Purchasing Kegerator - Missing Anything?

[Thundernick]

Hello everyone!

As I said in another post, I'm new to kegging my beer. I'm tired of bottling it though, so I need to learn how to Keg it. Does this package seem like it has everything I'll need to get started? Is there anything it's missing? Is there anything I should upgrade?

http://www.kegerator.com/edgestar-u...HBKG.html?cgid=Kegerators-Homebrew_Kegerators

Thanks!

Nick

 

[Newsman]

Never bought one myself, but it looks like it would have everything you'd need.

 

[Thundernick]

I'm just afraid of buying it and then realizing I should have upgraded something and breaking the system or ruining some beer. What makes the more expensive ones better? Why are some like $1200?

 

[Newsman]

I'm just afraid of buying it and then realizing I should have upgraded something and breaking the system or ruining some beer. What makes the more expensive ones better? Why are some like $1200?

Don't know. One thing is to make sure your beer lines are long enough -- a lot of folks here will say 10-12 feet is what you need, otherwise your first pour will likely be foamy. Also, another upgrade you can have is better faucets. I didn't look at what brand those were (if it said) but a lot of people swear by all stainless steel instead of chromed brass.

 

[Newsman]

I would wait and see if someone else chimes in. As I said, I've never had a kegerator and I wouldn't know for sure if there was something missing or not, but that looks to be a pretty solid basic 2-tap kegerator to me.

 

[slarkin712]

Aside from some maintenance items like keg lube and beer line cleaner, etc. it appears to have everything you need. You may have to experiment with the beer line length to avoid excessive foaming. It will probably come with 5 feet beer lines, and you almost always need line a little longer than that, i.e. I use 7-8 feet for standard serving pressures. A few things that might be upgradable are a co2 regulator that has another gauge for displaying tank pressure(use this to see when you are about to run out of gas). Better faucets and shanks are also another upgrade. Forward sealing faucets tend not to stick as often. And stainless steel faucets and shanks will last forever, whereas chrome plated may wear and require replacement. you might also want to upgrade to a stainless steel drip tray. None of these are necessary or even all that pricey. It looks like a good setup. I would just research reviews and see if there are any know issues with the compressor, relays, thermostat, etc. for that particular brand.

 

[Thundernick]

Does this cleaning kit have everything I'll need? http://www.kegerator.com/1842g-kegerator-cleaning-kit/1842G.html

Also, do I need to do anything special to serve from both taps at the same time? Or will it only work from one at a time? How does it split the CO2 between 2 kegs?

 

[Newsman]

Also, do I need to do anything special to serve from both taps at the same time? Or will it only work from one at a time? How does it split the CO2 between 2 kegs?

Oh! Good catch. Looks like they're only giving you enough for one Corny keg or one Sanke keg. You should get a CO2 manifold as well and/or a secondary regulator if you foresee wanting to serve at different pressures. Alternatively, you can just get a "wye" adapter to split the CO2 and a second set of disconnects. You may need an additional set of lines for gas and liquid as well.

 

[Newsman]

As for cleaning your taps and lines, what a lot of folks will do is take an empty keg and fill it with hot PBW and connect it to the lines going to the "empty" tap and run the hot PBW through, followed by some hot water, followed by Star San, but mainly if you're not going to be able to use that tap for awhile. OTOH, if you've got a full keg ready to go, you might just want to run some plain water through the tap if it's a different style/flavor of beer and then hook up the full keg. Your first glass of brew may be a little watery after that, but at least you'll have rinsed the lines.

 

[Cider123]

Geez, all these upgrades on top of the $800 cost?

Seems like for that price, you think they would pony up with new kegs rather than reconditioned and good quality SS taps and regulator. Well, actually it looks like it might be a taprite reg on there. It shows a single body so if you have 2 kegs going they would need to have the same pressure.

Is space an issue? For that listed price you could get a brand new fridge to convert and a well-upgraded fridge keg kit with dual body taprite regulator, new kegs and perlick taps. You could store more beer on deck too.
Looks like you have to assemble your system anyway. Just my 2 cents

 

[Thundernick]

Thanks for the advice guys! Glad I came here before buying it.

Here's the thing though. I live in a little apartment, so I don't have space for a big ass fridge. Do people ever make their own ones with mini fridges? I just need one with 2 taps for now, and if I ever need more then I can always make a new one. I'm not much of a handy man, but I'll get my dad to "help" (aka do it for me while I sit there for moral support) me with it.

Thanks again guys!

 

[Newsman]

Yes they do make kegerators from mini-fridges. All the time.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Berk]

First post!

Just purchased this KC2000TwinHBKG, hooked it up, but my first 2 batches of all grain are in the primaries.
Bought this unit because of the value - 2 taprite conversion kits + 2 corny kegs, that's a $220 value to me. For the remaining $500 I got a SS Tower and SS Faucets, The unit, Taprite regulator, all the lines and fittings.

I do like to build things myself so I built a tower cooling unit for free! I used an old wood cigar box, 3 inch fan from an old DVR, 120v to 12v Power supply I had, and for the tubing I used an old unused siphon.