Tired of bottling

[arnold931]

I have bottled several batches and am ready to keg. My question has to do the the refrigerator. I currently have a small fridge in the basement full of my bottles of commercial beer. Can I get rid of it and get a full sized fridge to keep my kegs, co2 tank and my other beer?

[bf514921]

yes yes

[arnold931]

Okay. Today the wife "recommended" that whatever is put my kegs in go in the garage. So I'm rethinking. Maybe I would get a chest freezer with a temp controller and put that in the garage. Any thoughts?

[tony b]

Is your garage heated? If not, you might have an issue in the winter when it gets super cold. Your fridge/freezer will actually run backwards and heat the insides rather than cool it. Mine does this every winter when it gets down to the single digits. I actually turn off the freezer section and set the fridge part to as low/warm as it will go (setting 1 on a scale of 10). Keeps the beer from freezing - sometimes.

[bf514921]

I can't speak much about putting stuff in the garage I have been lucky enough to always have stuff in the house. I do use a heat stock for a safe when the basement gets really cold for my fermentation fridge

[czubak]

I had a chest freezer in the garage and hated it for when leaks happened. PITA to clean and hoist kegs into, let alone fermentors. I sold it and got a massive upright refrigerator with freezer on top. I can fit 6 kegs in it if I wanted to. I have 3 on tap usually and can put one bucket or carboy in there to cold crash. All mine are in the garage and I have never had issues in the winter, but my father has. Maybe because mine is at the front of the garage where on the other side is the laundry room not an external wall. I ferment in the basement now without a temp controlled fridge and I miss that aspect. I'd like to get something for downstairs, but not anytime soon.

[Matt F]

I have not had the pleasure of keeping my keg fridge in the garage so have no experience with the cold winter. That beining said, do you think you could unplug the firdge when it gets cold and just use a temp controller to heat with a heating pad like you use on carboys to warm up. In an insulated container like a fridge or freezer, I would think you could keep beer warm enough to keep from freezing.