Kegging

Just out of curiosity, how much does kegging cost to start up?

I've heard that over time I will want to start kegging, but am curious as to how much I need to save up if/when that time comes.....

I'd say minimum $250, unless someone is giving you a bunch of their equipment for free/reduced cost. Probably more.

I got in for about that, back when I was able to get used kegs for under $20/ea, and found a free chest freezer in a local free swap publication.

I think even 250 is low unless you find some great deals and get things used. I had a friend give me his old kegerator free, but it was nasty so I had to replace all the tubing and the faucet as well as convert it to homebrew kegs. Just replacing those parts and buying 1 keg was over $100. Even if you got a fridge for free, I think you'd easily spend $200 in parts, not counting the kegs.

Reconditioned keg - $55
Picnic Tap - $13
5 lb CO2 tank - $80
Regulator - $60
Gas line/fittings - $10
TOTAL - ~$218

This is a bare bones setup, which is how I started. I just kept one keg in my kitchen fridge. Eventually I got fed up with how much space it took up in there and built myself a 3 tap kegerator. That cost MUCH more, but fortunately you don't have to start there. You can just buy the stuff I mentioned above and upgrade later. There are also relatively cheap keezer builds out there (see the "collar" keezer builds on this forum), but require a few more items than what I stated above (chest freezer, temp controller, perlick tap, etc).

I just built a two tap keezer with used kegs. Kegging stuff cost me around $375 for 2 kegs, all hoses/connections, regulator, co2 tank and faucets. The freezer was a gift but was around $120 and the parts to convert it to a keezer ran about $130. So all in, that's about $625 for a nice 2 tap, temperature controlled system. Worth it for me as I know ill use it for the next decade or more. I'm sure ill add more taps/kegs too over the next few years running the total up.

If you build your own kegerator you can get started for under $400 for sure.

BansheeRider said:

If you build your own kegerator you can get started for under $400 for sure.

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400?....you're going to have to do some serious scrounging and shopping, to keep it around that for a kegorator.

I stopped tallying mine up after I broke the thousand dollar ceiling. including the $180 for my 7 cu chest freezer. It's got 3 taps though it can hold 5 kegs. I bought 4 kegs for about $140, Spent about $360 on on the co2 tank and regulator, and all the stuff necessary for the gas and liquid lines (including tap hardware and lines,) I spent about $160 for a secondary regulator. $30 for my Ebay Temp controller. Everything else was lumber, stain, insulation, sealer, silicone, and all the miscellaneous hardware and crap from home depot and harbor freight, including the electrical stuff for the temp controller..

I also ended up buying an orbital sander and a saws-all.

I spent $44 on a 12" drip tray, and another $30 for a nice old time bottle opener and cap catcher for decoration.

It came out to be much more than I expected, but it's sweet.

Revvy said:

400?....you're going to have to do some serious scrounging and shopping, to keep it around that for a kegorator.

I stopped tallying mine up after I broke the thousand dollar ceiling. including the $180 for my 7 cu chest freezer. It's got 3 taps though it can hold 5 kegs. I bought 4 kegs for about $140, Spent about $360 on on the co2 tank and regulator, and all the stuff necessary for the gas and liquid lines (including tap hardware and lines,) I spent about $160 for a secondary regulator. $30 for my Ebay Temp controller. Everything else was lumber, stain, insulation, sealer, silicone, and all the miscellaneous hardware and crap from home depot and harbor freight, including the electrical stuff for the temp controller..

I also ended up buying an orbital sander and a saws-all.

I spent $44 on a 12" drip tray, and another $30 for a nice old time bottle opener and cap catcher for decoration.

It came out to be much more than I expected, but it's sweet.

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I got my danby fridge brand new on CL in the box for $100. My kegerator conversion kit was just under $300 including two refurbished kegs CO2 bottle, and two tap tower from beveragefactory.com.

I just made the plunge. $320.00 out the door for 2 kegs, a filled 10lb co2 tank, dual regulator, 2 picnic faucets. I had an old fridge in my basement anyway, so I just house them in there for now. But I am eyeing a Danby 4.4 cu mini-fridge that does not have freezer for $169. So when I add in the 2 taps for the door, I'd say about $550 total for a full set up, housed in its own mini-fridge.

janson745 said:

I just made the plunge. $320.00 out the door for 2 kegs, a filled 10lb co2 tank, dual regulator, 2 picnic faucets. I had an old fridge in my basement anyway, so I just house them in there for now. But I am eyeing a Danby 4.4 cu mini-fridge that does not have freezer for $169. So when I add in the 2 taps for the door, I'd say about $550 total for a full set up, housed in its own mini-fridge.

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The Danbys are nice, here's mine....



Edit: I'm on my phone, sorry for the sideways pic!

I'd count on at least $300. I've bought kegs as low as $20 each when you can get in on a big keg purchase. A month ago someone posted a co2 tank for $50 on Homebrew club email list. Point I'm making is start looking for good deals on Craigslist etc. it you keep your eyes peeled, you can jump on some good deals when they come up.

Don't buy a brand new co2 tank because you will probably end up just exchanging it. That happened to me, and it hurt a bit to have one not as nice. Also, on top of the tank price, the gas is about $20.

I think it's going to run me about $850. Danby fridge $200, stainless two tap tower with Perlicks and regulator $280. Two used ball locks $140. Five pound tank $70. Cut out stainless drip tray $100. Three stainless drawer pulls 18" $40. White board for door $20.

It is going to take awhile to pull that together.

BansheeRider said:

The Danbys are nice, here's mine....

View attachment 117759

Edit: I'm on my phone, sorry for the sideways pic!

Click to expand...

This is my setup too. Works great. 2 5 gal corny's and a 5lb co2 tank. Dual stainless tower with 2 Perlick 525ss faucets.

Check out CraigsList. I am always seeing old kegerators or kegging supplies (regulator, CO2 tanks) listed there for a reasonable price. Pick up a STC-1000 from ebay or amazon for under $20, and you can make your own temp controller(check the DIY section for instructions) for a reasonable price. You can also often find old chest freezers/refrigerators on there for free-$50 just make sure they work before picking them up as they are not fun to dispose of otherwise. The part that really gets you is when you spring for the nicer parts. Multiple pressure regulators, Perlick taps, fancy tap handles, etc. Note that we tend to reccomend 10 foot lines or so, as you will notice a plethora of posts about foaming problems which 5 foot lines.

Beware though, kegs seem to want to multiply like bunnies. That additional addiction can be a touch painful to the wallet.

Additionally, you can go for pin lock kegs over ball lock and save up to $20 per keg. They arent worse or better, just different quick disconnects. Additionally, if you can find some good ones in a scrap yard or other place to find them legally, you could also go with sankey connections and use commercial style kegs.

I'm working on my set up now. The cost so far is like this: $240 - 2 pin locks, hoses, regulator and taps (keg connection) and $30 temp controller (ebay, home depot). I am still looking for a co2 tank. My LHBS wants $130 for a new full 5lb which I think is a little high. I have been searching craigslist for a freezer but there haven't been any close by. I have one that I use for food that I may have to sacrifice and buy another one at a later date. I plan on spending another $100-200 dressing up the keezer so, conservatively I would say a 2 keg set up should cost no less than $450.