Looking to buy a kegerator

[Easy180]

Anyone have one they would recommend? More importantly does anyone have an indoor model in their garage (wife doesn't want it in the house)? Worried it won't get cold enough in the spring & summer.

[turnpup]

And to think I had a fit when my husband bought a little tiny mini-keg and put it in our refrigerator! Sure hope he doesn't see this thread.

[PhiAlpha]

Anyone have one they would recommend? More importantly does anyone have an indoor model in their garage (wife doesn't want it in the house)? Worried it won't get cold enough in the spring & summer.

I bought a kit and converted an old chest freezer a few years ago. I had to buy a separate thermostat to regulate the temp as a refrigerator and not a freezer, but never had to worry about it not getting cold enough. It worked great for 3 years until the compressor went bad (It was about 30 years old and I paid $15 for it on craigslist so I wasn't surprised). If you want to go that route you can get all the parts at Learn to Brew in Moore or on Ebay and have the added bonus of being able to customize it. Depending on how you purchase the freezer, it ends up pretty close to or slightly cheaper than purchasing a prebuilt keggorator and the parts seem to be of higher quality. Also, I think many of the prebuilt ones are only wide enough to handle the skinny Cylinder or 1/4 Barrel kegs and while that is probably sufficient most of the time, if you are going to throw a rager and need a big keg, you'll be out of luck.

At any rate, the "if you build it, they will drink" method worked well for me. It's definitely more hands on, but it's far from difficult.

[ctchandler]

Easy,
I have a kegerator for indoors, but if I had a need to put it in a garage, I would pick up a used refrigerator and modify it like PhiAlpha has suggested. If you really want a kegerator, I do have some suggestions. I had to modify mine including hiring a man to install a Johnson Controls thermostat because the Danby just didn't keep it at the right temperature and there was way to much head. I did buy mine used but if I had spent $500 for a new one I would really have been mad. Good luck, post a question or private email me if you want. And if you are interested in mine, let me know, the price will be right. My health problems have limited my beer intake.
C. T.

[Pete]

Ooh, I'd love to have one.

I love draft beer in a frosted mug.

And I imagine beer is much cheaper buying it in that volume.

[Easy180]

Might reach out to you CT as I have the wife's buy in but she insists that it gets parked in the garage. Sure an indoor model would be fine for maybe 7 months out of the year but the other five are my prime time beer months lol

[Mel]

Might reach out to you CT as I have the wife's buy in but she insists that it gets parked in the garage. Sure an indoor model would be fine for maybe 7 months out of the year but the other five are my prime time beer months lol

Some things just taste better in the summer.

[ctchandler]

Ooh, I'd love to have one.

I love draft beer in a frosted mug.

And I imagine beer is much cheaper buying it in that volume.

Pete,
Yes, it is cheaper, but there is the hassle of how to transport a fifteen gallon keg. I purchased the fifteen gallon kegs for about two years but then I started buying the pony kegs, you don't save as much, but it's much easier to transport.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Might reach out to you CT as I have the wife's buy in but she insists that it gets parked in the garage. Sure an indoor model would be fine for maybe 7 months out of the year but the other five are my prime time beer months lol

Easy,
I still recommend that you pick up a used refrigerator, I think it will do much better in the garage. Pm me and I will send you some links that sell the conversion kits.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Easy,
I forgot to mention, youtube has detailed instructions for converting a refrigerator to a kegerator.
C. T.

[kelroy55]

Easy,
I have a kegerator for indoors, but if I had a need to put it in a garage, I would pick up a used refrigerator and modify it like PhiAlpha has suggested. If you really want a kegerator, I do have some suggestions. I had to modify mine including hiring a man to install a Johnson Controls thermostat because the Danby just didn't keep it at the right temperature and there was way to much head. I did buy mine used but if I had spent $500 for a new one I would really have been mad. Good luck, post a question or private email me if you want. And if you are interested in mine, let me know, the price will be right. My health problems have limited my beer intake.
C. T.

My dad had a fridge converted when I was a kid and I wish I would of snagged it but my brother beat me to it.

