Looking for fancy underbench keg setup for outdoor kitchen

[jkmeldrum]

Hi guys

I already have a kegerator that I made using a chest freezer - works great, BUT.......moved into a new house and we're about to do a fancy outdoor kitchen and SWMBO has put the foot down! I can have my beer on tap - but it must look slick! Has to be underbench mounted with font coming through benchtop. Must either be stainless steel, or part of an underbench refrigeration setup with glass doors. Fine by me....got the go-ahead to spend money on beer related refrigeration and dispensing....

Some problems encountered - kegerators from kegking and the like, are fine but don't really integrate well and they need space around them for ventilation.
Most underbench outdoor bar fridges have a step at the back which pretty much takes them out of the equation (such as bar fridges australia).
My online searching has led me to the good old US of A and of course they have awesome stuff over there, but it doesn't look like I can get them in Oz??

These are the types of setups I'm interested in.....does anybody know if there's anybody I can talk to about getting something like these?..... They must be front venting, able to be mounted underbench and suitable for outdoor use.

Thanks

Molly

View attachment perlick.pdf

View attachment true kegerator.pdf

 

[Zorco]

Great question. I don't know first hand, but will follow with interest.

 

[malt junkie]

Similar to the true type keggerators are availble here but not cheap. The standard keggerators do need a little space, however you can engineer around this with a few silent fans to reduce those gaps. You haven't state how many taps you want.

There are more ways to accomplish this than there are beer styles. Mostly it will come down to budget, location and number of taps required.

 

[dannymars]

Those seem waaaaaay over priced.

Surely you could just buy a nice font and mount it to an outside bench... then just use a plate chiller or coils in an ice chest under the bench for chilling... only needs about one bag of ice for a whole afternoon and evening... This would cost you a few hundred dollars max.

 

[n87]

Grays have a catering auction starting next week (i think) in SA, maybe worth a look at the offering when the list is released.
Just dont forget to add the buyers premium and GST ontop of your bid price (a dirty practice)

 

[earle]

Similar to the true type keggerators are availble here but not cheap. The standard keggerators do need a little space, however you can engineer around this with a few silent fans to reduce those gaps. You haven't state how many taps you want.

Not an underbench setup, but I used fans to reduce the clearances around the freezer in my setup.

 

[jkmeldrum]

Thanks everyone for the replies.......I know that sort of setup isn't going to be cheap, but to be honest - it doesn't really matter. It's not that I'm rich, but we don't really go out, we entertain a lot, we've got a nice new house and want it to look just right. I just can't seem to fine anything top end here in Australia!

 

[jkmeldrum]

Grays have a catering auction starting next week (i think) in SA, maybe worth a look at the offering when the list is released.
Just dont forget to add the buyers premium and GST ontop of your bid price (a dirty practice)

Thanks, I'll have a look for that one and see what they've got

 

[jkmeldrum]

Those seem waaaaaay over priced.

Surely you could just buy a nice font and mount it to an outside bench... then just use a plate chiller or coils in an ice chest under the bench for chilling... only needs about one bag of ice for a whole afternoon and evening... This would cost you a few hundred dollars max.

Dannymars, I've sort of got that setup now with my kegerator, and I could build it in, but it's going to look amateur......I really want this to look pro!

 

[jkmeldrum]

Similar to the true type keggerators are availble here but not cheap. The standard keggerators do need a little space, however you can engineer around this with a few silent fans to reduce those gaps. You haven't state how many taps you want.
There are more ways to accomplish this than there are beer styles. Mostly it will come down to budget, location and number of taps required.

Hi malt junkie...

I've got 5 taps now, but to be honest - I'd be happy with just 2. I love big IPA's and they need to be drunk fresh....that's my main diet! Another tap with something different would suffice....but if I could do 3 taps, even better

 

[Bridges]

If money is not a major concern I'd start at andale. They do a mobile bar that is in the ball park of what you are describing, I'd call them and see if they can help.

 

[breakbeer]

I know you already mentioned Keg King kegerators, but surely the glass door version of this ticks all those boxes (posting in case you may have not seen it?)

http://kegking.com.au/keg-couplers-and-keg-disconnects/kegerators/keg-master-grand-deluxe.html

 

[Mardoo]

Call Andale and talk to a rep. They can design the right thing for you., or at least walk you through what they have available. If I wanted it to be right slick and was willing to spend, that's where I'd start.

Edit: Oops, just saw Bridges contribution.

 

[peteru]

It should be pretty easy to get a standard Keg King Mark 4 kegerator and have a competent cabinet maker build the appropriate enclosure for it. The KK4 fridge dissipates most of the heat on the sides. It should be easy enough to design a cabinet that has front vents at the top on each side to exhaust the heat. Combine those with bottom vents that have quiet fans to suck in air under the fridge and blow it towards the back and you'll end up with a system that will work fairly well. The KK4 fridge has a brushed stainless steel door with black matt plastic trim.

Mounting the font to the benchtop should be easy enough and the KK4 has a hole in the top. All you need to do is make a convenient cylindrical coupling out of something like polystyrene or foam to insulate the beer lines between the top of the KK4 and the bench top.

If you have a blank slate, as opposed to a limited spot you need to squeeze into, it should be a breeze.

The KK4 is just right for 3 kegs.

 

[contrarian]

http://kegking.com.au/keg-master-grand-deluxe-1130.html

Have you looked at these? You could have 4 taps and a side fridge for wine, bottled beer and mixers or 8 taps!

You can also get glass doors. Starting from scratch with 4 taps and a font you'd probably be in for about $3k but you probably wouldn't need to build it in to anything.

 

[malt junkie]

As I said the true type ones are available here, this place has a good selection. Note they exhaust out the front so should be no dramas building in. pricey though.

 

[Killer Brew]

Lancer Pacific do some sweet stuff. Mostly Japanese made Hoshizaki. Used to sell their ice machines in another life. Quality kit.

http://www.lancerbeverage.com/our-products/ice-and-refrigeration/professional-series-refrigeration-and-freezers/professional-counter-refrigeration-and-freezers/professional-counter-refrigeration-and-freezers

Used to sell a bit of this too
http://www.fagor.com.au/en/commercial-refrigeration/concept-line/counters-600-series

Lancer probably the better option though as they have a great range of fonts and the techs to put it all together for you.

 

[jkmeldrum]

Thanks everyone for your replies....sorry it's taken me a while to get back...I was away for nearly a week.

There's a couple of great suggestions there that I will follow up on and I'll keep you posted on what I decide on.

Cheers

Molly

 

[Buzsaw]

Hi Molly, I had the very same predicament when we moved into our new house. Our solution was to install the kegerator from the rear of the kitchen module. The front of the module is covered and made from similar materials to the house to blend in with the alfresco area. As you can't see the back side all is good. Gas bottles are also accessed the same way for the grill.

Installed a wine fridge from the front as these do have an aesthetic look about them and the internal lighting added to the ambiance (so I am told).

I searched for a long time before I found a suitable fridge for the kegerator, the original and first wine fridge died from over heating. Definitely need the tropical rated fridges. The granite bench top entraps significant heat also which was resolved with a shade sail.

If you are interested I will post a photo when I get back home on the weekend.

Very happy with how our alfresco functions and importantly my wife approves of how it looks. Plenty of beer on tap for me and a happy wife.

 

[Buzsaw]

Quick photo of my under bench set up. The kegerator is accessed from the back. If I was building up against a wall, then I would have built a door to hide. This would increase the depth and require cooling assistance but none of that is difficult to over come. Noise is also reduced. Cheers buz.