Which Kegerator

[hsb]

One of the sponsors above have diagrams listed with the JG fittings - I'm guessing that's what you meant?
http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=740

They're easy to use once you've got them in hand, a real godsend for cackhanders like myself after messing around heating line and trying to get it over barbs.

 

[MattSR]

Exactly what I was after - damn that looks simple to use!

 

[hsb]

Yes there awesome little things, can chop and change lines with no hassle. You don't even really need a diagram to use them, just waggle them around and you'll get the hang of it in 2 mins flat.
Congrats on your purchase.

 

[Rurik]

I have a Keg King 3 keg fridge. I have fitted a flooded three tap Andale Cobra font and can fit three kegs in with no problems. The only thing is that when fitting the font, I had to remove a bracket and a plastic sleeve leading into the fridge as the thread was a little too large. It fits three kegs no worries (I know the picture has a nine litre keg in it but I can fit three full sized Cornie's in and use it worries). I have not noticed it being excessively loud. There is a single gas line running in and it splits three ways in the fridge. I used a cross splitter and clamps, as I think that John Guest & cheap knock off fittings are rubbish (don't start at me about this as I will ignore you) and don't have them anywhere in my system. I also replaced all the line and quick disconnects as I like proper beer line not cheap PVC and did not like the look of the QD's that came with the system.



Hope this helps,

Rurik

 

[MattSR]

Just thought I'd post an update here.

So far I'm loving my kegerator, it's a damn nifty little unit. Having the twin regulator is great, I've got an ale on tap thats carbed up nice and light, and a ginger beer thats nice and fizzy. After only a week I got sick of being limited to 2 taps, so I ordered a triple font/tap setup from keg king thats a direct fit. I also got the flow adjustable taps since I like to brew anything from Hefe to Russian stouts.

Internally, the gas lines will be split into two (so each side of the dual reg will have two quick disconnect fittings hanging off it) so I can have two light and one dark beer (summertime), or two dark and one light (wintertime) serving up.

Apart from a dodgy lid seal in one keg, and a suspected broken dip tube seal another it's all bee pretty straight forward.

Oh and the best advice I got with regards to carbing was to just set it once, and forgot. Cabing at serving pressure is perfect!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[thegasherrulz]

Placing the CO2 tank into the cold environment of the refrigerator will double the use of gas as it is more dense at colder temperatures. You can economize gas usage by keeping the gas tank outside the fridge.

 

[JestersDarts]

Placing the CO2 tank into the cold environment of the refrigerator will double the use of gas as it is more dense at colder temperatures. You can economize gas usage by keeping the gas tank outside the fridge.

This is incorrect. Firstly it wont double the use of gas, and, say, 2.6kg of gas is still 2.6kg of gas whether it is cold or warm, and your kegs are only going to take a certain pressure of gas, or a certain amount of this.

 

[Wadey]

Hi Guys.

I have been researching kegerators for a while and got the green light to buy one before Xmas, problem is I am confused and concerned about which one to get. I have narrowed it down to four options, would like some feedback from those who have bought any of them before I make the big purchase.

http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/Keg%20...%20Pamphlet.pdf

http://www.pinnaclewholesalers.com.au/prod..._BEER_KEGERATOR

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

https://www.wilarno.com/products.php?produc...Double-Tap-Font

Big difference in price for the Keg Mate however in speaking to them you are paying for quality, problem being the cost is getting too much and the misses dosent want me to touch the garage fridge.

Wadey

 

[bignath]

Hi Guys.

I have been researching kegerators for a while and got the green light to buy one before Xmas, problem is I am confused and concerned about which one to get. I have narrowed it down to four options, would like some feedback from those who have bought any of them before I make the big purchase.

http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/Keg%20...%20Pamphlet.pdf

http://www.pinnaclewholesalers.com.au/prod..._BEER_KEGERATOR

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

https://www.wilarno.com/products.php?produc...Double-Tap-Font

Big difference in price for the Keg Mate however in speaking to them you are paying for quality, problem being the cost is getting too much and the misses dosent want me to touch the garage fridge.