[jerrywall]

And I imagine beer is much cheaper buying it in that volume.

I have a kegerator, and it's great, and there's something so satisfying about being able to pull a mug of draft when I get home from work. However, I learned to my dissatisfaction that beer isn't really any cheaper this way, and is often more expensive. You're also paying up front for it. I find I can get about 70-80 pours out of a half barrel. Something cheap, like PBR runs me $90. A 30 pack of PBR cans is $20. So I can spend $60 and get more brew.

Where the big advantage is for me with a kegerator is when I home brew.

[jerrywall]

Oh, and for folks wanting to build one, I'd recommend a freezer if it's going to be in your garage. The advantage with a freezer is that it has an easier time maintaining temperature in the summer. There are thermostats you can get fairly cheaply, where you put a probe inside the freezer, and plug the power cord into the thermostat, and it powers the freezer off and on as need be to maintain the right temperature.

[kelroy55]

You can find them on Craigslist

Kenmore kegerator

[PhiAlpha]

I mentioned it in my earlier post but to clarify, I built mine with a chest freezer. I would definitely recommend that as well. You have a lot more flexibility with temperature (especially in a garage or outdoor situation).

[Pete]

Also, you can usually find pretty cheap chest freezers for sale in the classifieds / craigslist.

[jerrywall]

I have a chest freezer one as well. If I had it to do over again, I would do an upright freezer. 2 Reasons.

1. It's a real you know what to get a half barrel into the freezer.
2. The tower doesn't stay cool, which means the first pull of the day is room temp or worse. With an upright, I'd have just a door tap, and not a tower.

[ctchandler]

After my mother died, I took her Frigidaire to my garage and it worked just fine. I had no problems with the heat. And it was over ten years old. Still, a freezer should be more economical to operate and if you get a non-frost free unit, the electricity use would be really low. With a freezer, can you set the temperature above freezing? If not, you will have to replace the temperature control unit, and that could cost $100 (my Johnson Controls device was $79) if you do it yourself.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

I have a chest freezer one as well. If I had it to do over again, I would do an upright freezer. 2 Reasons.

1. It's a real you know what to get a half barrel into the freezer.
2. The tower doesn't stay cool, which means the first pull of the day is room temp or worse. With an upright, I'd have just a door tap, and not a tower.

JerryWall,
There are inexpensive solutions to the first pull of the day. I have a whisper fan that keeps chilled air flowing around the tower. Also, if you are talking about picking up a "true" half barrel, it's about 180 pounds. I had enough trouble getting one of those into my Danby which of course is an upright. And it's just a couple of inches off the floor. Now, I'm old, and I was when I got my Danby, but I was relatively healthy and it was still a bear. And I pretty much agree that there is no savings, but it is convenient, it's draught beer at home and I like it better than bottled/canned beer.
C. T.

[Martin]

If not, you will have to replace the temperature control unit, and that could cost $100 (my Johnson Controls device was $79) if you do it yourself.

you can get a decent temperature controller from amazon for around $15. -M

[jerrywall]

This is basically what I use... There's a probe that you hang in the freezer, and then you plug the power cord of the freezer into this. Requires no modification of the freezer itself...

Refrigerator or Freezer Thermostat (AnalogTemperature Controller) - Learn To Brew

[Bullbear]

Great!.. now I want a kegerator!

[Martin]

^
same here. i'm not much of a beer drinker but dabbled in fermenting cider last year and am currently experimenting with making homemade coca cola and (if i can get the recipe down) dr pepper. -M

[kelroy55]

^
same here. i'm not much of a beer drinker but dabbled in fermenting cider last year and am currently experimenting with making homemade coca cola and (if i can get the recipe down) dr pepper. -M

I have a friend that brews his own beer and puts it in a keg for his kegerator.

[ctchandler]

you can get a decent temperature controller from amazon for around $15. -M

Martin,
Yes I could have, but I wanted a really good one and the Johnson Controls unit (also sold on Amazon) came highly recommended by several members of a kegerator group on the web. I know price isn't everything, but Johnson Controls are rated very high and I would do it again if I had a need for one.
C. T.