Want to Purchase a Kegerator

[clibbey89]

I'm brand new to homebrewing, but I had a really good experience with a homebrewing contest at work (it's an Austin company, don't even worry about it ). I'm ready to venture out on my own now.

I'm not the most handy of guys (more of a tech nerd), so I'm looking for a mostly finished homebrew kegerator. Any suggestions? What am I looking for, specifically? I've read that PSI makes all the difference and the beer tube should also be 6' to 10'. Those seem easy. What separates a good homebrew keg from a bad one?

Any advice helps here. Help!!

 

[clibbey89]

I'm brand new to homebrewing, but I had a really good experience with a homebrewing contest at work (it's an Austin company, don't even worry about it ). I'm ready to venture out on my own now.

I'm not the most handy of guys (more of a tech nerd), so I'm looking for a mostly finished homebrew kegerator. Any suggestions? What am I looking for, specifically? I've read that PSI makes all the difference and the beer tube should also be 6' to 10'. Those seem easy. What separates a good homebrew keg from a bad one?

Any advice helps here. Help!!

I also know that I want to be able to fit the CO2 tank in the kegerator. I found this unit: http://www.kegerator.com/EdgeStar-C...ainless-Steel-Black/DBC120KEG,default,pd.html

However, I don't like the door. Thoughts?

 

[Hammy71]

Any commercial keggerator (Sears sells them for example), can easily be converted for home brew. You'll just need to swap out the keg coupler that comes with it for connectors that fit your home brew kegs. Simple answer for used home brew kegs? Make sure they seal and hold pressure.

 

[beaksnbeer]

You can also try Sam's club/ W-mart. Sams had one last time I was there around 400 but would fit 2-4 cornies bigger selection online

 

[certaut]

a tech nerd

I been using a arduino thermostat to control a chest freezer. Works like a champ and with the dallas 1 wire you can control 4 seperate things on one board. I am almost finished with the sous vide controller just waiting for the ssr.

 

[chally]

I recently upgraded to kegging, but I am not a DIY type (for starters, I don't own a drill). I wanted a relatively cheap single-tap pre-made kegerator (single tap because I don't brew that often and would use the kegerator as a part-time fermentation chamber. Partly because I trust Amazon customer service, I went with this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XMKE5S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Naturally, the first one I recieved was defective, but Amazon replaced it free of charge. The replacement has worked fine for a basic unit. I should note, however, that I've probably dumped another $500 or more (and a lot of time and energy) into upgrades and accessories. I quickly bought a Perlick faucet, barrier beer lines, a growler filler, a temperature controller, a shiny new keg and disconnects. After all that, I'm very pleased with my unit, but ideally I would have built it from the ground up to be able to customize it even more.

 

[zachattack]

I should note, however, that I've probably dumped another $500 or more (and a lot of time and energy) into upgrades and accessories. I quickly bought a Perlick faucet, barrier beer lines, a growler filler, a temperature controller, a shiny new keg and disconnects. After all that, I'm very pleased with my unit, but ideally I would have built it from the ground up to be able to customize it even more.

$500 for that stuff? Growler filler $6, 100' of barrier tubing is $40, a 525SS is $40, aquarium temp controller $20, new ball lock $150, disconnects $15. That's $271, you spent twice that? Even with an off-the shelf temp controller like a Johnson that's still a whole lot more than it should be.

 

[chally]

$500 for that stuff? Growler filler $6, 100' of barrier tubing is $40, a 525SS is $40, aquarium temp controller $20, new ball lock $150, disconnects $15. That's $271, you spent twice that? Even with an off-the shelf temp controller like a Johnson that's still a whole lot more than it should be.

I never said it was $500 for just that stuff. But that's beside the point. My point was that, even with a "mostly finished" kegerator (which is what the OP wants), there are still so many things that one can upgrade or customize that it may make more sense to go the DIY route and only buy the things that you want (rather than paying for a complete kegerator that comes with parts you might replace before you ever use).

 

[zachattack]

Gotcha. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk! Those are definitely all worthy upgrades, I was just concerned that you overpaid by a ton. I hate to see money wasted when it could go towards keeping that kegerator full

 

[chally]

Gotcha. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk! Those are definitely all worthy upgrades, I was just concerned that you overpaid by a ton. I hate to see money wasted when it could go towards keeping that kegerator full

No worries. I appreciate you looking out for me.

I recently upgraded a bunch of my brewing equiptment at the same time, so my off-the-cuff guess is probably high. But it's pretty easy to spend $200-300 on upgrades to a commercial kegerator before you even pull your first pint.

 

[zachattack]

At least it sneaks up on you! I built a keezer and it was WHAM all at once to my wallet

 

[clibbey89]

Thanks for all of the feedback, guys. Do you have separate apparatus for fermenting and dispensing? Do you know of anything that can handle both functions? Just trying to keep the $$$ that I spend on this low upfront.

 

[Gartywood]

I have seen units that will hold 3 Cornies or 1/6 barrel commercial kegs for under 600

 

[chally]

Thanks for all of the feedback, guys. Do you have separate apparatus for fermenting and dispensing? Do you know of anything that can handle both functions? Just trying to keep the $$$ that I spend on this low upfront.

I personally ferment in my kegerator, though that obviously means I can't simultaneously serve beer. Since a new keg of beer takes ~3 weeks to carb, I carb at fermentation temps over that time while fermenting the new brew. I then lower to serving temps and cold age the fermenting beer until the kegged beer is kicked. Clean the keg, transfer, and brew another batch.

Eventually I would like to move to a dedicated fermentation freezer, but we don't have a lot of space in the apartment, so it's baby steps for me.