality depending on the temperature difference you could loose up to a 1/4 of your gas.

If you have kids though (like I do), keeping it inside would ensure they don't tamper w/ the settings

Brewin_CRAZY said:

Well there is a bit of benefit to having the CO2 outside the freezer/fridge. Inside the temp is much colder than outside (unless you live up north during the winter). Colder temp means lower pressure (basic thermodynamics) so you will actually get less CO2 out of your tank if you keep it cold, just a little FYI. In reality depending on the temperature difference you could loose up to a 1/4 of your gas.

Click to expand...

I don't think this is true. the volume of gas is the same, it is just less pressure at different tempratures. The only thing that changes is how forcably the liquid changes to a gas at different tempratures.

Is two kegs the most that any mini fridge will hold? I thought I heard of one that could house 3 at a time. No?

I want to have a bar in my new family room and have brew on tap but there won't be room for a freezer in there, but would like to have 3 choices of brew if possible.

Joker said:

Is two kegs the most that any mini fridge will hold? I thought I heard of one that could house 3 at a time. No?

Click to expand...

Been wondering the same thing...hoping for a reply as well.

My first one was a fridge, current one is a freezer. Freezers are better. More room (if you want it), more insulation and easier access to all kegs. The fridge held 4 kegs, but I had to remove the front two to get at the back ones.

If you have the money, spring for a large chest freezer and a temp controller. You'll be able to fit many more cornies, depending of course on how big a freezer you get.

However, I think the best bang for your buck is a refrigerator. I bought a used on on CL for $35. It looked crappy so I painted it with two cans of black enamel for another $6. I can fit 5 kegs in my fridge, which is more than many of the keezers you'll see. Plus, you don't need a temp controller. If money is an issue, get the fridge and buy some extra kegs and taps instead.

That being said, having a freezer that would handle 8 kegs would be killer.