First steps towards a Kegerator, help needed!

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azza

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So I've been brewing for some time now and feel I need to move on from bottling the majority of my beer to kegging.

I'm looking at building something around a fridge similar to this

http://www.argos.co.uk/beta/static/Product/partNumber/1378573.htm

I was also planning on adding a tower similar to the one blow but it depends on what I am able to source at the time.

41F1ahLSe9L._SY300_.jpg


My main issues is that I have little to no experience of Cornelius kegs and kegging beer in general. The vast majority of beers I plan on putting into my kegerator are going to be wheat, IPA's and the odd stout, I'll stick to bottling my Belgians.

Can someone please point me in the direction of force carbonating, kegerator maintenance and general information of Corny kegs?

Much appreciated!
 
I have just finished my build (see my recent thread) and come from probably the same level of knowledge as you. My main problem initially was sourcing the CO2. Once that was done I ordered all the fittings and tube I thought I'd need from Malt Miller along with the regulator (which doesn't work right now but is being replaced with minimal fuss). The one main issue you'll find with the tap (from the homebrew shop) is that the beer line it comes with is non-standard. I got around this by putting a piece of linking tube between the two different pipes and fastening with hose clips. It seems to be holding well with no leaks.

I learnt quite a bit from watching YouTube vids such as craigtube but there are many different ones that go through carbonation, cleaning etc.

On the fridge front, I have this one

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/househ...2-undercounter-fridge-white-12272069-pdt.html

It fits 2 corneys as long as you move the light/thermostat switch out of the way.
 
Last edited:
I'm only on my 2nd corny in the kegerator and still need to get the 2nd tap sorted :-



But am already finding that carbonation is another of those trial & error things that depends on personal taste and the style of the beer.

The beer shown is carbonated nicely but the back pressure on the system Is lacking a bit (hence the overly frothy head) after I cut off a bit too much off the 3/16" beer line whilst drinking the 1st batch in the kegerator.

I'd also reiterate what smiler said about checking that the fridge will actually hold a keg or two and maybe a co2 bottle if you want it inside the fridge.

Having said that the kegerator build itself was easier than you'd think, soooo much easier than bottling a whole batch, and its pretty cool to have beer on tap.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far!

I've already watched a few videos from craigtube which have been quite helpful. I've also stumbled across "homebeerbrewery" who has some fantastic videos with a very good production quality.

My initial plan is to only have 2 taps max, I would possibly rethink this in a few years time depending on my needs going forward. Looking at Sonnal's build I'm seriously considering going with the same fridge. as it looks near perfect for my needs.

Its payday in 13 days (Who's counting?) so I'll hopefully get the majority of bits ordered from malt miller or another source?
 
Hi Azza

I've just completed my build. I built a Keezer rather than a kegerator though. I went on Youtube and watched as much as I could on all aspects of the build. One piece of advice I found very useful though is that Cornelius Kegs come in different sizes and if you are pushed for space in the Fridge the wrong Corney size may make a huge difference. Generally though I found that Coca cola Corneys are fatter by 1 inch and shorter by 2 inches than the Pepsi ones.

I have been lucky, I brought a freezer hoping to fit 3 kegs but it will fit 5 + co2 Cylinder. Happy Days, If you need any specific advice just ask.
 
Sonnal said:
That's a nice build you've got there Smiley. I only had room for an undercounter fridge so had to compromise a bit. My CO2 bottle is in the cupboard next to the fridge and I can only get 2 corneys in. There is room for a mini keg and a few bottles behind the corneys though.
Click to expand...

I started out with a undercounter fridge (purely to get a grip of the processes involved and be sure it was a path I wanted to continue on down) before starting to look for a taller larder fridge, my aim was to have 3 beers on at all times and a forth conditioning out of the fridge. I have only just managed to get to the 4 kegs with beer in them stage (Pale Ale, Best Bitter, Oatmeal Stout and Golden Ale). I think moving forward I would like to sort out taps through the door but in all honesty that's more about aesthetics rather than practicality. I am glad I have got the CO2 inside the fridge as I did not have anywhere to hide it nearby.
 
Sonnal said:
That's a nice build you've got there Smiley. I only had room for an undercounter fridge so had to compromise a bit. My CO2 bottle is in the cupboard next to the fridge and I can only get 2 corneys in. There is room for a mini keg and a few bottles behind the corneys though.
Click to expand...

Could you not fit the Co2 behind the kegs in the fridge?
 
azza said:
Could you not fit the Co2 behind the kegs in the fridge?
Click to expand...

I have a 3.15kg cylinder and it's just too tall to fit over the compressor housing unfortunately. It fits neatly in the kitchen cupboard although I did have to remove a shelf.
 
Just a quick update, I've been having a look for fridges/freezers over the last week for something large enough to fit 2 kegs and the co2.... Harder than it first appears.

I've struggled to find a local supplier for the gas but I've finally found someone about 16 miles away that does the 6.35kg cylinders for about £78 including vat & £10 to refill, is this the going price?

I just need to find a bloody freezer that can fit it in now, the cylinder is massive!
 
Mine is a catering style larder fridge (around 2/3 the height of a fridge freezer) from eBay. I can squeeze 3 kegs in it and have the gas outside piped in through a tight fitting hole with a grommet on the side of the fridge.
One of these style ones should easily fit 2 corny's and gas... or do what I did and squeeze 3 corny's in and leave the gas and reg outside!
 

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