Financials of Kegging- Am I Missing Something??

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BIGRUGBY

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Been wanting to get into kegging for some time, finally shopping around and scouring the internet and I am getting really turned off by the idea of kegging (don't get me wrong, I hate washing 50 bottles every batch I make)

$100 used craigslist fridge (Lowe's only marks down scratch/dent fridges by 10%)
$133 kegconnection.com 3 picnic tap kit (regulator, splitter, hoses, keg connection thingys)
$90 for 3 stainless Intertap taps
$60 for 3 stainless shanks
$100 for CO2 (two sources in Des Moines and they both make you buy a tank for ~$100 and then refills cost $16-22)

I'm really glad a coworker gave me 6 corny kegs already... am I thinking right that this thing is going to cost me ~$450 for the setup? I know I can cheapen it up by not getting stainless parts but I don't want to have to re-buy in x amount of years. $3 for priming sugar and $3 for bottle caps every batch is looking a heck of a lot more attractive.... Thoughts? Ideas? Cheap keezers for sale in the midwest?
All this being said, I did just drop a chunk of change on a cool fermentation temperature control/fridge setup, so I'm not opposed to spending money on stuff that looks cool that makes no economical sense. Would appreciate your guys thoughts.
 
I just launched into kegging and feel your trepidation and financial disdain (still have parts on the way and more to acquire). But, I decided I despised bottling enough to move to kegging. I am a spreadsheet geek and almost cry when I look what I've already spent, plus have more to spend to get there. Some of my recent costs have been an add'l fermenter (Kegmenter) and DIY fermentation chamber supplies. Still, it doesn't make a lot of economic sense to do so, more of a PITA factor to weigh.
 
After years of bottling I just recently dove into kegging my beer when wife said I could use old fridge we keep in utility room for, well, beer.
I got a keg, a regulator, CO2 bottle, some tubing and a party tap. Done. Little over $200
I may eventually make a kegerator with multiple taps but I wanted to learn the process on a small scale.
No regrets.
 
My wife bought me my first kegging setup, it was $325 for a 2 tap system. Now I already had the fridge that I was keeping bottles in so I didn’t have that expense.

At that point I had been brewing for a few years and just started making 10 gallon batches so it was 100+ bottles and over 2 hours (if I had help, usually did the kids would help) and 4 cases of beer to store. No more rinsing or storing bottles, Don’t have to deal with priming sugar or worrying if my beer will carb. My plan Originally was to bottle half and keg half.....I’ve never bottled a batch again. I know the upfront costs can seem a bit high but for me the time savings and smaller footprint of storage is worth it.

You also have to do what works for you, there are down sides to kegging like when you run out of Co2 at the worst time or dealing with a leak and It emptied your fresh tank, yes there is still cleaning involved but it’s 1 or 2 vessels not 50. This is my 2 cents but after kegging I’ll never go back to bottling.
 
I got in a little slower - I bought 2 kegs, a picnic tap kit and a $100 craigslist chest freezer, and a cheap temp controller - so I was all in at about $250. Since then I now own 10 kegs, have a 4 tap kegerator that I built, 2 CO2 tanks with regulators, and absolutely not 1 single regret.

Not only did I go from a 1.5 hour bottling day to a 15-20 minute kegging day, but the quality of my beer improved dramatically, and I enjoy it more.
 
Kegging is absolutely worth it!

It's the only way to do 100% oxygen free transfers. As well as other tricks.
By burst/forced carbonating you can enjoy that beer as soon as an hour after filling.

You can use an older or spare fridge to keep your kegs cold. Use picnic taps, or real taps, whatever your budget allows.

I bought a "20#" CO2 tank with a dual head regulator and a ball lock keg off CL. Larger tanks are more economical to fill or exchange. At least in my area.
 
Day, 40 gallons?!!!! Wow! I think 15 was the most I ever did, I know once your set up it is a little easier but that’s a lot of work, I would have gone to kegging right after that too.
 
BIGRUGBY said:
am I thinking right that this thing is going to cost me ~$450 for the setup?
Click to expand...



worth it....and most people tell me living on $7.50/hr, they'd make more begging in front of the grocery store! ;) even at 7.50, that's only a little over a week of work....and no more bottling!!!
 
