Kegging: Should I buy a fridge or a chest freezer

[eddiewould]

Hey guys,

I've got a whole lot of LHBS gift vouchers (birthday and Xmas) so I thought I'd get into kegging. My plan is to filter, force-carbonate in the keg and then use a beer-gun to fill bottles.

I've been told that I'll need to get the keg cold to be able to force carbonate and fill bottles with a beer gun. Problem is, I don't have a spare fridge/freezer so I'll need to get one.

Am I better off buying a fridge or a freezer and if so, why? NB I also plan to use the fridge/freezer for temperate control at some stage. And *possibly* for lagering, however I don't tend to brew lagers.

Here in Wellington the temperate range is pretty good for brewing, almost never gets above 25c (77F) except in the middle of summer - it never gets above 30c. In winter it doesn't really get much below 12c indoors.

If I buy a second-hand fridge or freezer, what do I need to look out for? Minimum size etc etc.


Cheers,
Eddie

 

[davekippen]

Lots of personal choices here. I am cashing in my keezer for a stand up fridge. I hate the condensation in it. Its always wet and actually gets moldy sometimes. I have a fan circulating and one of those stupid moisture catcher things but its still always got water in the bottom.

Plus, I am tired of lifting kegs in and out of the dang thing!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Freezers work great as keezers, but as said above, and especially if you live in a humid climate, they tend to trap moisture and condensation and get nasty swampy moldy. They are more energy efficient.

Fridges work great and don't get wet like a freezer.

I have used both, and currently am using a bottom freezer full size fridge.

 

[haeffnkr]

I studied this a long time before I setup my kegerator and went with a full size refrigerator.
Why?
A refrigerator takes up less floor space
A refrigerator is a LOT easier to get kegs in and out of ( and will hold 6 kegs )
A top freezer/refrigerator is great for keeping hops/mugs/ice in the freezer
A refrigerator with a big door is nice to put bottles and yeast and other stuff in the door
Used refrigerators are cheaper than freezers and easier to find
A refrigerator will not need a separate temp controller

Why not?
Um...
Some day I would like to get more than 6 kegs in the kegerator... but that is why they make more refrigerators

Note -
I put my taps on the side, not the door... I would strongly advise you to do that if you use a refrigerator... 6 kegs worth of hoses moving around every time you open the door would make me cuss... a lot.

Also about your other plans... unless you brew one beer at a time, with no overlap of other brews, using the kegerator as a ferment chamber would be a bit troublesome.
See the STC-1000 temp controller and get another cheap used small dorm refrigerator and save yourself some trouble.

Have fun
Kevin

 

[Roadie]

I get 8 kegs in my keezer and I think keezers look better than fridges with tap handles.

 

[DanH]

I like chest freezers, but lifting full kegs sucks.

 

[haeffnkr]

I get 8 kegs in my keezer and I think keezers look better than fridges with tap handles.

I agree, and I actually have a refrigerator with tap handles

 

[eddiewould]

Assuming most of the time it's going to be OFF ie not doing anything, which is going to get down to temperature faster / use less energy doing so?

PS I only brew about once every 3mo so overlap not really a problem.

 

[ja09]

I have both and I love my fridge for kegging. Get tons of use out of the freezer and doors for all things brewing. It fits more kegs and takes up less space. The chest freezer is now a ferm chamber, and works well for that..besides the lifting.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[rossi46]

I have a 3 tap keezer and a 4 tap fridge. The fridge gets the bulk of the quick moving kegs while the keezer gets the slower consumed kegs because it's a heck of a lot easier to get kegs in and out of the fridge.

 

[wilserbrewer]

A freezer should use less energy.

 

[Yooper]

Assuming most of the time it's going to be OFF ie not doing anything, which is going to get down to temperature faster / use less energy doing so?

PS I only brew about once every 3mo so overlap not really a problem.

If you aren't going to actually store kegs in the fridge, or pour from them, I wouldn't even bother with kegging.

The convenience of kegging, along with the ability to pour a beer when you want one is gone if you're bottling from the keg. If I was going to keg, I'd plan to keep the beer in the keg and serve from the kegerator, and not bottle anyway. If you're bottling every batch anyway, I"d skip the kegging.