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Also, I'm figuring that I'll start small - one keg - but I'd like room to add taps as I go. Any advice on what is worth the expense up front (buy once, cry once) and what is okay to be cheap on?
Posted 34 days ago.
Keezer are nicer. Bottom freezer fridges are pretty solid for up to 4 kegs, and can leave you with a functional freezer below.
Top freezers and side by side don't make good kegorator , IMO.
A 15cuft freezer isn't all that much more footprint, but holds 7-8 kegs with room to spare vs. 4, tight as hell, in a 7.2cuft.
Posted 34 days ago.
If you can put a keezer in the garage, i dont see a reason not to do that. Im pretty sure chest freezers are cheaper than a fridge, and frankly theyre just...well, designed better for kegging, imo. Easier to convert, easier to keep the cold air into, and kegs fit so damn perfectly.
Posted 34 days ago.
Posted 34 days ago.
Posted 34 days ago.
I think i bought mine for 60 or 80? Originally it was for fermenting/lagering lagers, but either way....even though its an older freezer, it was a fucking great price.
If you could get a fridge for 20 bucks, start with that. You can always upgrade, and if nothing else, you'll have an extra fridge to keep stuff in.
Posted 34 days ago.
Posted 34 days ago.
But if it were me and i had to choose between a fridge for 20 bucks, and a freezer for 60, i'd take the freezer i think (unless i wanted a second fridge, which is super useful btw. Weve had a second fridge since we got our new basement in...99?)
If nothing else, extra refrigerators are great for yeast storage ;) thats a fair amount of whats in ours :)
Posted 34 days ago.
Freezers are cheaper per cu. Ft. And from personal experience, it seems I always want to have more taps, even now that I have 6.
Remember that you like to have a couple different beers available at any given time for variety's sake? That won't change with kegging, but what will change, is your willingness to bottle those batches.
Chest freezers are cheaper to operate as well, but this is not a huge $ difference.
I think chest freezer kegerators are better looking than fridge kegerators, and therefore the wife is more likely to allow it in the house should you so desire that.
I bought my 12 cu ft. Freezer on Craigslist for $50. Great deal. I had to stalk the search page and turn on IFTTT alerts for certain searches, but it took me maybe a month to find a great deal.
Overall, my advice is, buy a bigger chest freezer than you think you need so you can upgrade later.
Use Bev-Seal Ultra tubing with John guest fittings.
Use perlick or ventmatic faucets.
Don't be afraid to go with pin lock kegs, but also consider that more accessories are available for ball lock kegs. Ball are more expensive than pin, so you pay for that privilege.
Overall, you're gonna love it.
Posted 34 days ago.
For what it's worth, I use pin locks and it has never been a problem, I love them.
Posted 34 days ago.
:)
Posted 34 days ago.
Posted 34 days ago.