If I were you I'd suggest the Mrs. get you a gift certificate for a couple hundred at the home brew store and you go pick out your gear after the holidays are over. You want to talk to someone knowledgeable about each piece, how it fits into your present and long-term kegging plans. A lot of the early decisions can and do affect later expansion plans, unless you plan to re-purchase a bunch of your stuff. Here's what I did:
I had a 5 CF chest freezer with temp controller that fit one brew bucket. When I purchased my 15 gallon kettle I began doing double batches and quickly realized that doing one batch in a swamp cooler wasn't the ideal situation. So, I purchased a bigger chest freezer and repurposed the original as a kegerator.
I took the freezer and a piece of 2x6 to the home brew store at a time in the middle of the week when I knew they wouldn't be busy. I told them my initial plans. After the chuckling was over, we had a heartfelt discussion and we selected taps, shanks, tailpieces, a regulator, manifolds, and beverage tubing. I then went to the co2 store, gave them my "deposit" and came away with a co2 bottle. I should have done this first, but I was innocent. Most people use 5LB. I chose 10 because I could fit it. Don't ask me how long a 10 pound bottle lasts, I got it 3 years ago and haven't refilled it yet.
Here's some tips to help you along:
1. Purchase 3/16 bev tubing fitted to 1/4" hose barbs ( boil a cup of water in the micro to soften the tubing before you force it on) I have hose clamps on the connections, but I swear they're so tight I don't really need them. Saves you a lot of headaches searching for leaks later. The only down side is when you (occasionally) remove the tubing from the barb, you have to cut it off flush with the end of the barb and then slit the side to get the little piece off. When you're troubleshooting foaming issues, remember: the beer is under pressure. As the beer flows through the tubing to the glass the pressure is drops. If there is still a big difference in pressure when it exits the tap, the co2 outgasses and turns the beer to foam. Line length balances the pressure by increasing pressure. Flow control taps help make minute adjustments.
2. Obtain 10 lb gas bottle.
3. Get the co2 tank from the gas retailer rather than the LHBS. If you buy a bright shiny new tank , you're going to loose it when you go to the gas shop and exchange it for a ratty rusty old steel tank. Some shops may refill your tank, most do exchange cylinders. If looking at the rusty steel tank offends your sensibilities, wrap it in Christmas paper. I mounted mine in the keezer, so I only have to look at the shutoff valve.
4. Feel free to use all the line length calculators to determine the proper length of the serving hoses. Then get 12 feet of 3/16", and trim if the pours are too slow. The first mistake I made was purchasing 1/4" bev hose and buying it according to the calculator. Longer is better, you can always trim it. Too short and you end with glasses of foam. ( By the way, do you want to buy 30 feet of slightly used 1/4" bev tubing?
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5. Get flow control taps. They allow you to increase resistance if a beer is foaming too much without gronking with the plumbing.
6. Include space and co2 supply in the keezer for one keg more than serving. When a keg kicks I always have another ready to go, Just move the serving line and discard the first glass of yeast.
7. Test fit everything in YOUR freezer. Don't worry about height, you're going to install a collar sized for the tallest element, which is probably going to be the keg sitting on the compressor hump. Don't forget space for 12 feet of coiled up bev tubing and gas regulator. Also, when moving a freezer, let it sight upright for 24 hours before you plug it in. Compressors with air bubbles in the Freon don't last long at all.
8. Remember that the shanks and tailpieces will stick into the space of the freezer. Locate the taps as much as possible between the kegs. Buy downturn tailpieces, and shanks as short as possible that still allow installation of nuts and tailpieces clear of the collar. Drill a hole through the 2x6 you bring to the LHBS and make them assemble a tap, shank and tailpiece to show you the relationship.I did neither and as a result I have to remove or move everything when I pull out a keg to replace it without tearing the bev tubing.
9. Secure the collar to the freezer with construction adhesive. Mount everything ( tap penetrations, temp controller, lid, mainfolds, etc) on, in and through the collar. Theoretically I could disassemble my keezer and return it to its original function. Also impossible to destroy the freezer by drilling through a Freon line.
10. Mount the collar flush with the INSIDE face of the freezer. This will get you as much space as possible and ensure the lid seals mate properly with your collar.
