Seltzer and Cider Kegerator setup

[Kris Winiarski]

Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing a smaller fridge (maybe ~4 cu ft) and using it to setup a kegging system for my homemade hard cider and seltzer. I've seen some older threads on this topic and was curious if folks had any recent thoughts. Apologies if I've missed any relevant threads.

A few questions:
Do folks recommend a particular model fridge?
Should I use a different setup for hard cider vs. beer (lines, tap, hardware, etc)?
Should I use a different tap for the higher psi seltzer or should I be fine with just using a longer line? I've read before maybe 30' for seltzer.
With that size fridge am I restricted to 3 gallon kegs?

I imagine there would be some frustration with that size keg with the potential loss of a day or two to pressurize. But maybe with 3 gallons it wouldn't be so bad? And perhaps with a bit more investment I could a keg or two ready to go for swapping out.

I am most excited by having seltzer on demand as we probably go through 4 cans a day but being able to just have half a glass of hard cider without opening a bottle would also be convenient. Plus I press lots of fresh cider and freeze which I could add to the seltzer keg.

 

[Genuine]

If you get one around 4.4 Cu ft you'll be able to fit 2 Corny kegs in there, I have a 4.3 cu ft fridge and I can just about fit 2 corny's. Depending on the serving pressure of your seltzer, you'll want longer lines to restrict the flow so it'll come out of the tap at a reasonable rate. I would keep 3 kegs on hand, one on deck and the other two serving. It'll take a good couple days to carbonate (depending if you force carb at 30-50psi) Cider or seltzer so take that into consideration.