Price break down for building a kegerator wanted...

For those of you that are like me, and like to track a "job" to figure out what it cost you, I was hoping someone might have done one for building a kegerator.

We are currently trying to decide between building a kegerator based off the "dorm room" fridge size, or going all in and building a chest style. I prefer the chest style.

Anywho, excluding the price of the fridge, anyone have a ball park figure for a build on each one? I know I've seen some really nice setups on here, but never really noticed a pricing break down.

Thanks again!

you can get a 5lb CO2 tank for $65 from micromatic.com. You can get each complete faucet assembly with hose and both disconnects for as cheap as $35 to $40. You will have to shop around to get the cheapest on that though.

Here is what I've got from Austin Home Brew:

1 x Stainless Steel Air Line Cross (1/4") $5.99
1 x Ball Lock Kegs (Reconditioned) 4 PACK
- Recommended Item: Keg Oring Lubricant
- Ball Lock O-ring Replacment Set: Yes $157.97
3 x Barbed Gas Disconnect (Ball Lock Keg) $14.97
3 x Barbed Liquid Disconnect (Ball Lock Keg) $14.97
1 x Dial Thermostat (Johnson Controls) $69.99
3 x Refrigerator Conversion Kit
- Faucet Plug: Yes
- Faucet Brush: Yes
- Faucet Wrench: Yes
- Faucet: Chrome w/ Brass Lever
- Faucet Handle: Traditional Faucet Handle $154.32
1 x Air Line Hose 1/4" (per foot)
- Length: 15' $7.50
1 x Beer Line Hose 3/16" (per foot)
- Length: 24' $13.20

Economy Regulator (1/4") [01812]
$69.99
Aluminum CO2 Tank ( 5 lb) [01714]
$99.99

and I think My freezer was an even $300 including the 2x8 Wood for the collar, and a bottle of Gatorade from Lowes.

That lands the total in at : $ 839.26 I've got 3 taps and 4 kegs.

BigKahuna said:

and I think My freezer was an even $300 including the 2x6 Wood for the collar, and a bottle of Gatorade from Lowes.

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I don't know much, but that collar looks to be a 2x8(at least), why so big?

I did the dorm fridge style one. That requires a tower which costs more.

I paid $340 from kegconnection for a brand new aluminum CO2 tank, regulator, gas lines, quick disconnects, beer lines, a tower, shanks, perlick faucets, cheap handles, new O ring kits, and keg lube.

I spent $150 on 6 kegs, figure around $25 apiece.

CO2 fillup cost me $13.

Miscellaneous hole saw, foil tape, silicone sealant, etc cost me $30.

wildwest450 said:

I don't know much, but that collar looks to be a 2x8(at least), why so big?

Click to expand...

HA!
You must know enough! You are correct...and I'll change that. I'm 6'3" and 350#...I like big things....And that's just kinda what I ended up with.

It depends a lot on the quality of parts you buy and what deals you can find. I'm piecing everything together so I hopefully won't need/want to upgrade any of it. It's getting expensive.

these prices include shipping/tax

• Sanyo 4912 from Best Buy - $163.35
• brushed SS two faucet tower from ACU metal fab - $62
• 4 ball lock kegs from Adventures in Homebrewing - $100
• 2 SS elbow shank assemblies from Micromatic - $63
• used 5# CO2 tank found locally - $60
• assorted construction stuff (metal tape, hole saw, sealant, etc.) - $30
• stuff from Midwest
• dual body CO2 regulator - $99
• 20 ft. of 3/16" beer line - $14
• 8 ft. of 1/4" gas line - $5.60
• 2 Perlick all SS faucets - $79.90
• 2 sets of gas & liquid disconnects - $22
• SS hose clamps & barbed swivel nuts - $8
• shank wrench - $3.95
• shipping for Midwest order - $10

I'll end up getting keg o-rings and lube as well - so maybe add $15 for 4 kegs worth of that.

Eventually I may get a temp controller ($50), SS rails ($35), drip tray from ACU ($95), and DIY tower cooling fan (maybe $15?), but those aren't needed to get everything going. Without the optional stuff, I'm approaching $700.

It'd be pretty easy to build a much larger capacity keezer for the same money (or even less), but I'm putting this in my dining room and it's all I have room for. Plus my friends and family might stage an intervention if I have 5 beers on tap in the dining room (I live alone) - two is pushing it with some of them.

There's also the option of buying a pre-built dorm fridge size kegerator, but most of those are single faucet (I think) and probably don't involve as much stainless steel as what I'm building.

Ugh - I stopped counting around $1400

Thanks guys... that gives me an idea of what I'm getting myself into...

I just bought a brand new keggerator from Menards in IL for 407$. It is Haier brand and it comes with a sanke tap but I already have ball lock fittings. I think it was a pretty good deal.

NoClueBrewMaster said:

Thanks guys... that gives me an idea of what I'm getting myself into...

Click to expand...

Oh...You have NO IDEA!



I have a motto. DAMN THE COST FULL SPEED AHEAD!

