Kegerator build help needed - shopping list

[Rockpilot]

New member, first post.
I've spent a considerable amount of time searching and reading previous posts and researching, trying to learn from the experience here.
First, i'm not much of a home brewer yet, I'm working on it, but I absolutely love craft beer.
I am building a home bar, which includes a kegerator, that I will be filling with kegs of local craft beer until I am to the point of kegging my own. Sorry if that gets me hate, but I entertain a lot, and this is the most efficient way to serve quantities of great beer in my home until I'm kegging my own.

The kegerator I purchased is Marvel 61HKBSFRX

It is a stripped down, discontinued model that needs the rest of the required equipment to get me up and running.

As this is my first kegerator, I have no idea what additional equipment I need to get to the point of pouring beer for friends in my home. So, I'm hoping your collective wisdom can give me a bit of a shopping list to complete this project.

You'll need to know:
-This will be mounted under the counter in my bar.
- I plan to have either 2 or 3 taps. (I figure it better to have 3 and not need one, than to have 2 and wish I had one more).
- I would prefer stainless over chrome when given the choice.

Things I'm aware I'll need:

Tower, lines, CO2 tank.

What am I not aware that I need? How can I make this a really great setup that I can enjoy for many years to come?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[ChrisRyan]

I am in the process of building a Keezer myself. I got all my liquid and gas parts from Keg Connections. They sell complete kits to get you going - if you are looking for a tower, check this link out -

http://www.kegconnection.com/tower/

 

[55x11]

New member, first post.
I've spent a considerable amount of time searching and reading previous posts and researching, trying to learn from the experience here.
First, i'm not much of a home brewer yet, I'm working on it, but I absolutely love craft beer.
I am building a home bar, which includes a kegerator, that I will be filling with kegs of local craft beer until I am to the point of kegging my own. Sorry if that gets me hate, but I entertain a lot, and this is the most efficient way to serve quantities of great beer in my home until I'm kegging my own.

The kegerator I purchased is Marvel 61HKBSFRX

It is a stripped down, discontinued model that needs the rest of the required equipment to get me up and running.

As this is my first kegerator, I have no idea what additional equipment I need to get to the point of pouring beer for friends in my home. So, I'm hoping your collective wisdom can give me a bit of a shopping list to complete this project.

You'll need to know:
-This will be mounted under the counter in my bar.
- I plan to have either 2 or 3 taps. (I figure it better to have 3 and not need one, than to have 2 and wish I had one more).
- I would prefer stainless over chrome when given the choice.

Things I'm aware I'll need:

Tower, lines, CO2 tank.

What am I not aware that I need? How can I make this a really great setup that I can enjoy for many years to come?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

You will need, tower, lines, CO2 tank, regulator (one or two - ideally primary and secondary so you can apply different pressures at the same time), manifolds or splitters with check valves, taps (could be part of the tower), maybe growler filler tube and maybe beer gun if you want to fill bottles. A lot of people put a fan inside the keggerator and some dehumidifying device.

 

[Rockpilot]

You will need, tower, lines, CO2 tank, regulator (one or two - ideally primary and secondary so you can apply different pressures at the same time), manifolds or splitters with check valves, taps (could be part of the tower), maybe growler filler tube and maybe beer gun if you want to fill bottles. A lot of people put a fan inside the keggerator and some dehumidifying device.

Thanks guys.
Next question:
Ball lock or pin lock? Benefits to each?

Recommended dehumidifying device?

I'll have to do some forum searching to learn about installing a fan in the tower. Seems like a commonly discussed upgrade.

 

[WI_Wino]

Ball locks have a pressure release valve in the lid, pin locks typically do not.

Ball locks are skinnier and taller than standard pin locks. You should measure your kegerator to determine what is optimal for you. I don't know the sizes off hand.

Also you'll need Sanke couplers for commercial kegs (not ball lock or pin lock)

 

[CGVT]

If I were starting over, I think I would just keg in sankes. The price of cornies is not much less if at all, you'll already have the sanke couplers and sankes are much less finicky than cornies.

They are also selling plastic sankes that would be a viable option, imo.

https://www.kegworks.com/5-gallon-pet-homebrew-keg-with-us-sankey-coupler-fitting

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

+10 on the sanke kegs.Your not going to get much love for them around here but there hands down a better option.Cornys have different connections and you wont be able to buy a commercial keg when you want.The sanke is the same connection.Check your measurements.I have an under counter fridge and need to buy low profile couplers to make the kegs fit.
Also do yourself a MAJOR favor and buy Perlick 650ss flow control taps.Youll never have foamy pours or need to balance lines...Hands down the best thing to happen to Kegging.