Transamguy77 said:
Day, 40 gallons?!!!! Wow! I think 15 was the most I ever did, I know once your set up it is a little easier but that’s a lot of work, I would have gone to kegging right after that too.
Click to expand...

That was a horrible day that I totally brought upon myself through a combination of high goals and a series of bad choices. I was doing a lot of bidness travel back then babysitting system installations, flying out on Monday, getting back home on Friday, knocking out a batch during the weekend, then flying out somewhere else the next Monday. Rinse and repeat, I had all of my carboys filled at the end which put a stop to the madness (nowhere to put any more beer) but leaving Judgement Day to come upon me.

The hot day matters: too OC to turn on the A/C or open the windows and raise dust 'n' stuff while bottling all that beer, I was making my own au jus halfway through. It totally scarred me for life ;)

Cheers!
 
Get a cooler off craigslist. You could pay half. Or even get it free.

use picnic taps. buy one regulator. Get two inline secondary regulators by kegland for cheap.

get a co2 tank online for cheap. Or craigslist. Most shops don’t actually refill, they swap your empty for a full. Check with them, but likely you don’t need to purchase from them, or new.
 
Still on picnic taps here. Next purchase will be a chest freezer and another temp controller to get out of the spare spare fridge in the garage (other spare is for fermenting) and into the brew equipment room.

Then I will start to think about taps.

Bought my 10lb aluminum cylinder from a welding shop for $103. They will always supply me with an in cert tank for life as long as I keep bringing one of theirs back. IIRC a fill is $17. 10lb lasts a long time for me, I try to spund for natural carbonation and other reasons.

Good thing you already have the kegs, prices seem to of gone up since the covid.
 
Thanks for all the responses! You've convinced me. I think I will piece it together, buying the taps and shanks at a later date. What all should I get? Keg connection has a single picnic tap pack for $63. A single keg would be fine for me for now, but do I want a dual regulator or Y thingy so I can have one serving line and one keg purging/cleaning line?
MFL or barbed connections?
1/4" or 5/16" lines?
For CO2, the 20 lb tank is the best bang for my buck. Will it fit in a standard fridge? Or is that so much CO2 that I should just start with a 5 lb'er?
 
It is expensive. I will never tell people to get into parts of this hobby that stretch their financial means. When I started brewing, the homebrew was not so commercialized. It is great to have all of these choices a better products today, but things are costly. Kegging is more about time savings and enjoying the hobby. Bottling is the one constant over the years that I have noticed people do not like about the hobby.
 
BIGRUGBY said:
Thanks for all the responses! You've convinced me. I think I will piece it together, buying the taps and shanks at a later date. What all should I get? Keg connection has a single picnic tap pack for $63. A single keg would be fine for me for now, but do I want a dual regulator or Y thingy so I can have one serving line and one keg purging/cleaning line?
MFL or barbed connections?
1/4" or 5/16" lines?
For CO2, the 20 lb tank is the best bang for my buck. Will it fit in a standard fridge? Or is that so much CO2 that I should just start with a 5 lb'er?
Click to expand...

I literally just asked this question a few days ago here: Recommendations on basic kegging equipment needed
 
I would recommend the 20lb tank. One, most gas supply places will swap out tanks rather than filling them, so no need to get a fancy shiny 5lb tank when they will likely swap with an ugly steel tank. Two, the 20lb tanks obviously last much longer between fills. And C, price per pound is usually better on the 20lb swaps.

I would cruise FB marketplace, or Craigslist for a CO2 tank, and a fridge.
 
BIGRUGBY said:
For CO2, the 20 lb tank is the best bang for my buck. Will it fit in a standard fridge? Or is that so much CO2 that I should just start with a 5 lb'er?
Click to expand...

You have to measure to know for sure and take the regulator and hoses into account. In my case a slightly larger than standard fridge fits 3 cornies, the 10lb cylinder, and I have a place to coil picnic taps, hoses, and have enough room for the gas line bend radius'.

A 20lb would of been my best bet but I didn't want to cut holes in the spare fridge to keep the tank outside. Once I set up a chest freezer I'll probably go to a 20lb tank but that's in the future. Waiting for the right freezer to come along, should of pulled the trigger on one costco had on sale a few months ago. I won't let another deal get away.

I have a y for two lines, both set to 12psi. It seems to be a nice pressure for what I usually brew. I still bottle from time to time but the spunded and kegged beer is superior imo.
 
