Need help, buying a kegerator and kegs. What to buy and why

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TsunamiMike

TsunamiMike

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Need help! Looking to get a dual tap kegerator and two 1/6 kegs to carbonate.

I’m a rookie to this so any/all help is appreciated.

Can I get one that has the co2 tank on the inside or does that not matter?

Is a 12” tower ok or should I get a 14” instead?

Are standard faucets fine or are perlicks 630’s better and why?

I would like to use it for home brewing but can I buy a commercial 1/6 keg and use it as well? I heard there’s different tops...

Any other features that are important?

Any brands to look for?

I know I can pour into a growler but can I pour into a bottle and cap it?
 
TsunamiMike said:
Need help! Looking to get a dual tap kegerator and two 1/6 kegs to carbonate.

I’m a rookie to this so any/all help is appreciated.

Can I get one that has the co2 tank on the inside or does that not matter?
As always, opinions will vary, but in practice, it doesn’t matter.

Is a 12” tower ok or should I get a 14” instead?
I don’t see how 2” can make a difference (although that’s not what she said :cool: )

Are standard faucets fine or are perlicks 630’s better and why?
Any faucet which will dispense beer when the handle is pulled will work but, again, opinions will vary.

I would like to use it for home brewing but can I buy a commercial 1/6 keg and use it as well? I heard there’s different tops...
Commercial 1/6 bbl. kegs will use Sanke couplers (which combine the gas and liquid lines into a single fitting), homebrew kegs will use ball lock or pin lock fittings, and will have a separate connection each for gas and liquid. If you plan to keep both commercial brews and homebrew on tap it would make sense to standardize on Sanke kegs.

Any other features that are important?
Not to me, but I’m easy to please.

Any brands to look for?
That would depend on whether you want to buy a dedicated beer dispensing appliance or convert a conventional refrigerator or freezer into a kegerator/keezer.
I know I can pour into a growler but can I pour into a bottle and cap it?
Yes, you can.
Click to expand...
 
I would agree with @grampamark!
CO2 tank inside or out? Doesn't matter but I prefer it being outside so I have more room in the unit for kegs.​
​
I don't have a tower or experience but I can't see a reason why one is better than the other with only 2' inches.​
​
Faucets will very from person to person. I have the intertap flow control faucets and love them!​
​
I have ball lock corny kegs for home brew, but I have sanke taps that I can swap out and with the ball lock connections if needed. I have tossed around the idea of buying a kit to put ball lock connectors on a sanke tap but I have not done that yet. I buy commercial kegs once in a blue moon.​
​
The only feature I would say to consider is to look into the flow control faucets. You do not need to have very long beer lines to balance them out. Theres a lot of info on here regarding how to balance these lines but the flow control faucets really help out making it a non-issue.​
​
Not sure about brands but I would buy another used fridge off of Craigslist and convert it if needed. I have a side by side where the "freezer" side holds my kegs and the "fridge" side is my beer fridge/fermentation chamber when beer is fermenting.​
​
Yes you can fill bottles off the tap. There's a lot of info about doing that on HBT too.​
​
Good luck and cheers!
 
@grampamark I am looking for an appliance to sit next to my bar and popcorn machine in my media room. I like the finished look and I am not handy at all. I read that the standard taps on the Kegco 309 stick sometimes and was told the perlick upgrade was the way to go. I dont know anything else...lol

@pshankstar why is the flow control taps so great? I am looking for a stand alone device as I have already built a fermentation chamber.
 
TsunamiMike said:
@pshankstar why is the flow control taps so great? I am looking for a stand alone device as I have already built a fermentation chamber.
Click to expand...
The flow control faucets do not require you to have long beer lines to keep the beer balanced and reduce foaming. Some setups without flow control faucets require say 15 feet of beer line to keep it balanced, I have only 3 feet of beer line with the flow control faucets. It’s less beer sitting in the line and less to deal with in the kegerator too.
Again it’s preference and not a necessity, but it’s what I wanted and really enjoy them. Cheers!
 
TsunamiMike said:
OK so i found these to go on the top of a sankey tank to convert to ball lock and they just screw onto the top:

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/SANKE-BALL-LOCK-BEER-SIDE-CONVERTER-P3338.aspx?afid=14
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...on-Parts/Sankey-Ball-Lock-Beer-Side-Converter
Anyone use these, seems like a perfect marriage for $20.
Click to expand...
I've used them and they're pretty nice if you only rarely have a sanke keg. Not sure what you mean by tank, but they screw onto the sanke tap (and also the back side of a shank).
 
Alright so I think this is what i am going to get;

https://www.beveragefactory.com/dra...gco-hbk163b-2-digital-homebrew-kegerator.html
-Adding a 14" tower with the 2 perlick ss faucets
-upgrading to the Ball Lock Becker Home Brew Keg Tap MFL Coupler Set
-upgrading to the Pro Series Two Pressure Primary CO2 Draft Beer Regulator Battery <so i can force carb in one keg and serve in another with different psi settings>

Also I am getting Keg Coupler Adapter Kit - Gas and Liquid Posts <so I can use a commercial keg when needed> and then 2 new corney kegs

Thoughts? SHould I look at something else?
 