Edit:I looked up your kegerator,did your really spend $2000 on a kegerator?

 

[Rockpilot]

+10 on the sanke kegs.Your not going to get much love for them around here but there hands down a better option.Cornys have different connections and you wont be able to buy a commercial keg when you want.The sanke is the same connection.Check your measurements.I have an under counter fridge and need to buy low profile couplers to make the kegs fit.
Also do yourself a MAJOR favor and buy Perlick 650ss flow control taps.Youll never have foamy pours or need to balance lines...Hands down the best thing to happen to Kegging.

Edit:I looked up your kegerator,did your really spend $2000 on a kegerator?

Yes, and no...
I purchased it, but they emailed me yesterday to inform me that it was out of stock and discontinued. So, I'm now looking at a different model. Summit SNC677BINK
Is the next likely option.
Thanks for the help on the couplers. I'll make sure I get the ones you recommended.
Also, glad to hear some info on the perlik taps, I'll make sure to go with quality.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Also make sure you ask if 3 kegs will fit before buying a three tap tower.It will be way tight if it works,but that's fine.I would think it would be cheaper to call vender and have it shipped with the taps and couplers you want instead of piecing it together later.

 

[B29]

Maybe you will have a better experience but I will never buy a Summit product. I bought a townhouse that had a Summit dual zone refrig/freezer undercounter unit in the bar. It was a nice unit, maybe 4 years old, when it failed. I looked up the unit and the best replacement price was about $1400 so I figured I'd get it repaired. Several refrigeration repair shops I called wouldn't even come out to look at it. I finally got one to come out for a service call and he said replace it. Called Summit several times, left messages. Never called back. Finally got lucky and someone answered the phone. Said they would have an authorized repair rep in my area call me to schedule service. Never happended. If you are going to spend that kind of money get a True or Beverage Air

 

[Stillraining]

how do you guys get your Sankes clean?"

 

[Rockpilot]

Wow, thanks for the Summit review.
I emailed them yesterday to ask about their product, no response yet. I'm assuming I'll have to call to get my questions answered.
I wish I had the budget for True appliances, but they'd arrive with divorce papers if I ordered one.

What is your opinion on Marvel, if I end up going back that direction.

 

[55x11]

Thanks guys.
Next question:
Ball lock or pin lock? Benefits to each?

Recommended dehumidifying device?

I'll have to do some forum searching to learn about installing a fan in the tower. Seems like a commonly discussed upgrade.

I wouldn't go Sanke route. These are mostly for commercial use - more complicated (especially for cleaning as you can't get inside easily) and more expensive overall in my opinion, less parts available etc.. Having independent gas in/liquid out connections and a simple lid in corny type kegs is much more intuitive and allows very simple purging/filling etc. Parts are also more readily available online and in LHBS (o-rings, lids, posts, connectors etc.)

I would go traditional ball lock or pin lock.

The differences are subtle. Ball Lock used kegs are usually more expensive. You can't mess up connections and connect liquid to gas or vice versa with pin lock. I have done this with ball lock connections and they are a pain to get off if you force the wrong one on it.
Ball lock keg lids have nice purging ring, which is convenient but not super crucial.

I have a mix of both now in my keggerator - I got very good deals on pin lock kegs early on, but then found some really cheap used ball lock kegs and bought some of those as well.

The new kegs sometimes only come in one type, and my 4 torpedo kegs are all ball lock. The carbonation cap is also ball lock.

I now prefer ball lock for simplicity of locking in any hose orientation, but it's a minor personal preference.

You can certainly have a mix of the two styles, not a big deal, but if all of the connections are the same, it makes swapping lines between kegs a bit easier. For lines, I would definitely go MFL threaded connections, rather than using barbs and semi-permanently attaching the hose to the connectors with hose clamp - MFL with swivel nut makes it very easy to swap the connectors if you want to swap ball lock to pin lock etc.


Watch this BeerSmith podcast video about home kegging, it covers all basics and more.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx-9W4hJlTM[/ame]

For dehumidifier, I use this one:
(Momentum SM E500 Eva-Dry Mini Dehumidifier)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BD0FN8A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My keezer actually doesn't condense much water, it's pretty well insulated.
I also run a simple USB fan inside (on all the time).

