Refrigerator or freezer?

[inhifistereo]

So I'm getting closer and closer to biting the bullet and getting either a refrigerator or freezer.

I wanna know what you have and why your's is or isn't the best to have.

On top of that, do I get an analog or digital controller?

 

[FireBrewer]

It's a lot of personal preference and advantages/disadvantages to each. I'm told some brewers have issues with getting refrigerators under 40°. I've never used one, but have no problems with my chest freezer hovering a nice lagering temp of 32-34°. Chest freezers do have a bigger footprint and then there's lifting a 5-gallon carboy/keg into and out of it. So it also depends on where you want to put it and what you plan on doing with it. So I'll put my vote in on past experience. YMMV.

As far as the controller, both work well. Digital's more expensive but you can cram the probe down a thermowell whereas the bulb on the typical analog one won't (you can get around this).

Cheers!

 

[the_bird]

Assuming this is for a kegerator, not a lagerator...

I went with a smallish (18 cuFt) fridge because part of the selling point for The Wife was that we would have more freezer space (little did she know that I would claim it all for beer supplies!). It's nice because I don't need an external controller, which means the freezer's cycle doesn't get all messed up.

If I were doing a lagerator, I'd probably go with a chest freezer; a little more efficient to run, IIRC, and cheaper to buy. This assumes you've got a back that can handle picking up and gently setting down full carboys. I just have a small dorm fridge right now (free), but am thinking about getting a small chest freezer to replace it when I've got a little more coin in my pocket.

Actually, if I were doing a kegerator-only setup - without needing the extra freezer space - I probably would have gotten a chest freezer. As it is, I can fit four full and one 3-gallon ball lock cornies in there; in an ideal world, I'd be able to get more like eight or nine, which I think I could do with a modified chest freezer for about the same price.

I ended up buying a cheap new fridge, too, mostly because delivery was free . What you end up buying may depend on what's available; lots of cheap stuff shows up on Craigslist all the time.

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

My wife bought me a Haier kegerator. i wish I had a freezer. I could lager and serve beer in it easier.

 

[inhifistereo]

I'll use it for lagering. Just don't drink my brews often enough to warrant the expense of kegging my beer. I end up giving most of my brews away. good karma never hurt anyone.

 

[conpewter]

I got a used fridge off Craigslist for free (had to watch for a few months) it was in great shape and if I turned it down I think it could freeze my beer in the fridge part (I keep it on setting 2 of 6 to get around 40 degrees).

The reason I went for this instead of a chest freezer is that I wanted to not have a temperature controller, and my wife (and I) wanted the extra freezer space without running another compressor in the house (I have a small chest freezer that is not in use currently).

I can fit 6 cornies (or 5 and a co2 tank) with no modification to the door at all. The fridge is all stock right now, though I will be drilling it to run cooled lines up to the kitchen to dispense soda and beer.