The above setup is $912 with the dual pressure Co2 reg and perlick 630SS faucets

I also have seen the Komos V2 with intertap faucets which is $868 or the Kegland series X which is $959

UGH, not enough info out there...
 
The Komos has much better beer line than the Kegco, which helps with shorter line length and less oxidation. If you decide on the Kegco version, you should order it without a tower and buy something like the tower below. The EvaBarrier lines are a huge upgrade over standard beer line. And since the Kegco can fit 3 kegs, you should absolutely get 3 taps - even if you don't plan on using the third one in the short term.


https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...unts/Intertap-Triple-Complete-Stainless-Tower
 
That Kosmos is an nice option. I love the EVA Barrier tubing with the duo tight fittings. Was my main concern about the Kegco unit above. Pretty cool to be able to get 4 kegs in there.
 
I don't have much experience, only one kegerator that I got used. I can share what I've experienced, but some of the more experienced brewers are probably going to come along and correct me.

One thing that I didn't think of before I bought mine is how many beers I'd want on tap. Turns out more is better, unless you drink them more quickly than I do. Mine holds two regular corny kegs, or three if I use low profile one (that slides under the overhead hump for the compressor. It is a 24x24 unit, so I think I'd go for the next larger size.

No opinion about towers or taps, except to say that more seems like better. I have a three tap tower that I plan to install one of these days. It was designed for one commercial keg, so it came with a one tap tower.

You can swap in commercial kegs. The commercial kegs used different connectors (sanke?) and there are several types depending on where in the world the beer comes from (not actual knowledge, googled it). My setup came with two different ones (that I've never used).

Water - I wasn't expecting this, but I suspect it may be a result of the cycling on and off with resultant melting of ice. It comes out the bottom, I'd think if your kegerator was well sealed (from air intrusion) and you mostly kept the door shut, this would be less of an issue? I open the door to pour beer from party taps, so may be creating my own problems. It is in the garage, so I don't sweat it, but if it was in the house, I might. I bought one of those desiccant things (recharges by plugging it in) and that has helped a lot.

Temp control - I use an Inkbird 308 on my kegerator (and the wifi version of the same is going on my fermenter fridge). It stays right around 41 degrees give or take (except when I open the door a lot).

Also, chalkboard tap handles are cool. I have some that I plan to use with chalk "markers". Low tech, but I expect to be useful. I brew a lot of IPAs and keeping them straight is tricky sometimes.

Agree on the vapor barrier tubing. I use screw on gas connectors. Seems less likely to leak, but I don't have facts to support that.

I have a manifold inside the kegerator so I could do four kegs. One other thing to consider is a dual regulator so if you need to keep some beers at a different pressure. I have a belgian quad that needs more co2 to carbonate than the dispensing pressure. This way I can carbonate my quad at higher pressure at the same time as I serve the other kegs at low pressure.

If I were to do it over, I think I'd opt for a refrigerator with taps in the door, or a kezeer. In fact, I may still do that. i was enamored with the idea of a commercial kegerator.
 
Last edited:
If I were to not have already built my kegerator, I would have gotten the Komos V2 with 4 taps, without a question! I had already built my kegerator when that was finally released to the US. I was aware of it when I was building mine, but there was an unknown release date to the US. I use the EVABarrier tubing in my build, Intertap faucets, and the duotight fittings! I enjoy mine, but would have totally purchased that if it was available at the time. Money wise it was about the same for me to build a 4 tap keezer.
 
I am very new to brewing, but I just purchased a Kegco BF Z1635s-2NK from BeverageFactory.com. I upgraded the tower, ball valves, 2 5 gallon ball lock kegs, and everything else you need for a kegerator for just under 1300.00 with delivery. The salesman was super nice and walked me through everything I would need to keg my beer. I thought I got a pretty good deal.
 
TsunamiMike said:
The above setup is $912 with the dual pressure Co2 reg and perlick 630SS faucets

I also have seen the Komos V2 with intertap faucets which is $868 or the Kegland series X which is $959

UGH, not enough info out there...
Click to expand...
Call them!!! You will get a better deal if you call them. Do not just order it online!! I saved 275.00 calling them!!!!
 

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TsunamiMike said:
Alright so I think this is what i am going to get;

https://www.beveragefactory.com/dra...gco-hbk163b-2-digital-homebrew-kegerator.html
-Adding a 14" tower with the 2 perlick ss faucets
-upgrading to the Ball Lock Becker Home Brew Keg Tap MFL Coupler Set
-upgrading to the Pro Series Two Pressure Primary CO2 Draft Beer Regulator Battery <so i can force carb in one keg and serve in another with different psi settings>

Also I am getting Keg Coupler Adapter Kit - Gas and Liquid Posts <so I can use a commercial keg when needed> and then 2 new corney kegs

Thoughts? SHould I look at something else?
Click to expand...
Looks perfect
 

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