Dont forget temp control.. without a steady temperature the internal dynamic of pressure and condition are in flux.
http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carbonation-table-pressure-chart.php
will give u a clear picture of the pressure/temp/condition balance
i manage my kegs without a fridge by sitting them in the coolest spot possible but come summer i need to use a shelf chiller to maintain a steady pour, And each session must start with a keg vent to normalise the keg to the set serving pressure, in warmer months the beer will slowly loose condition over its life, and in colder months will gain condition. and a sharp frost can result in a complete drop in pressure if not kept on gas resulting in the loosing of the lid seal that relys on a positive keg pressure.
the kegs themselves are just the storage part of the dispense system.
Co2 costs:
£30 for a basic welders reg (imho with a corny with a prv fitted a brewers reg with a prv is redundant)
0-£50 deposit for a co2 bottle, andover patio centre dont charge a deposit..
£15-£25 per refil, so upto £75 for the 1st bottle, but thats a good mfew years supply with a single corny..
tap, £5+ 2nd hand product branded taps are the cheapest option.. ebay for an ex pub font n tap (£10+) but only look locally as they are very heavy bits of kit.
microline and or inline flow control devices, 3/16th microline is the cheapest option, in mu own limited experience flow control taps are great upto about 6-8psi (according to my reg) but above that are impossible to set needing a tweak with each pour. so if your looking at higher conditioned beers froget flow control taps.
dont forget the jg fittings too to join up the gas n beerlines and to negotiate tight bends, Dont kink the beerlines.. £1-3 a pop.. and if u go the shelf chiller route you will need quite a few jg fittings..
temp control - a kegorator or fridge mod (identical to a brewfridge mod ) is imho the best solution and with a free doner fridge should be do-able for less than £50. If you have no space for the extra fridge, shelf chillers appear on ebay and if you have patience you should pick one up for £20-£50 plus at least a fiver for jg fittings per product line you use..
its a bit of an investment heavy move, but once set up the running costs (co2 refills) and cooling running costs are nominal and its grand pouring a consistent pint..
fyi i bought a well known online brewshop delux corny starter kit which came with an attach to keg shiny perlick style tap. and no cooling provision, i spent months pouring nowt but foam thinking i had all i needed :wha:
