Re: Keezer vs Kegerator
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:05 pm
The comments on Keezer versus kegerator... Modern cheap controls, like the Inkbird have cycle control, so that is a trivial issue now. Moisture control? I'm on my first bucket of Damp Rid. I started doing it in July.. prior to that I wiped it mostly out with a bathroom towel 1-2x a week. It's not really an issue here in winter, anyway but it sure is in the summer. So I'm looking at like $8 worth of Damp Rid a year. It's not worth buying one of those rechargeable type dehumidifiers for that price. Keezers ARE cheap to builde. I used a brand new chest freezer and it cost $170 for 4 kegs plus a lot of bottle space inside sized freezer. You don't have to drill through anything with a collar and I like not having to worry.
I rigged up a matrix of eye-bolts to a wood frame I built and dropped the bolts down to the level of about 1" above my suspended ceiling in the basement room I have it in. I can completely hide it with the ceiling tiles. I use a rope tie down just like I do for my BIAB bag to lift the kegs in (empty I don't generally bother). That helps quite a bit. So you can rig stuff like a homemade crane or whatever to help with this.. but this is the biggest PITA with a Keezer.
For a kegerator, well if you happen on a later model (like 5 years old or less) small fridge cheap, by all means modify the hell out of it. If it's older, you'll end up paying for that cheap fridge in electricity. Same case for used chest freezers, even more so. The ones built in the last two years or so are like 2x the efficiency of one built 5 years ago which is like 3x the ones previous.
As for a tank inside or out. I'll be VERY biased here. Out. Just do it. Why?:
1. Steel tanks will rust at the top of the tank where the High Pressure valve stem goes into the tank from condensation on the valve. Even with Damp Rid or a frost free fridge. I suppose Aluminum ones wouldn't, but...
2. The worthless High Pressure Gauge on the regulator will be even more worthless. *
3. It takes up space for BEER.
So my two cents worth here. You would be happy with either, honestly.
* The HP Gauge is useful for verifying changes to a system and detecting slow leaks. It's not really useful for telling you when the tank is empty. For the leak check, when you change something major in a system (except for a keg you are force carbonating, obviously), leave the system open to that point, shut off the HP valve. if that gauge doesn't move overnight you are good. If it does-- even a little, you have a leak, and start closing valves upstream until it stops doing it (and yes you can charge the kegs and serve in the 2-3 day process it takes to do this. But if you know you have a leak shut off the HP valve and you will save the tank when you don't need serving pressure.) The low pressure regulator gauge takes a LOT longer to go to zero in this case. It's saved my ass more than once, including last weekend when I made my monster ghetto hybrid Tap-Rite/Chudnow dual regulator... I had a hair or a brass shaving that was hair sized in the O-ring of the stem valve from the new Taprite. (I lost it before I did a proper analysis!) It did not bubble, even with the pro leak check stuff. I would have drained the tank if I wouldn't have caught that. The Chudnow used a crush washer and that same foreign object was likely in the tank high pressure valve for the last year.. but it didn't matter with the crush washer. Sometime simpler really is better.. The Chudnow is easier to adjust as well. So I guess I am weird and prefer the cheaper regulator... But you can hook the two together on the high pressure side with a L-R thread adapter...it works...
I rigged up a matrix of eye-bolts to a wood frame I built and dropped the bolts down to the level of about 1" above my suspended ceiling in the basement room I have it in. I can completely hide it with the ceiling tiles. I use a rope tie down just like I do for my BIAB bag to lift the kegs in (empty I don't generally bother). That helps quite a bit. So you can rig stuff like a homemade crane or whatever to help with this.. but this is the biggest PITA with a Keezer.
For a kegerator, well if you happen on a later model (like 5 years old or less) small fridge cheap, by all means modify the hell out of it. If it's older, you'll end up paying for that cheap fridge in electricity. Same case for used chest freezers, even more so. The ones built in the last two years or so are like 2x the efficiency of one built 5 years ago which is like 3x the ones previous.
As for a tank inside or out. I'll be VERY biased here. Out. Just do it. Why?:
1. Steel tanks will rust at the top of the tank where the High Pressure valve stem goes into the tank from condensation on the valve. Even with Damp Rid or a frost free fridge. I suppose Aluminum ones wouldn't, but...
2. The worthless High Pressure Gauge on the regulator will be even more worthless. *
3. It takes up space for BEER.
So my two cents worth here. You would be happy with either, honestly.
* The HP Gauge is useful for verifying changes to a system and detecting slow leaks. It's not really useful for telling you when the tank is empty. For the leak check, when you change something major in a system (except for a keg you are force carbonating, obviously), leave the system open to that point, shut off the HP valve. if that gauge doesn't move overnight you are good. If it does-- even a little, you have a leak, and start closing valves upstream until it stops doing it (and yes you can charge the kegs and serve in the 2-3 day process it takes to do this. But if you know you have a leak shut off the HP valve and you will save the tank when you don't need serving pressure.) The low pressure regulator gauge takes a LOT longer to go to zero in this case. It's saved my ass more than once, including last weekend when I made my monster ghetto hybrid Tap-Rite/Chudnow dual regulator... I had a hair or a brass shaving that was hair sized in the O-ring of the stem valve from the new Taprite. (I lost it before I did a proper analysis!) It did not bubble, even with the pro leak check stuff. I would have drained the tank if I wouldn't have caught that. The Chudnow used a crush washer and that same foreign object was likely in the tank high pressure valve for the last year.. but it didn't matter with the crush washer. Sometime simpler really is better.. The Chudnow is easier to adjust as well. So I guess I am weird and prefer the cheaper regulator... But you can hook the two together on the high pressure side with a L-R thread adapter...it works...