Wadey

G'day Wadey,

any reason in particular why you want a "kegerator" type setup? Not really against them, but i can't help but think that there might be better ways to do it...

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say i reckon if you want something "like" that, i'd be tempted to go with a chest freezer and get a tempmate/fridgemate controller. The reason being that my chesty will hold 4 kegs very soon (once i make the wooden collar a tad taller) and it only cost me $300 brand new. The temp controller will set you back $30 or thereabout, an afternoon making a wooden collar which will cost $20 in materials and your good to go...I like the idea of the cold (heavier) air staying in my chest freezer when i open the lid as opposed to it falling out at my feet when i open my fridge...

The other thing two is that the kegerators look they could be difficult to access all of your kegs to swap lines, give a shake for more carbonation etc. without the door being open for a long time. The chest freezer idea means you can swap lines straight away and just quickly pull the empty or flat keg out of the freezer without mucking around.

You've probably heard all this before and not necassarily trying to swing your mind around, but just in case you hadn't heard these ideas, i thought it's better to speak up....

Cheers mate and all the best with the kegging.

It's fantastic.

 

[Mattese]

Hi Guys.

I have been researching kegerators for a while and got the green light to buy one before Xmas, problem is I am confused and concerned about which one to get. I have narrowed it down to four options, would like some feedback from those who have bought any of them before I make the big purchase.

http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/Keg%20...%20Pamphlet.pdf

http://www.pinnaclewholesalers.com.au/prod..._BEER_KEGERATOR

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

https://www.wilarno.com/products.php?produc...Double-Tap-Font

Big difference in price for the Keg Mate however in speaking to them you are paying for quality, problem being the cost is getting too much and the misses dosent want me to touch the garage fridge.

Wadey

Hi Wadey,

The one you have shown from ebay seems very similar to the one I purchased I few months back. I bought it on the understanding that it might not be of the quality as a Keg Mate. I have had no issues, apart from a Satan worshipping disconnect that is intent on losing all my beer. Apart from that I have had no issues at all.

A mate bought one of the cheaper ebay ones, and he's not very happy at all. Seems a bit lower quality.

Best of luck, you'll loveit one you've finally decided!

 

[Wadey]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

I did look at a chest freezer option, other issue is that what ever I end up with is going to be on the patio so I have to make it complement the house or else!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont start me on that one.

Anyway, Mattese so you haven't had any trouble with pouring foam with these taps, i was told that if they are Chinese made that the quality is fairly average and causes foaming.

My LHBS can do me the Keg King one for $650, want do it for $599 and he gets his from Keg King as well apparently.

We will see if I spark and other response before I make a call but probably go for the Keg King one from LHBS this week.

Cheers,

Wadey

 

[Adam Howard]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

I did look at a chest freezer option, other issue is that what ever I end up with is going to be on the patio so I have to make it complement the house or else!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont start me on that one.

Anyway, Mattese so you haven't had any trouble with pouring foam with these taps, i was told that if they are Chinese made that the quality is fairly average and causes foaming.

My LHBS can do me the Keg King one for $650, want do it for $599 and he gets his from Keg King as well apparently.

We will see if I spark and other response before I make a call but probably go for the Keg King one from LHBS this week.

Cheers,

Wadey

Buy direct from Keg King. They're doing $599 including postage to any of the capitals.

 

[Mattese]

The one I bought seems to fairly good quality actually. The taps pour perfectly. Do the prices your LHBS quotes include a font?

 

[Wadey]

Yep, exact same setup as Keg King are selling direct to your door for $599. I just wonder if the extra $50 that the LHBS is worth the peace of mind with postage and the fact that I can pick it up now and hopefully get some advice face to face with setup, never done kegging before.

 

[bignath]

Yep, exact same setup as Keg King are selling direct to your door for $599. I just wonder if the extra $50 that the LHBS is worth the peace of mind with postage and the fact that I can pick it up now and hopefully get some advice face to face with setup, never done kegging before.

Wadey, fair call on that whatever you purchase must look the part outside on your patio. Makes sense to me...