My system is similar to BK's. 3 taps, 4 kegs, 2 pressure legs with a wye on each leg, giving me 4 lines. I went with higher-end stuff because I wanted to do it once. I would NOT recommend the dip-tube brush from Williams as it doesn't fit in my Cornelius dip tubes, nor would I recommend the regulator wrench from BeverageFactory, as it's way too big and has sharp corners making it useless.

I would recommend both outfits as far as customer service goes.

Williams Brewing:

PERLICK FORWARD SEAL FAUCET WITH SHANK $49.90 3 $149.70
19" STAINLESS DRIP TRAY $19.90 1 $19.90
FAUCET WRENCH $3.90 1 $3.90
FAUCET BRUSH $2.90 1 $2.90
BALL-LOCK PICNIC TAP $13.90 1 $13.90
KEG LUBE $4.25 1 $4.25
DIP TUBE BRUSH $4.50 1 $4.50
Zone B Shipping Charges $14.00 1 $14.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Products Subtotal: $199.05
Shipping: $14.00
Invoice Total: $213.05

BeverageFactory (caught them during a 5% off sale):

20 lb. Aluminum Co2 Tank [BF C20] 1 $107.95 5% $102.55
Premium Series Dual Primary CO2 Regulator Battery [MM 642-BATTERY] 1 $100.95 5% $95.90
Tank Mount Wrench [MM 20K08-104] 1 $4.75 5% $4.51
Ball Lock Home Brew Keg Tap Complete Set [BF BLCP-CS] 4 $14.00 5% $53.20
Ball Lock Gas MFL 1/4 [FX 07C07-115] 4 $0.00 $0.00
Ball Lock Liquid Barb 1/4 - 0 [FX 07C07-139] 4 $0.00 $0.00
1/4 to 5/16 MFL Flare nut [FX 04C03-293] 4 $0.00 $0.00
Shut Off Valve - 5/16" Hose Barb Out [MM 751-107] 2 $8.95 5% $17.00
Co2 Regulator Y Splitter - Brass [MM 5460] 2 $6.95 5% $13.20
4 oz. Bottle of Beer Line Cleaner [NC #203-A] 1 $4.65 $4.65
Discount - $15.09
Subtotal $291.01
Shipping - Fedex Home Delivery 19.02
Total Delivered Price $310.03

So what's that, $310 + $213 + $74 for Sundrop kegs = $597. Not too shabby! Just add hoses and clamps.

-Joe

nostalgia said:

So what's that, $310 + $213 + $74 for Sundrop kegs = $597. Not too shabby! Just add hoses and clamps.

Click to expand...

And a fridge/freezer!

But still, nice setup for a good price. I think the only way to do a lot better would be a constant watch over eBay/craigslist, but you have to start figuring the cost of your time in there somewhere.

So far for me, using craigslist and ebay...

Sanyo ........................ $50
4 Cornies .................... $110
CO2 tank, regulator ...... $105

Still need the tower, faucets, and extra fittings, so I'm factoring in another $200 for all that.

Estimated total: $465 - and I've been getting good deals!

Well, I spent $60 on all this crap, and $60 on four more kegs.

I still need perlick faucets, more tubing, a few more quick disconnects and a freezer to convert. I'm going to try craigslist for the freezer as well.

yermej said:

And a fridge/freezer!

But still, nice setup for a good price. I think the only way to do a lot better would be a constant watch over eBay/craigslist, but you have to start figuring the cost of your time in there somewhere.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's just what I figured. I'm willing to pay a bit more to not have to deal with Ebay/Craigslist. Besides, now I have reputable companies to deal with if I have any problems with the product.

-Joe

One thing to consider - Many people are reporting that chest freezers wind up more efficient (electricity) to run than the dorm fridges are. Something about the weaker compressor in the dorm fridge vs the stronger freezer compressor, plus the beefy insulation, combined with the Ranco or Johnson thermostat. Just a thought.

Mine is a Kenmore 20 side-by-side, probably manufactured around 1992.

Fridge - Free, was buying a new one for the kitchen anyways. Could've got it on CL - wouldn't have paid more than $50 though.
Taps - $40 ea for Perlicks, shipped, from Superior Products = $80
Shanks and nips - $16 ea, from Austin Homebrew = $32
CO2 tank, reg, fill - $90, local source
Hoses/QDs - estimated $50 total? 3 gas QD, 3 liquid QD, and about 15' of liquid, 20' of gas.
Lots of flare fittings (just filled a bin with them, didn't use them all) - $20
Manifold - $32 from Austin Homebrew
Tap handles - $10 from HBT classifieds (Was $25 for 5 of 'em, i'm only using 2 at the moment)
10 cornies - $120 for 8 + $60 for 2 = $180.
Drill bit - already had it.

$544 including cornies and including what I "would have paid" for a fridge.

Actual cost $314, since I bought the cornies regardless of whether I was kegging or not (use the ol' picnic tap and ice method) and since the fridge was already mine.

Then again, the fridge came with my house, so you could also say that I bought the fridge for $94,000 and got the house for free with it. In that case, I think it's more like $94,314. :fro:

My price breakdown is listed on my website's equipment page.