Keezer Vs Kegerator

[UsernameTaken]

A friend who set up a great keezer last year was disappointed to have it break down and has since been advised that freezers are not designed to run at such a high temp and will always eventually fail.

However, it seems many people here graduate from a Kegerator to a keezer and experience no such problems!

Any comments?

Cheers,
UNT

 

[earle]

I turned a second hand chesty into a keezer. Has been going strong for about 2 1/2 years so far.

Did you friend have cladding or something around the freezer. They do need to emit heat through the sides and cladding would probably shorten the freezer's life. I do have a cabinet around mine but have pc fans to ventilate.

 

[UsernameTaken]

It was just free standing in an insulated shed. No cladding as far as I know?

 

[Tony121]

No issue running a freezer at fridge temps. At the end of the day it is the same refrigeration system cycling to maintain ~0 deg. C via a controller instead of -18 deg. C using it's own thermostat.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I have a kegerator (All fridge) for my kegs an taps for serving. I also have a chest freezer running at fridge temps (4C) via an STC controller for chilling/conditioning spare full kegs and various other beers.

I've found the chest freezer builds up ice on the inside particularly on the floor. Also having something touch any of the sides will typically freezer the liquid as the freezer walls rely on natural convection to keep the entire cavity at 4C (so the walls when the compressor is running are at something like -15C). While it's not a show stopper and I continue to use it, purely to avoid having to "deal" with icing/condensation I will always go a kegerator or all fridge for my kegs and serving purposes.

I do like the geometry of a keezer more than a fridge, purely aesthetically, however my all fridge is so practical as I have 2 shelves above the kegs for bottled beers and also some door shelves for yeast vials, carb caps, hop shots etc. Even glasses fit under my keg shelf I built in so I could fit 4 kegs. But that's my 2c.

 

[UsernameTaken]

Thats awesome DJ. Must be a pretty tall fridge with all that space. I have a pretty similar set up but not quite as much shelf space as you!

I also notice your lines are pretty short?

I have 3 meters on each keg as advised by my home brew shop and it's a pain in the arse having line tangled up all over the place.

What pressure do you serve at with such short lines or is there more line hidden from view?

Cheers,
UNT

 

[peteru]

Flow control taps?

 

[Kumamoto_Ken]

Thats awesome DJ. Must be a pretty tall fridge with all that space. I have a pretty similar set up but not quite as much shelf space as you!

I also notice your lines are pretty short?

I have 3 meters on each keg as advised by my home brew shop and it's a pain in the arse having line tangled up all over the place.

What pressure do you serve at with such short lines or is there more line hidden from view?

Cheers,
UNT

peteru has got it I think UNT. They look like flow control taps.

 

[UsernameTaken]

So does that mean you can operate with shorter line with flow control?

I have picnic taps at the moment but have just bought 3 Perlick FC's!

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Yes it does! I typically have my regulator sitting at 90 kPa and find this a good carbonation level in conjunction with the fridge temp (around 2-4C). I simply use the thermostat of the fridge and have it set at 3 out of 7 (7 being the coldest setting which I found was freezing my beers in bottles).

Also my lines are about 1.2m, just enough to be neat and tidy and allow fridge door to be opened and closed. I've since mounted the lines through a couple of brackets. Sometimes they "pull" on the kegs when I open the door but I am careful. Only happens when the kegs are almost empty and at their lightest.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Photo probably describes this better...

 

[UsernameTaken]

Thanks DJ, very cool.

On another note. I have 20 amp circuit breaker running the power points in my shed and have 2 fridges and a 40 litre urn and a 8 litre urn for brew day.

I love the idea of a 3rd fridge for carbonating and condition but I worry I would max out the circuit?

How does this go for you?

I currently have no problems with 2 fridges!

Cheers,
UNT

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Check the compressor plate or data plate on all of the devices and add up the Amps rating, if it's below 20A you should be fine!

 

[Tony121]

Worst case, you could also turn a fridge off whilst brewing if need be, you won't lose too much condition for such a short period.

 

[JDW81]

I have 3 meters on each keg as advised by my home brew shop and it's a pain in the arse having line tangled up all over the place.

What pressure do you serve at with such short lines or is there more line hidden from view?

I have a similar setup to DJ (in fact I have a couple of his old kegs, which haven't skipped a beat!!).

I have about 1m of line per keg, running through perlick flow control taps. I carbonate and serve at about 13 PSI, and use the flow restrictor to prevent excessive foaming.

If you're in the market for new taps then I'd recommend flow control taps (perlick and intertap both have good reviews). Means you don't have to fanny about with different line lengths when trying to get your pour right.

JD

 

[Jrrj]

I haven't had any trouble with my chest freezers yet (secondhand Fisher and Paykel, one has been set at ~ 20 degrees for a couple of years now as a fermentation chamber, the other at four degrees for about a year as a fridge). What I do remember reading is that the compressor doesn't like to cycle on and off constantly, so to help matters out I set a wide temperature range +- 2 degrees of the set temperature, and a generous hysteresis too. This means the compressor rarely turns on so really it should be doing less work than as a traditional freezer and should therefore be fine presumably.

To your other point of which is best, I have a KK kegerator and that is what I use for draught beer day to day, but that is mostly because I never got around to putting a collar on the chest fridge so it is half done. If I had to choose between them I'd go the freezer because 1) it holds cold temperatures in summer much more easily, 2) can be opened without losing all its cool air (front-opening fridge can't), 3) has more space per dollar of purchase price (second that is).