I always tell people that I get into hobbies not to save money, but to save my sanity!

With that said, always work within your means and with what makes sense for you, your priorities, space constraints, budget, etc.

Yes, I recommend 20# tanks for most people. Be careful with leaks though, as it is also more to lose if you have a leak. I always turn my CO2 off and disconnect when I'm done for the day. I did this after I lost a tank due to a leak, and since I started doing this, I haven't lost a tank since (which is good because I've got two 50# tanks along with five 20# tanks!).

I would highly recommend MFL disconnects. You will need to get the matching swivel barb fittings for the lines at first for traditional PVC lines, or Push to Connect fittings for the barrier lines (I use Bev Seal Ultra 235, and many have had a great experience with EVABarrier, both are best used with push to connect fittings, but it may be difficult to use these with picnic faucets).

I think a single regulator is fine to start with. It isn't that difficult to move fittings around.

If you really want to save money on it, then you have to buy used - this is how I started. It did require more work and patience though (used equipment always takes time to clean and get to good working order, and you never know when a good deal will come around).
 
When I made the decision to get into kegging I got into it slowly. I have a second standard size fridge in the garage that I took over for beer. I bought two new corny kegs on sale for $69 each from AiH. A month or two later I bought a Tap Rite regulator on Amazon. Some time after that a trip to my LHBS I picked up hoses and disconnects along with ingredients for a brew. After my beer was fermenting a couple weeks (and my next pay check) I went back to the LHBS and bought into a 20# CO2 tank exchange.....etc. etc. As you see I piece-mealed it slowly, over time so the financial sting didn't seem as bad. Was it painful looking at two brand new unused kegs for almost a year? You bet!! But I was putting it together the best financial way I could. Yeah, two kegs and a 20# tank, hoses, and a picnic tap in a fridge that I have to open every time I want to pour myself a beer or fill a growler may not be ideal, but it's serving me well for now. I think I could probably squeeze another keg in there but can't justify it at this time.
 
I bottled for years in the bliss of not knowing any better. Now that I finally took the dive and went all in with a 7 cubic foot chest freezer, built the collar, 4 taps, dual regulator, mfl pieces, 4 way gas spliter, duotight tubing and fittings and in-line regulators, probably around $800 and I LOVE IT!!!!

I wish I would have done it much sooner than I did!
 
BongoYodeler said:
picnic tap in a fridge that I have to open every time I want to pour myself a beer or fill a growler may not be ideal, but it's serving me well for now. I think I could probably squeeze another keg in there but can't justify it at this time.
Click to expand...

Same here but I stored my bottled beer in the same fridge so I had to open it to get a beer anyway.
 
So I went bottling->kegging and then back to bottling. I just couldn’t drink the beer fast enough out of the keg. It seemed easier to bottle.

anyone else go back to bottling?
 
grampamark said:
You may be the outlier in this group. :cool:
Click to expand...
Haha. I think that is definitely the case. I tell people all the time that if I still had to bottle, I would've quit this hobby many years ago.

I also don't drink that quickly, it is one reason why I can keep 14 taps flowing at all times. If a beer gets to the point of being unpleasant, I can just put another on in its place, and I have no qualms with throwing out beer at this point.

I also tend to brew a number of big beers that can age well for years, and then have the beers that I brew regularly for my day-to-day drinking.
 
gnef said:
Haha. I think that is definitely the case. I tell people all the time that if I still had to bottle, I would've quit this hobby many years ago.

I also don't drink that quickly, it is one reason why I can keep 14 taps flowing at all times. If a beer gets to the point of being unpleasant, I can just put another on in its place, and I have no qualms with throwing out beer at this point.

I also tend to brew a number of big beers that can age well for years, and then have the beers that I brew regularly for my day-to-day drinking.
Click to expand...

the ease of kegging was great back when I was brewing a ton(and had 3 roommates to help consume) but now to leave kegs on tap for a week or so without pulling a beer just doesn’t make sense for me. Might go back one day, but not anytime soon.

doesn’t help a keezer would have to live in the garage while I’m on the main floor(second floor). And while the fiancé is willing to help bottle, it’s not the worst way to spend 30 minutes.
 
