Kegging Options

[mjadeb1984]

Hi all,

busted open the money box the other week and decided i want to get a kegging setup going. at the moment i have at my disposal, 1 med size newish fridge/freezer (freezer ontop), 1 Big old fridge freezer (fridge ontop) and a work mate has offered me a chest freezer for $75 but it is quite small (i think it would struggle to fit more than 2 cornys in it.

ive come up with a few options and was hoping for abit of advice as to what people would think the best one would be. also any other ideas and advice is most welcome. budget is not a huge issue have about $1000 to throw around on getting this project running smoothly. but the better i manage the cash on this project the more i have for my brewery build.

option #1 use the new chesty as a keg fridge and medium size fridge for ferment, ditch the big oldy. would probably like at least 2 taps and a more room for a few more kegs so this option isnt ideal

option #2 medium fridge as the keg fridge and the biggun for ferment. my thoughts with this are. can i install the taps in the freezer door so they are up a bit higher?

option #3 buy a ready built kegerator from keg king or where ever. my worrys on this are an issue of quality vs price as I would rather source good quality gear and make something myself than get crap?

personally i do like the look of a big converted chesty with 3 or four taps on a nice font mounted on the top.

any thoughts and help would be great

Cheers
Mic

 

[benno1973]

Option #4.

Use one of the fridge/freezers for a fermenting fridge. Measure them carefully and determine how many fermenters you can fit in each one, and make the decision based on that. Obviously the better option would be the newer fridge, as it is less likely to crap itself, and if the fridge is at the bottom, it's less height to lift the fermenter in and out of the fridge. And better seals most likely, so it's probably more energy efficient.

Sell the other fridge. Put the money towards your chest freezer.

Thank your mate for the offer of his chesty, but decline. If it only fits 2 kegs, it's too small. You'll regret not being able to fit more kegs in there, be it now or in 2 years time. Do it once and do it right. Think of how many kegs you want to fit in the freezer, and then add a few for expansion in the coming years. Buy a bigger chest freezer that will accommodate this number. Alternatively, trawl this forum for someone in your area who's selling a chesty already converted. While the project is fun to build, you'll be surprised at how much it costs in the end, depending on the quality of taps, shanks, connectors, manifolds, etc. A 5-keg freezer might set you back around $1000 for the bare basics.

Either way, I highly recommend a large chest freezer, either DIY or buying pre-made.

As an aside, I used to have a KK fridge with font and taps. The fridges seem fine, mine ran efficiently for the 2 years I had it. The fonts and taps aren't the greatest quality, they'll do but they are pretty average. The major downfall is that it only accommodates 2 taps.

 

[JaseH]

Get yourself a decent sized chesty from gumtree or ebay for the keg system, keep whatever you have that is suitable for a ferm fridge and get rid of the rest.

Not worth persevering or wasting money on something that isn't ideal as you'll always regret not spending that little bit extra in the beginning for something your happy with. There are plenty of cheap suitable chest freezers second hand around if keep an eye out.

 

[mjadeb1984]

so the keg king kegerator is not the best option?

 

[JaseH]

so the keg king kegerator is not the best option?

No experience with one myself, but nothing wrong with it AFAIK if you will be happy with something like that. Some comments about cheap taps and font etc, but nothing that cant be upgraded/fixed if required.

 

[benno1973]

Not as far as I'm concerned. They're fine for what they are, but if you can, spend some money on decent taps and shanks, and something that will hold more kegs.

 

[mjadeb1984]

whats thoughts on running beer line up from the fridge through the freezer to have taps mounted up abit higher? i could always decommission to freezer part. also what is needed to run a flooded font?

 

[tiprya]

I'm pressed for space in my apartment, so I was planning on getting a Keg King kegerator, and then in the future upgrading the font and taps to 3 perlicks.

I assume a font like this will fit straight on:
http://www.thebeertapstore.com/3_faucet_be...wer_p/bt003.htm

I'd like a chesty as well, but the kegerators are pretty small and can still run 3 kegs.

 

[Diesel80]

I made a Keezer from a chesty, 220L i think.

Can fit 3 in the standard chesty next to the compressor hump, but with a collar to increase the height another 150mm i can fit 2 more on the compressor hump if needed.

Main issue with a keezer is lifting full kegs in. Bad for the back and is the only real downside to current setup. When it carks it i will consider confiscating the fridge from the kitchen and sending the Mrs off to get herself a new one for her kitchen, only to save my back.

Cheers,
D80

 

[mkstalen]

whats thoughts on running beer line up from the fridge through the freezer to have taps mounted up abit higher? i could always decommission to freezer part. also what is needed to run a flooded font?

You'll find it's probably a bit hard to "decommission" the freezer section as they're often tied to the function of the fridge part. Also running lines through the fridge to the freezer section to come out the door is likely to cause problems in 2 ways.
1. You may well drill through freezer condenser coils in the bottom of the freezer section which will ruin the fridge/freezer.
2. The beer in the lines in the freezer section will freeze.

The main thing I'd consider is where is the keg fridge going to live? How much room have you got there and what will look better?
A fridge with taps sticking out the front with a drip tray mounted on the front of the fridge, or a converted freezer with a font and drip tray on top...

My keg fridge lives out on the back deck and is fine with the drip tray sticking off the front. (although our little bloke is getting close to bashing his head on it which could prove a problem...)
If I was putting something inside the house I'd probably go a converted chest freezer.

Just my 2c.

 

[mjadeb1984]

yeah i think im leaning toward a full chesty build up just gotta keep my eyes open for a decent one.

cheers

 

[benno1973]

I'm pressed for space in my apartment, so I was planning on getting a Keg King kegerator, and then in the future upgrading the font and taps to 3 perlicks.

I assume a font like this will fit straight on:
http://www.thebeertapstore.com/3_faucet_be...wer_p/bt003.htm

I'd like a chesty as well, but the kegerators are pretty small and can still run 3 kegs.

I never tried it, but a word of warning. Some kegs are short and squat, some are tall and thin. The KK fridges fit 3 tall and thin kegs, *not* 3 short squat kegs as I found out.