Kegerator - Recommendations Please

[iworkatinitech]

I thoroughly apologize if this questions has been asked/answered before but I couldn't find it.

I'm seriously considering switching from bottling to kegging in the very near future, and although I can handle the $200 for the kegging equipment I can't seem to figure out where to look for an affordable kegerator (I was told that its not worth buying one under $1,200 which is WAY out of my league). I would welcome any and all recommendations.

Thank you in advance.

[Mylo]

Build one... chest freezer with a collar of wood is the most economical. Look for a used one on craigs list. Sometimes you get lucky (sometimes you get burned). I got a pretty nice used one for $50.

Mylo

[siwelwerd]

Sometimes you get lucky (sometimes you get burned).

Ain't that the truth! Aside from mine dying on me, I was really happy with my $50 craigslist freezer. I think I posted this elsewhere, I recently replaced it with a new one from a scratch & dent store. Either one of those would be the way to go in my opinion.

[Kbar]

I did the 5.0 CUFT dorm fridge (Oster), no freezer. Works OK. Holds 2 kegs and the 5Lb. CO2 bottle, but in hindsight, would go chest freezer or upright with larger volume. I just do not like the limited space. Moving the bottle out would get me some room back, but I am still limited to 2 kegs. My $0.02

[squirrelpirate]

It depends what sort of space you have and the number of kegs you would like to support. I can't argue with the chest freezer suggestion. I didn't have that space, so I found a 9.5 cubic feet fridge on Craigslist for $30. It can hold two kegs easily and is small enough for my apartment.

The only drawbacks to my situation are the dorm fridge style cooling element which builds up ice. It's a pain to defrost that every couple of months. I also wouldn't mind space for a third keg to condition beer and/or ferment lagers.

Either way, you can't go wrong with a kegerator.

[krizwit]

I would go with a fridge. You can use the freezer for hops, ice for brewing, and T.V. dinners...

Towers are expensive and they arent as cool(temp) as the freezer, so yeast will build up in the lines.

If you want to go with a freezer, build a wooden collar around it and just drill through it. Get a freezer that can fit at least 4 kegs even if you only want a tap or two. Having back up kegs is great, and it is always good to keep your beer cold...

[mickp]

I vote for the chest freezer. I have a biggie , and can get 12, count 'em, 12 kegs in there. This makes it possible to keep a couple or three kegs of something aging in there, while having no issues with space for a healthy turnover of brews, plus a little shelf on the side for a few bottles. I'd say get the biggest you can find/accomodate.

[johnfoster]

one way to get a "free" kegerator fridge is to upgrade your kitchen fridge to something more modern. then push the old fridge into your "beer area" and drill a hole or two. this works especially well if you have Wife 1.o installed (or so I'm told).