If you haven't bought your keggerator yet, instead of spending $2K+, you may want to consider a mini-project of buying a freezer (mine is 10.6 cu ft, holds 9 kegs and cost below $300 including free delivery), buying some cedar 2x6 planks and a few brackets/screws at home depot, maybe another $50, and building a simple collar - takes a few hours. Then just drill some holes for tap shanks, plug into temperature controller, and you are all set. More customizable and bigger/expandable, and for under $500 for the whole thing.

 

[maazak]

how do you guys get your Sankes clean?"

I remove the spear and rinse with hot water and oxyclean. Then starsan. I also store all of my empty ones with star San in them.

For stubborn stuck on stuff I use a carboy brush.

Also a pressure washer wand will fit inside the neck and blast anything outta there.

I bought some used ones that had some old funk in there so after all those steps above. I filled it with four gallons of water and put it on my burner and boiled the water inside for a bit. (spear removed)

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

how do you guys get your Sankes clean?"

Theres you tube videos on how to open them.All you need is a screwdriver to get them open and a pair of pliers to get it on.If it takes 10 seconds to open and one minute to close its a lot.As far as cleaning I just stick the bathtub faucet in the hole and rinse a few times.Or a hose in the summer.sankes never leak air..ever.So theres no chance of infection.I only use oxiclean every 4th keg of so.And honestly its not needed I just do it for the sake of doing it.My corneys are collecting dust in the basement

 

[55x11]

Theres you tube videos on how to open them.All you need is a screwdriver to get them open and a pair of pliers to get it on.If it takes 10 seconds to open and one minute to close its a lot.As far as cleaning I just stick the bathtub faucet in the hole and rinse a few times.Or a hose in the summer.sankes never leak air..ever.So theres no chance of infection.I only use oxiclean every 4th keg of so.And honestly its not needed I just do it for the sake of doing it.My corneys are collecting dust in the basement

But you probably can't see as well inside as one can with a corny, right? Can you get a brush or your hand inside a sanke keg?
What do you see as the major advantage of a sanke vs. corny keg?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

But you probably can't see as well inside as one can with a corny, right? Can you get a brush or your hand inside a sanke keg?
What do you see as the major advantage of a sanke vs. corny keg?

Zero chance of getting your hand in
Yes you can get a carboy brush in(never done it)
Theres nothing to see
The biggest advantages are no orings or seals or seal lube to worry about leaking...endless "cant find co2 leak" threads,eliminates the keg as an issue
They never leak so theres no infection or nastiness to clean,I leave mine sitting empty after I kill the keg and only open them when its time to refill and always have pressure and smells as fresh as the day I tapped it.
You can go by a commercial keg any time you want(same connection)with Sanke.Your stuck with homebrew only with corneys(not that's that's a problem for me,I only drink what I brew)But its nice to have the option
The only drawback,and I mean only,is dryhopping in the keg.Something I never did anyway.
By all means do as you will,I just like sankeys better

 

[maazak]

But you probably can't see as well inside as one can with a corny, right? Can you get a brush or your hand inside a sanke keg?

What do you see as the major advantage of a sanke vs. corny keg?

I use a small flashlight and can get a pretty good look inside with that. I guess you could get one of those tiny mirrors on a pole and look with that too if you want.

A carboy brush fits perfectly in the opening. Like johnnyrotten said they are easy to open and clean once you get used to it.

While you can open them with a screwdriver, I sprung for the $15 little tool to open them and it takes like 4 seconds to remove a spear. Putting the ring back in takes about 20 seconds.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I use a small flashlight and can get a pretty good look inside with that. I guess you could get one of those tiny mirrors on a pole and look with that too if you want.

A carboy brush fits perfectly in the opening. Like johnnyrotten said they are easy to open and clean once you get used to it.

While you can open them with a screwdriver, I sprung for the $15 little tool to open them and it takes like 4 seconds to remove a spear. Putting the ring back in takes about 20 seconds.

What $15 little tool??

 

[maazak]

What $15 little tool??

Not sure if there is a HBT sponsor that carries this. I got mine from beverage factory but several places sell it. More wine has it for the cheapest.

