should i get it?

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sportscrazed2

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the store i work at has a 5.3" cubic foot chest freezer on sale for $159.99 coming with the equivelent amount of free food coupons. the only problem i can see is that it has somewhat of a step on the side. i would like to get 2 kegs in if possible even if i have to leave co2 outside. the sale ends today so i would have to go get it today. what do you think should i get it? or hold off for something larger?
 
Quite often the Craigslist route can unearth some gems, but it can also provide issues. Older freezers gobble energy, and can end up costing more down the road. Add to that, the fact that buying used, you never know what you get. Friend of mine snagged a 7cf one (Kenmore, I think?) for $100 - the thing ran constantly, had problems getting down to cold temps, and after two weeks it crapped out. So IF you go the Craigslist route, tell the seller to have it plugged in and running when you get there, so you can make sure it's working. (There's also the transportation issue, if you don't have a truck. And actually, someone might need to chime in here to verify if a freezer is safe to go on it's side after it's been running. Regardless of that, wait 36-48 hours to plug it in if you do transport one on it's side).

If your choice is the wee one for $159, or the 7.2 for $60 more, my advice would be get the bigger one. The difference between being able to add the extra kegs is huge, and you'll always need more than you think. Trust me - I built a keezer that could handle six kegs, thinking it'd be MORE than enough, but within six months built another one in the garage that can hold four. And now both are full, and I have two batches that are ready to be kegged, with nowhere to put them.

Then again, it's not my money, and I dunno how big a step the $60 is. But in this case, methinks it'd be $60 you wouldn't regret. (Altho the $150 in coupons is hard to say no to, too)
 
I would go with the bigger of the two. I have capacity for 9 kegs in my keezer and it's full. This becomes even more important if you cold crash or lager. On mine I have 6 kegs for serving and I quickly fill up the other 3 spots with lagering kegs or kegs that I want to start carbing up when one of the 6 serving kegs kick.

Obviously you need room for the additional freezer size but I'm glad I went with a large keezer. I did buy mine through craigslist and it was made in 1994 but was in immaculate shape. If you are thinking of buying a used one it always helps to know who the manufacturer is. Knowing this you can google how to find the date it was manufactured based on the serial code on the freezer. I negotiated the price down quite a bit just based on knowing the age of it.
 
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