Southern_Junior said:
the ease of kegging was great back when I was brewing a ton(and had 3 roommates to help consume) but now to leave kegs on tap for a week or so without pulling a beer just doesn’t make sense for me. Might go back one day, but not anytime soon.

doesn’t help a keezer would have to live in the garage while I’m on the main floor(second floor). And while the fiancé is willing to help bottle, it’s not the worst way to spend 30 minutes.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this statement.. I leave my kegs "on tap" continuously for months at a time. There's no downside to keep the taps installed on them as long as you keep the kegs cold you can store them indefinitely (until the beer goes bad I guess... which is slower in a keg than it is in a bottle if you keep the oxygen out)

On the keezer issue, my wife made a deal with me that if I made the keezer look like it belonged in her kitchen, I was allowed to keep it in her kitchen... challenge accepted, so I built this

57558272310__B92B1593-2252-4709-8AC0-DCBF3995B62E.JPG
 
TheMadKing said:
I don't understand this statement.. I leave my kegs "on tap" continuously for months at a time. There's no downside to keep the taps installed on them as long as you keep the kegs cold you can store them indefinitely (until the beer goes bad I guess... which is slower in a keg than it is in a bottle if you keep the oxygen out)

On the keezer issue, my wife made a deal with me that if I made the keezer look like it belonged in her kitchen, I was allowed to keep it in her kitchen... challenge accepted, so I built this
Click to expand...

I have had a different experience with my kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb. Not saying kegging is bad by any means. Just that at this stage in my life with only me and my fiancé in the house, kegs are too much. I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not. Growlers could do this to some extent, but not the same levels of freedom.

Ultimately I look to get into canning all of my homebrew for ultimate versatility.
 
Southern_Junior said:
I have had a different experience with my kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb. Not saying kegging is bad by any means. Just that at this stage in my life with only me and my fiancé in the house, kegs are too much. I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not. Growlers could do this to some extent, but not the same levels of freedom.

Ultimately I look to get into canning all of my homebrew for ultimate versatility.
Click to expand...

Totally understand that you don't have the need for them, but if you get back into it some day there are solutions to those issues:

Closed/pressurized transfer to the kegs will keep oxygen out, which will increase their shelf life. Aging in a closet is generally a bad idea since colder temperatures keep beer fresh for longer (by slowing oxidation generally speaking). The kegs overcarbonating as they get lower is because you had your pressure set too high for the temperature you are keeping them at.

They would have gotten overcarbed when they were full but it takes longer with a smaller headspace, so as the headspace grows they absorb CO2 faster and you end up with the beer overcarbing before you can drink it. So if you set your pressure and temperature per the carbonation chart, that won't be an issue for you either.

Just don't want you to think it's hopeless and requires a high-turnover rate. Growlers are a lot more likely to come home than bottles too.
 
I agree, and I learned that lesson the hard way, if one wants a solid shelf life out of a keg one really needs to be obsessive about cold-side oxidation prevention - starting at the end of fermentation. Since that revelation I've taken kegs of neipa six months and the beer was still wonderful...

Cheers!
 
I have not had an issue with kegs going bad, generally have a keg for 3 to 6 months before it is finished. I started right away with doing closed transfers, so maybe that has helped.
 
Like many have said, bottling wasnt bad when I did 2.5G batches in an LBK. Then I went to 5G and still not too bad. When I went to 10G-15G it became a nightmare. I'd take over the kitchen for hours between washing/rinsing/sanitizing all the bottles and then the batch priming and bottling. 🤮 My wife would see me doing all of this "work" and she actually gave me the go ahead!

I found a keezer with two taps, a 20# CO2 bottle and 3 kegs on Craigslist for $500.00. Thats been one of the best $500.00 I've ever spent!
 
Southern_Junior said:
... kegs. They tend to go bad faster than bottles aging in the closet. I have also had issues as the kegs get lower on contents, they overcarb....
Click to expand...

If you're not doing closed transfers, and have a lot of oxygen in the keg, then I can see your point about the beer deteriorating. But that is easily solved by doing a closed transfer. I do gravity powered closed transfers, it's so easy that there's no reason not to do it that way.

I agree with the others about overcarb, if you have the right temp & pressure it's just not a problem.

...I can bottle, give them away, bring them places and what not...
Click to expand...

I find that kegging, then bottling a few beers from a tap faucet, is way easier and better than bottling full batches.
 

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