I am interested in purchasing a dual tap kegerator for 2 - 5 gallon kegs. in looking around the internet there seems to be a swing between $600 - $1200 in the cost. the differences in the products are not readily apparent to me. any advice would be greatly appreciated. in particular a product recommendation as well as a location to purchase.
thanks
If you had your location in your profile, someone may be able to give you local info.
If your looking to straight up purchase one at retail you will be in the realm of $500-800
Micromatic has the goods and they have been in the market for a long long time
Here is one I find right away that meets your expectations:
http://www.micromatic.com/keg-refrigera ... 206-2.html[quote=“ITsPossible”]If your looking to straight up purchase one at retail you will be in the realm of $500-800
Micromatic has the goods and they have been in the market for a long long time
Here is one I find right away that meets your expectations:
http://www.micromatic.com/keg-refrigera ... 206-2.html[/quote]That’s a little steep…
I’d recommend Beverage Factory. This particular one is one I’d probably get if I were buying and not building my own. CO2 tank is on the outside for more space inside. http://www.beveragefactory.com/refriger … el-2.shtml
Shipping will be around $100, so ya have to factor that in all cases.
I’d look on Craigslist and check used restaurant equipment dealers in your area. I have a TRU-1 and added a dual tap tower. My total cost was under $400 for a lightly used commercial all steel kegerator. Adding your own tower and taps gives you the flexibility to get flow control, which is never a standard.
I know this subject has been beaten to near death… but many of the threads are a few years old. I have my freezer in the basement I use for temp controlled fermenting, and it is a 10 cu ft model so it needs to stay down there in the dungeon. In my never ending acquisition of beer gear… I am now considering a kegerator type appliance so we don’t need to go to the basement to draw a beer each time. (If I am missing an idea please feel free to suggest… ). Because I do not have the space to have a dedicated “man cave” the kegerator will need to live most likely in the dining room area. I don’t think my wife will be very happy to have a beer tap on display, so I am thinking about getting a good quality mini fridge that is capable to be converted to a full kegerator, but will begin its service with a keg or two inside attached to picnic taps.
Looking at the kegerators offered the prices go from a few hundred to a few thousand $$.
The idea with the mini fridge is that it can have a stainless door and sort of blend in. Then someday, assuming it lasts that long, it could be fully converted and either stay here or go to one of my sons apartments where it will of course become the highlight of the furnishings in the living room.
Any suggestions on proven mini fridges would be most welcome. The challenge will be having to open the door and lose all the cold air when pouring a beer… so I assume I need one that can get the temp down in a reasonable time. Also it seems like having an internal fan is good for when there is a tap/tower installed? Its juet really hard for me to tell with both the kegerators and the fridge only products what is good quality and what is junk.
as always thank you for any input!
Tom
You’ll notice that the thermal mass of two kegs and 10 gallons of liquid keep things cool, no matter how often you open and close the door. I have a readymade Danby kegerator (I swapped with Perlicks, and changed the fittings for ball lock kegs, but otherwise kept it bone stock). I would either go for used commercial or new consumer grade. A used mini-fridge is probably susceptible to early failure. Take some keg measurements with you and shop in person to make sure things will fit.
Maybe with some creativeness you’d poke some holes in the door to run your picnic taps through… Maybe a simple piece of clothe to allow to drop over the taps to conceal and when in use, flop back on to the top when in use? Maybe? Sneezles61
I will come up with som creative way to have it sprout into a full kegerator over time.
I am leaning towards this unit as my starting " base". Although it’s a bit pricy I am hoping it will stay in service long enough to make it worth it.
Very nice unit! Sneezles61
My first two were old fridges with a hole in the door for the faucet. Functional but not pretty.
The next one was a Beverage Aire commercial for around $1000. That was pushing 20 years ago though. After it finally died the compressor was no linger available to fix it and my friend that worked for an appliance repair said their compressor guru tried a universal one in a kegorator and was not happy how it worked.
The latest one is a Nostalgia Electrics. Not the most fancy one out there. The tower was really cheap but I planned to replace it with the triple tower from the last one. So far so good and I only paid $300 and something for it. It arrived with a ding in the left side so I called the supplier and he said filing a damage claim will be a huge PIA, would you be OK with $50 off. Well since that side was not going to be in view and it would be easy to fix it up anyway, I said you bet.
It also came with a really cheap regulator. Again no problem since I already had two so that one became emergency back up.
The front of them is round almost like they just added an extended door to a small fridge. If you are trying to put it under a bar so it fits flush, it may not workout. The drip tray is just a flat plastic piece with a SS grate. I usually have a plastic cup or something under the tap in use so that’s no issue. Way easier to just toss the cup than wash the tray.
So it has been going for a few years now. Almost enough to call it good for the price if it craps out.
One last thing. It makes some odd noises but is very quiet. Google Nostalgia Electrics kegorator and take a look at the price. Still in the 300s.
I do have to say that the Kegco cabinet only is a great option for someone replacing a defunct unit and still has everything else.
Thanks for the insight on that unit. I have seen them. I am avoiding the full set up not only because it is apt to get frowned on in my dining room, but also I already have a regulator and a couple of co2 tanks now. I am tempted to try a less expensive fridge, I am just afraid I will regret it. I have to go to my local Best Buy tomorrow to check out a small insignia freezer for my son who will make a keezer out of it for his apartment. I will look around and measure what they have for mini fridges as well.
