Is there a good rule of thumb to determine how many ball lock cornies a typical chest freezer will hold? I’ve been building a bar in my basement and envision having a 3-5 tap setup in the future. Knowing that, how big of a freezer should I be looking to get?
I think once I get into this hobby, it will be like my home theater hobby…constant upgrading, so I’m thinking ahead for now on some things (like freezer, kegs, etc.) and other things just baby steps until I learn more (extract vs all-grain for example) about it.
You are right in the fact that you will always want to upgrade in the future. I think the joking (kind of) rule of thumb for number of kegs is always one more than you have right now.
When I was thinking about chest freezers I made cardboard cutouts the size of the bottom of the kegs and brought a few to the store to make sure they would all fit side by side. Often times the compressor in the freezer steels some space from you so you need to think about that.
Ideally, I would like to have 5 taps in my bar with 5 different home brews. I was thinking instead of getting a small fridge or freezer, just find a nice sized one to begin with in the classifieds. So, if I get really in depth in the homebrewing art, I’ll be set. If not, then I just made room for the upstairs fridge.
I went ahead and ordered 6 used cornies from an eBay seller someone linked in another thread. I figured that would be plenty for 3 taps and I’d have an extra one or two if I wanted to up to 4 or 5 taps.
What are the cornie keg’s dimensions? Mine are the ball lock version. (just ordered them today).
Ball locks are 9" diameter and 23" long. For what it’s worth, my 15 cubic foot freezer holds 9 kegs not including the compressor hump. Keep in mind that if you plan to always have 4 beers on tap you’ll want to have room to condition others to replace the taps when they blow. I suggest getting the biggest freezer that will fit in your space, it’s better to have too much and not use it then the alternative.
Thanks for the info. I didn’t even consider other kegs to replace the ones that blow. Would it be wise to have an additional CO2 line specifically for force carbing? That way when one is emptied, it’s just a matter of replacing with a new ready to tap/dispense keg.
I use a different tank and regulator for force carbing than the one dedicated to the serving fridge.[/quote]
+1
I use a 20lb tank for carbing and a 5lb tank for serving. I carb in my keg storage room so the kegs are ready to go when they are needed in the kegerator.
There is a good thread on hbt. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sizing- … egs-75449/. (I hope it’s OK to link to that forum). I used that when I planned my project. I haven’t done it yet, but I’m gonna go with a 14.8cuft. Why bother messing around! Have 6 on tap, with others cold conditioning, or new batches cold crashing, etc.
Thanks. Ok, it’s looking like I should look for something in the 14.8 cuft range then. I think it’s safe for me to say 5 taps will be the most I’ll ever have, so something that big would cover that plus give me room for reserve tanks and carboys. The freezer dimensions also help me when I go about making my back bar.
I appreciate everyone’s help. Thanks again everybody. :cheers:
Ultimately, you’ll end up buying another one anyway. I now have 3 and i’ve been brewing for 3 years. I suppose the logical progression is a walk-in cooler after this.
