Financials of Kegging- Am I Missing Something??

[BIGRUGBY]

You guys are great! ...at convincing people to take the plunge into kegging.
I am $460 into it and currently in the process of building it. I have a 6 tap drip tray, so that max's out my fridge space for kegs and forced my CO2 tank out of the fridge. Any recommendations on where to send the CO2 line into the fridge? Yes I know this is a beat to death question, but I live in central Iowa and have polar vortexes in the winters, so I'll also need to route an electric line through somewhere as well for a space heater. Just tuck it in the door seal for the winter?

 

[BIGRUGBY]

Just an update on the project with some pictures. Thanks too all that replied.
Painted the fridge with chalkboard paint (not sure if I'm going to draw on it yet or just leave the slate black color). Still need a CO2 fill so I havent hooked any of my lines up yet, but it's ready for me to buy a bag of base malt and start filling kegs!

 

[jrgtr42]

...And I've been pondering getting a boat...

One of the quotes about boating is that it's an acronym for "break out another thousand."
My family has been boaters for... longer than I've been alive. I typically will go out of my parent's boat when I need to. I have a couple smaller "toy" boats - a Laser, Laser 2 and a Flying Junior, plus the big one - an O'Day 28. I've been having to help more and more as my dad gets older - I was planning on taking a couple weekends this spring to really get hands-on commissioning it for the year- but s#!7 happens.
I'm trying to convince him to invest in it before I have to - upholstery, sails and rigging. The motor os fairly recent and the hull in in great shape, so there's no reason it shouldn't last another 40-odd years.

As far as the main topic goes, I'm more or less in the same boat (ha!) I've pretty much stopped bottling, except for a couple brews - I have a sour and an Imperial stout that I prefer in the bottle.
I've ended up accumulating a bunch of kegs, and have been using the little injectors so far - I can get a keg off 2 of the little cylinders. I'm planning on getting a tank rig soon - looking at Adventures in Homebrewing for the setup. It's a bit more money than Keg Connection, but that's evened out by free shipping. Next will be a fridge or something - that also requires cleaning the basement, and the understanding that on occasion, there will be things other than beer in there. My cellar is pretty cool year round, it doesn't get warmer than 60 even in the hottest part of the summer, so I'm OK with things at that temp.

 

[Horseflesh]

Just an update on the project with some pictures.

Nice setup, congrats.

I use a marker board on my temp fridge so I can dig the chalkboard paint.

Check out the EVA barrier hose thread for some upgrade ideas.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/accuflex-ultra-235-vs-kegland-eva-barrier.668944/
https://www.homebrewfinds.com/2020/...land-duotight-fittings-evabarrier-tubing.html

 

[Cheapo]

I just picked up a used kegerator - top fridge/bottom freezer. 20# CO2 tank, an old Coca Cola tank lol

Now the question is where to fill this ...

 

[Nagorg]

Now the question is where to fill this ...

Good luck on finding a place to refill your CO2 cylinder. They do exist but I've found them to be an endangered species. You generally will have better luck with a bottle exchange via your local welding gas supply shop. Airgas is a big player in my neck of the woods.

 

[day_trippr]

But...check your local fire equipment service companies, and even welding supply companies, as they often will do refills on demand. I have three cylinders that were on a discount fill "program" with an lhbs that went bust, and was able to find a local fire equipment company that does refills for nearly the same price. I just have to give them a call to make sure one of their techs will be in the building, but that's a small inconvenience...

Cheers!

 

[Wayne1]

As mentioned in a few other CO2 threads, look at hydroponic supply shops.

Here in Colorado, Way to Grow offers $6.99 20 lb CO2 swaps.

 

[Gruel]

7 bucks for 20lbs is super cheap. I was going to say that a welding supply place might sell you a used steel cylinder for less than what you pay online, or at your local brew or beverage place. Refills might also be cheaper, but not as cheap as what Wayne1 posted.
Also, I looked at my CO2 receipt, it says 'food grade'. Can't hurt though to check beforehand.

All in all though, unless you really brew a lot, just buying beer is cheaper. So, in my view, saving money is not really what this is about. It just prevents you from spending your time and money on other stuff.

I should brew more.

 

[madscientist451]

I started out with picnic taps figuring I'd build a keezer later and never got around to it. My C02 tanks and most of my kegs were bought used off craigslist. If I was still 100% bottling, I wouldn't brew very often, but I still bottle now and then because I brew small experimental batches and my kegs get full.

 

[ChiknNutz]

I recently did the CO2 swap bit at a LHBS, but paid the deposit for the tank as I didn't have one. The deposit was $100 for a 20# tank, which is what a typical tank costs, so I figured it's a tossup and I don't have to worry about the thing going out of hydro. The fill is $50 though, a far cry from $7 that @Wayne1 reported. Another LHBS that is quite a bit further away is slightly cheaper at $40 per fill. Still not a bargain. I also called Airgas and they were $53 if memory serves.

 

[Gruel]

I recently did the CO2 swap bit at a LHBS, but paid the deposit for the tank as I didn't have one. The deposit was $100 for a 20# tank, which is what a typical tank costs, so I figured it's a tossup and I don't have to worry about the thing going out of hydro. The fill is $50 though, a far cry from $7 that @Wayne1 reported. Another LHBS that is quite a bit further away is slightly cheaper at $40 per fill. Still not a bargain. I also called Airgas and they were $53 if memory serves.

Good point: if you buy (or pay a deposit for) a tank at the place you plan on getting your refills at, they might take care of the recertification (due every 5 years), including assuming the risk of the cylinder not passing. If having and keeping a shiny new aluminum tank is important to you (nothing wrong with that), then there are places that will refill while you wait. So, it's a choice.

 

[FullThrottle64]

I mean, the all-time worst of them all is boating, closely followed by catch-and-release flyfishing, then model aeronautics, and large layout HO scale model railroading, to name just a handful.

Boating isn't cheap, but auto racing and flying take it to the next level.

A set of racing tires is about $1k, and at the higher levels you run through a couple of sets a weekend. That's just tires.

An entire decent keg setup is a set of race tires. 'Nuff said.

 

[day_trippr]

More than enough reasons why I never adopted either as a hobby

Cheers!

 

[rwinzing]

Yeah, I stopped counting I will never get my money back from this hobby but that's OK I didn't get into it for cost savings. I know some folks do and that is cool but it's not my driving factor. I have kegged for years and I will continue to do it. I like having it on tap and it is easier for me. I also just bought an canner as well. I won't can an entire batch but a few out of each batch to have.

 

[BIGRUGBY]

Okay, this is too cool not to share, it made my day. So I bought this kegging setup (everything but the fridge) off craigslist. It came with an out of date CO2 tank. Airgas said it was going to cost me $192 for a deposit and refill on a 20 lb tank. I took this craigslist tank to them for an exchange and they only charged me the swap/fill price of $24, with no hydro test cost of ~$35. That was a huge money saver! Now to test my system for leaks so I dont find an empty co2 tank a week from now

 

[day_trippr]

I love our local Airgas fill station folks. I've been sending new-to-the-hobby folks there for many years just because they've been consistent about swapping tanks with out-of-date certs without penalty...

Cheers!