It just a curvy piece of metal that lets you pop out that ring. Once you do it with the tool a few times you will be able to remove the ring in moments. No effort at all.


https://morewinemaking.com/view_product/7544/beerwinecoffee/Sanke_Ring_Removal_Knife

http://www.gwkent.com/keg-spear-removal-knife.html


http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/empty_kegs/keg_accessories/NP991_valve_removal_knife.html

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Sweet I'm going to get one! Ive only seen the the $80 one with the crank that I would never buy

 

[55x11]

I use a small flashlight and can get a pretty good look inside with that. I guess you could get one of those tiny mirrors on a pole and look with that too if you want.

A carboy brush fits perfectly in the opening. Like johnnyrotten said they are easy to open and clean once you get used to it.

While you can open them with a screwdriver, I sprung for the $15 little tool to open them and it takes like 4 seconds to remove a spear. Putting the ring back in takes about 20 seconds.

thanks but I am still not sold. I don't have any leak problems with my corny kegs. True, there are three points that could potentially leak as opposed to a single point for sanke, but ability to take it apart, look inside etc. and put it together again is important to me.

I do value the ability of seeing what I clean when I am cleaning and ability to reach them and scrub it.

I also often use fruit and hop additions in the keg. Wide opening of corny keg makes it possible - impossible with sanke.

For a price of sanke I can get two corny kegs.

Sanke connector is triple the price of corny connectors (both of them).

 

[Stillraining]

Theres you tube videos on how to open them.All you need is a screwdriver to get them open and a pair of pliers to get it on.If it takes 10 seconds to open and one minute to close its a lot.As far as cleaning I just stick the bathtub faucet in the hole and rinse a few times.Or a hose in the summer.sankes never leak air..ever.So theres no chance of infection.I only use oxiclean every 4th keg of so.And honestly its not needed I just do it for the sake of doing it.My corneys are collecting dust in the basement

Interesting...I have two buds I just got into brewing and we are all now thinking of Kegging...I'm always interested in doing things the easy simple way...you have my attention.

Can you still dry hop in Sanke? if so ... Why the vast popularity of Soda kegs over them?

I agree with you about the ability to hook up a commercial keg if and when you wanted.

Also why not just use commercial 15 gal kegs? We are brewing 10 to 20 gals minimum brews anyway. Those can be had for 50.00 from what my buds tell me. We have a 30 gallon brew day next Saturday. 2 kegs and your done....seems like a no brain'er to me....What am I missing?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Interesting...I have two buds I just got into brewing and we are all now thinking of Kegging...I'm always interested in doing things the easy simple way...you have my attention.

Can you still dry hop in Sanke? if so ... Why the vast popularity of Soda kegs over them?

I agree with you about the ability to hook up a commercial keg if and when you wanted.

Also why not just use commercial 15 gal kegs? We are brewing 10 to 20 gals minimum brews anyway. Those can be had for 50.00 from what my buds tell me. We have a 30 gallon brew day next Saturday. 2 kegs and your done....seems like a no brain'er to me....What am I missing?

You can dry hop in a sanke the problem is getting the swollen hops out..I personally wouldn't bother,seems like a headache.Cornys have a larger opening.You can dump one gallon in a half barrel if you really wanted to.The problem is the head space.The object is to fill the keg to the limit to lesson to headspace and save co2 purging.The normal fermenting batch is 5 gallons.A sixtel is 5 gallons so it works out nice.If your doing 15 gallon batches by all means a 1/2 barrel would be perfect.The other benefit of sixtels is you can rotate beers were as your stuck with a lot of the same beer in a 1/2 barrel

 

[CGVT]

You can get a sanke coupler for about $20-$25, about twice the price of a pair gas and liquid corney couplers, and good used cornies are pretty darn close to the cost of a sanke. The the ability to buy commercial kegs of beer and the trouble free nature of sankes vice cornies, for someone just starting out, it seems to be a no-brainer to me.

As I said above, if I didn't have so much invested, sankes would be the way i would go

 

[55x11]

You can dry hop in a sanke the problem is getting the swollen hops out..I personally wouldn't bother,seems like a headache.Cornys have a larger opening.You can dump one gallon in a half barrel if you really wanted to.The problem is the head space.The object is to fill the keg to the limit to lesson to headspace and save co2 purging.The normal fermenting batch is 5 gallons.A sixtel is 5 gallons so it works out nice.If your doing 15 gallon batches by all means a 1/2 barrel would be perfect.The other benefit of sixtels is you can rotate beers were as your stuck with a lot of the same beer in a 1/2 barrel

Not being able to dry-hop or do fruit additions in kegs is a deal breaker for me personally, but YMMV.
For me it's Corny's for the win!