Regional Talk > Chicago > [Rant] Why is it so frackin' hard to find a kegerator

[Rant] Why is it so frackin' hard to find a kegerator

»amzn.to/oGBo6v

I should have said for a low price....limited budget due to extensive breeding. :|

I've been watching for one on there as well. And you're right. People on craigslist are out of their minds when it comes to setting their price. I've seen them on there for well over $500 used.

I did see that one. There's this one too.
»chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/app/2···263.html

Paid $700 3 years ago and he expects to get $525? Ridiculous.
I can buy a new one of the same brand with a warranty for $25 more.
»www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260···00&aff=Y

370 is still more than I want to spend if I don't have too. That and it will be hidden under the bar so I don't really care what it looks like as long as it works. I've also considered building my own with the kit like you said. But you add $150 or $200 for a mini fridge and you're back around $400 again.

I don't know why they're so damn expensive.

reply to Dennis
Not sure how handy you guys are, but you can build one for substantially less; if you have a spare fridge. Mini fridge will only fit a pony keg, but works fine. You can even design it to have the tap come out through the top like the ones you guys are looking at.

Built one for $75 a few years back. Took a friends full size fridge, gutted the inside and built a flat, wood base for the keg to sit on. Dispensed beer wonderfully. Probably took 1hr for all the labor, which wasn't hard at all. And fit a full size keg to boot

Jon - how about looking for a used mini fridge on craigslist? Gotta be some for like $50 or less.

I do that too. If I can find one that's cheap enough, works and isn't in friggin Bloomington I'd consider it. I want to be able to do a full size keg though. So like a 4.5-4.9 cu/ft. Another problem is the few I've seen have the freezer on the top. Not sure if I could just pull that out without breaking it. And yet another problem again is the prices they ask aren't realistic.

I'm not driving 30 miles to Schaumburg to pay you $150 for something that's 5 years old and used if I can get it new for $175 a 1/2 mile from my house. If you send them an offer for less then they're asking and they just never respond.

edit: damn spelling

I actually started to work on a keezer using a 7cf freezer as a base but have a line on a cheap smaller refrigerator . Also priced out a kegerator kit from kegconnection.com for about $180.

mini fridge was my first plan but finding one that can hold a 1/2 keg is hard, so I moved onto chest freezer and here I am at a fridge.

Have to say that using a freezer or a small fridge is looking better to avoid the cooling issues with the towers that cause foam.
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The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to think that trying to piece together with a kit isn't really worth the time and aggravation to save $50 or $100. If I'm gonna spend 250-350 anyway, I'll just save my self some time and get one from Costco or something.

Well I don't know enough about them to know what you're talking about. I just want it to give me beer.
When you finish yours, post the parts list for me and I'll copy it.

reply to Dennis

reply to Dennis
You guys want full size kegs. That's roughly 155 beers and a tapped keg in a kegerator will stay fresh for about 3 weeks. How much beer are you guys drinking!?!?

Back when I had mine I was living with a couple friends.

reply to Dennis
Dennis, what are you looking to make your Kegerator do? House a standard commercial keg?

I used my old college dorm refrigerator. It can hold 2 3 gallon kegs side by side which is perfect to put the home brew in it but it would never hold a full commercial keg.

Also are you looking for one full assembled or do you mind "Some Assembly Required"? I was able to build mine in less than an hour with a drill, some tubing and a tower that I got as a gift.

The dorm fridge I used was great cause it sucks! The coldest it can get is about lower 40s which is not good for storing food (learned that first year at U of I) but is the ideal beer serving temp!
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reply to Dennis
I bought mine from Costco (Samsung I think, was around $500) and it's been fine, even without a cooling tower (???) and I have no idea of it's chrome or whatever, it just works. I put in kegs and CO2 and delicious refreshing beer comes out and into mah belleh.

I may have to run a cup through to get the warm stuff out of the line, but that's typical even in a bar setup. No foaming once you get the CO2 dialed in correctly. Cleaning the line is a bit of a pain in the ass, I'll probably just start ordering new ones.

It's a bit of a paradox, however -- "honey, think of the money we'll save buying in bulk!" -- and then you end up drinking 3x as much. For entertaining it's great though.

Buying someone else's frankenfridge may save you a couple bucks, until the chiller dies and you lose a $90 keg to spoilage.

reply to Dennis

said by Dennis:

said by sleuth:

How much beer are you guys drinking!?!?

In my defense I have three kids.

edit: oh and avoid buying from kegkits.com from what I've been reading.