Returning to Brewing/Keg storage question

I brewed a few batches of extract a few years ago but stopped because..well we never had anywhere to put all the bottles. Now that I've moved to a bigger house I've been staring at a deep freezer I never use and decided to start brewing again.

I will be using a commercially made three tap kegerator designed for home use, but wanted to use the deep freezer as long term storage for my other kegs. I planned on converting the deep freezer into a refrigerator using a simple temp controller and installing a simple c02 system to hook up to 6 kegs to allow them to carb up and stay in storage. Is there anything else I need to consider in setting this up?

 

That sounds like a great plan to me!

I think you've got it figured out, but I'd suggest installing a PC fan in the keezer to keep the air moving (it'll really help even out the temperature) and throwing in a portable dehumidifier like the Eva Dry to keep condensation to a minimum. If you're running lines into and out of the keezer, make sure you caulk around them.

 

I'll add in a couple pc fans and see if I can track down that dehumidifier.

The only lines going in and out will be temp probe, and then the lines for a pc fan now. If there is something in the keezer that absolutely has to be sampled before there is room in the actual kegerator then I will just attach a simple faucet line instead of modifying my deep freezer.

Storing over a year at 10-12psi should be more than fine as long as all the 02 is purged correct?

 

It should be fine for storing under pressure. Make sure you check in on it from time to time for gas leaks.

The only issue I see is that the freezer won't have 6 taps installed on it

 

Here is the dehumidifier he is talking about and here is a pretty cheap price if you know someone that'll split it with you.

They do go on sale for a less from time to time. They've been <$20 here in the last month or two. So, you can probably hold of on getting them until they go on sale if you want.

 

I do the same thing sans the freezer. I have a carbing station in the basement. Use a 20# tank with multiple lines coming off of it to 'charge' the kegs. If you have some place relatively cool, why waste money on the electricity? (Picture shows my 7# tank I replaced with the 20#)

 

The idea behind keeping them in the keezer is so that they are all cooled and carbed in case me or anyone else feels the need to "sample" anything

I move again in a year or so and at that point I will most definitely be installing 6 taps on the system rather than using a 3 tap kegerator. At the moment though, the keezer is in a room used for storage and there is no room for it in the main areas of the house.