Got a kegerator: what next?

Thanks to my bargain ninja wife, I just scored a Kenmore kegerator with two 5# CO2 tanks on the cheap. It needed some TLC with a sponge, but it's in perfect working order. I think I'll be able to squeeze 3 cornies into it, though at the moment it only has a single tap tower. I can't wait to start kegging (shockingly, bottling has lost its luster), but I'm a bit of a kegnoramus. What am I going to need to hook a corny up (I'm assuming all the fittings are for commercial 1/2bbl kegs)? I've attached pictures of the parts and pieces I have currently. I'm not entirely sure what's what.

Yep, those are sankey keg fittings. If you want to use a corny key you'd have to know if your keg has pin or ball locks. Cut the gas fitting off and attach the correct fitting (ball or pin).

As for the beer lines, I would just replace them altogether. It's relatively cheap. You'll see a lot of recommendations for 10 ft lines.....I run 5 ft with no problems. YMMV. Again, proper fitting depends on your keg...ball or pin.

Keep the sankey fittings, you never know when you may have a gathering and be out of/not have time to get together a homebrew.

Thanks for the info. I just placed an order for a reconditioned ball-lock keg, gas and liquid disconnects, new beer and CO2 lines, line cleaner, keg lube, and a spare set of O-rings. With any luck, I'll have some homebrew on tap in a couple of weeks.

beertroll said:

Thanks for the info. I just placed an order for a reconditioned ball-lock keg, gas and liquid disconnects, new beer and CO2 lines, line cleaner, keg lube, and a spare set of O-rings. With any luck, I'll have some homebrew on tap in a couple of weeks.

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Cool. Your gas line was probably good, but it's cheap enough to replace I guess.

If you can identify the make and model, I'm sure you can search around here to see if it will fit three ball lock cornys like you hope. Either way, if you buy a new tower the only advice I can give is get stainless, not chrome, and go with Perlick faucets......trust me on both.

flyte74 said:

Cool. Your gas line was probably good, but it's cheap enough to replace I guess.

If you can identify the make and model, I'm sure you can search around here to see if it will fit three ball lock cornys like you hope. Either way, if you buy a new tower the only advice I can give is get stainless, not chrome, and go with Perlick faucets......trust me on both.

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Perlick, you wont regret it. No sticky faucets is worth the little extra cash.

Also, KMFDM :rockin:

The gas line I have has a threaded fitting that I would have had to cut off. I figured I should leave it intact in case I ever want to tap a half barrel.

Stupid question: do all towers and faucets use a standardized threading, or do I need to make certain whatever tower I get is Perlick compatible?

beertroll said:

The gas line I have has a threaded fitting that I would have had to cut off. I figured I should leave it intact in case I ever want to tap a half barrel.

Stupid question: do all towers and faucets use a standardized threading, or do I need to make certain whatever tower I get is Perlick compatible?

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The towers themselves are not threaded, they just have a hole in them. Hole size is standard, at least as far as I know. You should be good with any tower.