Going to buy a kegerator, any thing to watch out for?

I want to keep two beers on tap, in 5 gal kegs. I see lots of brands out there, and some widely varying prices.

Are there any I should watch out for? I'm assuming all the major brands are decent at least. Any that are extra recommended?

For example, one website has a dual-tap kegerator for $600, and another one for $1800. The $1800 is the "professional" model. What does it have that is worth the extra $1200? And is it worth it for a home brewer?

 

Just build one.

 

I built one for under $250.

 

I made the mistake of paying $600 for a pre-built kegerator, first one... I've since built a 3 tap kegerator and 5 tap keezer. It's easy and way cheaper (thank you, Craigslist).

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/new-danby-dar440bl-march-2013-a-396014/

This Danby is on Amazon for about $200. Fits 1 without modification, and will fit 2 if you cut the door shelves out.

 

Will you only be using soda kegs in it or would you like the option to fit a half barrel? If your only using soda kegs you may want to look into some of the build threads and convert a mini fridge. Odds are you can build it a lot cheaper with better faucets and regulator than the $600 pre-built. If you like the option for a half pre-built is probably a better option. As far as the difference between the $600 & $1800 biggest difference is probably name and quality. They likely have better temperature control, internal drainage from you drip tray, a cooled tower and bigger in size. It also may last you 2x or 3x times as long as the cheaper model. Is it worth it, who knows?? Odds are your needs may change long before either kegerator quits and you may want a keezer or other custom option that the extra $1200 would be better spent on.

 

Not sure where you live, but I am in Midtwon Manhattan (New York City) and I have a kegerator that I am not using anymore. I got it from BestBuy a few years ago, it was working fine (only complaint was that it was difficult sometimes to adjust the settings to get the right amount of foam when pouring - but I am really no expert). I have not used the kegerator in two years (I no longer drink beer as much as I used to). It's been sitting in my living room since. I am not looking to make a profit, just to get rid of it. You can use it as is, or take it for parts. It currently uses a Stella coupler (was my beer of choice, but I still have the regular coupler that came with it). I am giving everything away (kegerator, o2 tank, shelves to make it a regular fridge, cleaning kit, etc.). But you are responsible to come and get it, I have no car or truck but I will gladly help carry it (it's on wheels which helps a lot). NOTE: WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET - NO RETURN - YOU TAKE IT AND IT'S YOURS.

 

I really wish they had a classifieds section on the forum for people to sell and buy used stuff.

 

I live far away, thanks though.

To make my own, I just need to get a decent mini-fridge, and drill a hole in the top? It can't really be that simple.

The goal is to handle 2 cornelius kegs at a time, with an internal co2 bottle. $600 seems to be about the right price if I buy one somewhere. I suspect that I could buy premium parts, and a better mini-fridge, for that same $600, right?

edit: I drink mostly wheat beers, and those only need to be chilled to the upper 40's. Also, an occasional stout or porter, which also likes the higher temps. Is this an issue? All of these commercial ones will run at that temp, right?

 

I would not recommend buying a prebuilt one.. They come with crap parts you will have to replace, such as faucets regulators hose length. Build it yourself if at all possible. Ccheck out the fridgedaire 4.4 kegerator thread here on hbt and kegconnection

 

Pretty much that simple, if you have any diy skills and simple tools shouldn't be that hard. I would browse the DIY fornum to get some ideas and see what fridges are working best for people lately. I would figure you should be able to pick up fridge, two tap tower with perlicks, a decent regulator, co2 tank and all hoses and connectors for that $600 possibly even less if you shop around.

 

Ok, I'm convinced, I'll have to build my own. My nephew and I just finished building my house here in the mountains, and I had to have maple cabinets with black quartz countertops, and stainless appliances. I have room to add another cabinet, so I'll probably try to adapt a maple cabinet, put black quartz on the top, and drill through all of that.

One last question: if I wanted to keep it on my back deck, will it freeze over in the winter? (can get to 0 F here, and stay for a while. It's snowing right now).

 

If youre going to keep it in a covered outdoor like area it should be fine. Depending on the conditions you may have/want to invest in a temp controller. How big of a kegerator are you wanting? If you want to run a 2 tap tower with soda kegs id highly suggest getting a danby DAR440. The fridge is cheap, the mods are easy, and it holds its temps well.

EDIT: Just saw you were going to try and work it into a cabinet. That kinda changes things so youll have to come up with something or look around and see what others have done.

 

I can see a two-phase project:
1) build a simple Danby 440 one (selling for $159 at the Home Depot), to use for now
2) build a hutch type cabinet that incorporates one of these, and another bottle-oriented mini-fridge

The hutch cabinet would have shelves for glasses above, similar to a china cabinet.

No SWMBO to worry about, I'm nearly retired, and have plenty of money

But back to the outside question: let's say it is 0 degrees(F) outside for a week, 24/7. How could an outside freezer or refrigerator keep beer at 48 degrees? I like wheat beers, and porter/stout types, which are not served ice cold. And what would stop it from just freezing the beer?

 

If you use a STC1000 setup, you can run both a cold and a hot side so that you can both run the compressor or a heat element inside the kegerator.

Look up ebay aquarium temp controller build here on the forum for more details.