RE: paying the extra $50. I probably would if it was me. If the difference was reallllllllly significant, i would probably go online. But if it's just $50 to keep the sale local and support the local guy who will be much more willing to offer advice if you buy from him, then i'd do that and get kegging straight away.

This is assuming that your LHBS is a good guy. My local guy is really nice, but knows f!@k all about anything more advanced than adding a hop tea bag to a kit...I would be less inclined to support this guy. Huge thread dedicated to this topic a month or so ago, but that's another story......

You've got the kegs and the gas all sorted have ya??

 

[Wadey]

Hey Big Nath.

Yes mate, tend to agree with you, for the sake of 50 bucks probably not worth the risk buying online. Just ordered 2 X 19l kegs today from Aussiehomebrewer for $128 delivered. I was going to buy the 2.6kg Gas Bottle from the LHBS as well, said he could do it for $175 full of gas, seems good to me.

I have just pm'd Ross at Craftbrewer to see what he can do for me.

Cheers,

Wade

 

[bignath]

Hey Big Nath.

Yes mate, tend to agree with you, for the sake of 50 bucks probably not worth the risk buying online. Just ordered 2 X 19l kegs today from Aussiehomebrewer for $128 delivered. I was going to buy the 2.6kg Gas Bottle from the LHBS as well, said he could do it for $175 full of gas, seems good to me.

I have just pm'd Ross at Craftbrewer to see what he can do for me.

Cheers,

Wade

Awesome mate! Kegs.......You won't look back!

ps: Ross and the team are really good blokes

 

[Georgedgerton]

From personal experience (I purchased a EURO from Pinnacle about 18 months ago) and don't get me wrong the guys were honest and I got what I paid for, but if you can avoid it I wouldn't travel the that path again.

The unit I have does not go down to the displayed temp. When the temp is showing 2 C it is actually 4.6 C and the little unit is flat out coping at that. Its not a great problem but the taps and font warm up (no room for chilling the font gear) and the the first half glass is all froth - the problem being for me is by the time I pour the next glass the taps and line are warm again and so you repeat the process --- AH, I HEAR YOU ALL CRY "DRINK MORE YOU WUSS"

I think they have their place (as said, space etc) but for me I am planning to replace it with a time honoured fridge with taps mounted on the front door.

One more piece of advice (from my perspective) the purchase of flow regulator taps was one of the best choices made--- saves stuffing with line lengths and calculations.

 

[Brewjohno]

Yep, exact same setup as Keg King are selling direct to your door for $599. I just wonder if the extra $50 that the LHBS is worth the peace of mind with postage and the fact that I can pick it up now and hopefully get some advice face to face with setup, never done kegging before.

Wadey,

I bought the Keg King Series 3 about 2 months ago.

I live at Narangba and probably use the LHBS as you.

I noted that price difference as well and raised it the the LHBS owner and he told me what he paid and he's not making a big profit, but he still coudn't match the KK price witht he direct free shipping.

Another point to note is that this LHBS was selling the slightly older series 3 system that only came with 1.5 or 2m of beer line. The lastest model comes with 4metres. There was another difference as well, I just can't remember what it was.

At the time of ordering I also ordered the 3 way font, 1 extra tap which I made a flow control, a line splitter and one way gas valve so it all came at the same time.

To note is that it is a package deal. So you can't actually upgrade from a 2 font to a three and pay the difference, you end up with both.

That's why I bought jsut the one flow control tap.

Brewjohno

 

[Wadey]

Brewjohno.

Thanks mate, good advice and nice to know you live in Narangba, we are probably talking about the same LHBS. Anyway, after much deliberation I have decided to go see Ross at Craftbrewer this Saturday and he said he will look after me. I have spent many an hour researching and I dont really want to spend all this money and end up with troubles so want to get good quality taps.

Brewjohno, this might be a coincrdence but you dont know Adam Daff by any chance (golfing mate of mine), he said he had a mate who's wife bought him a kegerator. Just thought I would ask, small world and all.

PS. I will let everyone know how I go this Saturday at Craftbrewer, cant wait.

Cheers,

Wadey