Beer Snobs Chime in - Kegerator

[FallenHero]

So, the wife has authorized the purchase of a Kegerator. 500 from the joint fund has been authorized, but I am more then willing to throw in a couple hundred more from my own account to make sure I get some quality.

That being said, there is a ton of variety out there and it's difficult to sort through the good and bad.

I was looking at this one since it has a digital temp control and a fan on the inside for better cooling. But shipping is 99 bucks...I'd rather just go pick one up and save myself the cash.

So I need a little help on 1) What to look for 2) What retail stores in the Chicagoland (Western Burbs) would I look at to at least see them in person.

 

[TonyG]

I would look for one that fits 3 1/6 barrel kegs, and put a triple tap tower on it, that way you can have a variety of beer on tap. I would also change out the cheap faucet for a perlick 525SS faucet, or at least a chrome plated perlick faucet. The cheap ones are bad about sticking after a day or two of non-use, and can just about glue themselves shut after a week of so of not being used. Digital temperature gauges are nice, as well as the fan, but you can always add a fan into whichever one you buy. I would also recommend atleast a 5lb co2 tank, and better yet a 20lb tank if you have room outside of the kegerator.
If you enjoy building things, you should look into a keezer.
I personally have a Haier kegerator with triple tap tower that I use for my home brewed beer.

 

[FallenHero]

Good call with the faucet. Didn't even think about the quality of it at all to be honest. The wife mentioned learning to love Sam Adams but I suppose a double tap would just be easier for us both.

Does it make a difference in terms of quality if the co2 tank is inside the fridge or not? Obviously a 20lbs tank would not fit inside it.

 

[Markbnj]

That would be so awesome, but how could I keep my teenagers from having a damn field day when my back is turned? Do kegerators have parental controls?

 

[Ayrahvon]

Build your own and go with a keezer! Easy to build, easy to regulate temp, fun to do yourself!

Here's a simple how to:

http://billybrew.com/kegerator-collar

You can do a lot with this type of setup, make it into an entire built in bar!

 

[effowe]

Costco has this, I believe my buddy has this same one.

http://www.costco.com/Haier-BrewMaster-Kegerator-Black.product.11488523.html

 

[FallenHero]

That would be so awesome, but how could I keep my teenagers from having a damn field day when my back is turned? Do kegerators have parental controls?

They have ones with key locks on the doors and on the tap

 

[TonyG]

Good call with the faucet. Didn't even think about the quality of it at all to be honest. The wife mentioned learning to love Sam Adams but I suppose a double tap would just be easier for us both.

Does it make a difference in terms of quality if the co2 tank is inside the fridge or not? Obviously a 20lbs tank would not fit inside it.

You can always change out the tower later, or even drill a second hole in the existing tower that comes with the kegerator for a second tap. If you want to go that route, I would try to find one that comes with a 3" tower, but it can be done with a 2.5" tower. Either way, I would definitely change out the faucet to a Perlick faucet from the start.

No, quality wise it doesn't matter if the co2 is inside or out of the fridge. I prefer to keep it out of mine when using the 20lb tank so that I can fit a 3rd keg in the fridge, while the 5lb tank can live inside fridge and still have room for 3 kegs. I am using 5 gallon soda kegs in mine, but they are similar in size to sixtel kegs.

 

[dougp]

I have a keezer - built it myself with an integrated temp controller. It can hold 4 5-gal kegs and a 5lb CO2 on the hump. I use copper tubes to keep the lines cool in the tower and I'm ready to add a 3rd faucet whenever I feel like it. The top has chalkboard paint on it with the rest being a matte black. You can get plenty of ideas over at HBT DIY section - http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/

 

[mmntech]

Wouldn't mind building one of these with my dad over the winter. My granddad had an antique beer engine (hand pump as opposed to CO2), which is still installed in my grandma's basement. The thing needs some serious TLC but I'd love to have it going again.

 

[n7]

I have a keezer - built it myself with an integrated temp controller. It can hold 4 5-gal kegs and a 5lb CO2 on the hump. I use copper tubes to keep the lines cool in the tower and I'm ready to add a 3rd faucet whenever I feel like it. The top has chalkboard paint on it with the rest being a matte black. You can get plenty of ideas over at HBT DIY section - http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/

awesome :biggrin:

 

[dougp]

Wouldn't mind building one of these with my dad over the winter. My granddad had an antique beer engine (hand pump as opposed to CO2), which is still installed in my grandma's basement. The thing needs some serious TLC but I'd love to have it going again.

I don't remember, but do you homebrew? This months issue of Zymurgy or BYO has a beer engine from scratch for real ale. Shows you how to make a low-pressure CO2 line to keep the beer carbonated so it doesn't go flat with the hand pump.

 

[Chaotic42]

Who drinks beer at 32°?

 

[Crusty]

Who drinks beer at 32°?

I do when I'm lagering

 

[Markbnj]

They have ones with key locks on the doors and on the tap

Sweet. That would do it.

 

[Instan00dles]

I have a keezer - built it myself with an integrated temp controller. It can hold 4 5-gal kegs and a 5lb CO2 on the hump. I use copper tubes to keep the lines cool in the tower and I'm ready to add a 3rd faucet whenever I feel like it. The top has chalkboard paint on it with the rest being a matte black. You can get plenty of ideas over at HBT DIY section - http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/

Ive got the same temperature controller in my keezer, I am wondering where you have you probe located inside? I have mine in a jug of water but by using that I cant get the beer cold enough without the water jug freezing. Love the chalk paint btw.

 

[dougp]

Ive got the same temperature controller in my keezer, I am wondering where you have you probe located inside? I have mine in a jug of water but by using that I cant get the beer cold enough without the water jug freezing. Love the chalk paint btw.

Its run up the back and just sits in open air. I was going to to mount it in a White Labs vial but I can't find my empty one. The water freezes because the freezer walls are turning on at sub-freezing levels, try putting a few inches of wood between the jug and freezer. I just set the temp at 2.5C and let it do its thing.

 

[colonelciller]

i prefer the term beer enthusiast

 

[sourceninja]

I went the keezer approach too. I tried a few off the shelf kegerators and they all failed to keep the beer at a good temp, and the towers were pretty shitty (not chilled, etc).

I didn't go with a tower approach, I went with a collar. Just took the lid off the freezer, made a wood box, cauked it down and hooked the lid back up to the wood. Finally drilled a few holes to mount the taps and insulated the inside.

Works great and I can keep 5 beers on tap. I think I was 600 in the whole build.

 

[dougp]

I went with a tower because it was free. You can build a PVC one easily if that's the look you're going for. If you don't include my collar screw up, total cost for me was about $150.

 

[KMFJD]

Have had bad experience with the Danby Kegerator, the fridge broke 2 times in 2 years.

 

[Codewiz]

I second the being a keezer approach. There are many styles that you can use. I built a wooden collar and put taps through the collar. My keezer can hold 4 kegs (5 gallon corny kegs) if I moved my co2 tank outside of the keezer but with the tank inside, I can hold 3 kegs.

I already had the freezer so it just cost me about $300 for the wood, PID, perlick faucet, and various supplies.

 

[dougp]

Have had bad experience with the Danby Kegerator, the fridge broke 2 times in 2 years.

A lot of people on HBT use Danby mini-fridges - not the kegerators (well, some have them), because they can hold two 5gal cornies since the freezer compartment is removable, unlike a lot of mini-fridges.

 

[mmntech]

I don't remember, but do you homebrew? This months issue of Zymurgy or BYO has a beer engine from scratch for real ale. Shows you how to make a low-pressure CO2 line to keep the beer carbonated so it doesn't go flat with the hand pump.

No, I don't. I did consider it back when I was looking for real cider about a year ago.

 

[FallenHero]

Keezer would be solid, but I think that I will have to wait on it until I finish my garage (years down the road) or finish the basement (again, years away). But I def will do that once I complete the basement project.