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I got lucky to purchase an almost-new (hardly used) kegerator --- a Danby Millennium (looks like this). They sell new for $400-500 each, the one listed on craigslist was $100-$150 i forgot the exact cost, purchased it 4+ months ago!

It came with a normal faucet tap which turns out they stick after not using it frequently. So then I made a purchase (about 1-2 weeks ago) for the ultimate beer faucet - the PERLICK faucet with flow control ( linky ) - so excited!

Oh yeah, also picked up a 5 or 10g CO2 tank, used. Along with the regulator thing. Just got a 2-way gas manifold too so I can hook up 2 corny kegs at once inside the kegerator.

SO... What do you all have?

Kegerator with a 5 lb Co2 tank, room for 2 cornys, and a faucet that sticks shut if you don't pour a beer at least every couple of days. Sound familiar?

I put together something similar recently with a Danby DAR440 and a 2 tap tower. 2 cornies currently filled, still trying to find the right pressure with the tank in the fridge. Have fun with it.

and a faucet that sticks shut if you don't pour a beer at least every couple of days.

How would you ever find that out?

I have a bottle opener. And sometimes, if I'm feeling fancy, a glass.

(I drink less than a dozen beers a year at home. There's a pub across the street with a dozen+ taps of Washington State microbrews)

ludi wrote:

and a faucet that sticks shut if you don't pour a beer at least every couple of days.

How would you ever find that out?

I still drink commercial beer, and I also still bottle a fair bit of my homebrew (having only 2 kinds on hand would drive me nuts).

My bottle opener is stuck to the side of the refrigerator with a magnet.

just brew it! wrote:

Kegerator with a 5 lb Co2 tank, room for 2 cornys, and a faucet that sticks shut if you don't pour a beer at least every couple of days. Sound familiar?

yar, which is why i invested $50 for a perlick faucet. i can go without pouring beer for days/weeks/months and it would still work like as it was brand new.

thegleek wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Kegerator with a 5 lb Co2 tank, room for 2 cornys, and a faucet that sticks shut if you don't pour a beer at least every couple of days. Sound familiar?

yar, which is why i invested $50 for a perlick faucet. i can go without pouring beer for days/weeks/months and it would still work like as it was brand new.

It was a *major* bitch when I had an Imperial Stout on. Very sticky stuff.

just brew it! wrote:

It was a *major* bitch when I had an Imperial Stout on. Very sticky stuff.

Heh. EXACTLY the very same style of beer which led me into dumping $50 on a change of faucet quality!

I just said the wifey out with instructions, shhhhhhhhhhhhh:)

I'm debating making a kegerator myself. I currently bottle everything.

I have a credit card shaped bottle opener made of stainless steel 316L (for a laugh) that sits on my magnetic strip drilled into the wall to the left of my stovetop and to the right of my refrigerator.

Kegerators seem really cool - how long does beer theoretically last in them? If I don't drink my beer quick is it going to skunk?

pikaporeon wrote:

Kegerators seem really cool - how long does beer theoretically last in them? If I don't drink my beer quick is it going to skunk?

Beer, kept at 38 degrees and pressurized with CO2, will last about four months before off flavors appear. Some styles do have a longer or shorter keg life, but all should last at least 2 months as long as they are cared for properly.

The one thing you may want to keep aware of is the cleanliness of your taps. The taps and lines will be dirty long before the keg goes bad or runs out. Regular cleaning (about once a month) is necessary. Dirty taps and lines can make a good beer taste bad.

Check out http://www.micromatic.com/ for info about all things keg...

thegleek wrote:

The one thing you may want to keep aware of is the cleanliness of your taps. The taps and lines will be dirty long before the keg goes bad or runs out. Regular cleaning (about once a month) is necessary. Dirty taps and lines can make a good beer taste bad.

Back in my fraternity days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, tap cleaning was my job and was a weekly task. When you're starting with Old Milwaukee ($19.50/half keg back then), the slightest dirt in the lines was unacceptable.

Church key!

Captain Ned wrote:

thegleek wrote:

The one thing you may want to keep aware of is the cleanliness of your taps. The taps and lines will be dirty long before the keg goes bad or runs out. Regular cleaning (about once a month) is necessary. Dirty taps and lines can make a good beer taste bad.

Back in my fraternity days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, tap cleaning was my job and was a weekly task. When you're starting with Old Milwaukee ($19.50/half keg back then), the slightest dirt in the lines was unacceptable.

I'm left wondering how you could even tell

BobbinThreadbare wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

thegleek wrote:

The one thing you may want to keep aware of is the cleanliness of your taps. The taps and lines will be dirty long before the keg goes bad or runs out. Regular cleaning (about once a month) is necessary. Dirty taps and lines can make a good beer taste bad.

Back in my fraternity days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, tap cleaning was my job and was a weekly task. When you're starting with Old Milwaukee ($19.50/half keg back then), the slightest dirt in the lines was unacceptable.

I'm left wondering how you could even tell

When you're serving beer that isn't supposed to have any flavor, you've got nothing to mask the flavor of the crap growing in the lines!

just brew it! wrote:

It was a *major* bitch when I had an Imperial Stout on. Very sticky stuff.

What on earth were you doing putting Imperial Stout through a top pressure system like this? Surly it should be poured straight from the keg or bottle?

At the very least you need a proper beer engine, don't you just love the sound of "beer engine"

just brew it! wrote:

When you're serving beer that isn't supposed to have any flavor, you've got nothing to mask the flavor of the crap growing in the lines!

We have a winner!! Remember, this was 1982-1985. We sure as hell weren't drinking it for the "flavor".

cheesyking wrote:

What on earth were you doing putting Imperial Stout through a top pressure system like this? Surly it should be poured straight from the keg or bottle?

I don't follow. To drink ANY beer, it needs CO2. To dispense beer from a kegerator, it needs CO2.

Only thing I can see here is putting priming sugar into bottles and letting them bottle condition. But I don't see anything wrong with putting high-gravity beers on tap.

cheesyking wrote:

At the very least you need a proper beer engine, don't you just love the sound of "beer engine"

A beer engine would be nice.. But that'll run ya $300-400+ for a handpull system. And you still have to add 3/4c of priming sugar to a 5g corny keg.

Twist off.

thegleek wrote:

...

I wasn't being entirely serious but if you're going to the trouble of having a traditional beer like an imperial stout you might as well go the whole hog and server it traditionally. I heard several Irish people complaining bitterly ( ) about Guinness going over to top pressure. Of course they were all grumpy old men who complain bitterly about everything.

I doubt there's really anything wrong with putting a stout in a kegerator. How much control do you get over temperature on one?

Just had a look on ebay and a second hand beer engine would only set me back £30 (which is something like $50), now if only I had the space and a body that could stand drinking 30 pints a day.

thegleek wrote:

But I don't see anything wrong with putting high-gravity beers on tap.

Other than the fact that it sorta encourages over-consumption of 8%+ ABV beer, yeah I agree!

The problem with a beer engine for home use is that you still need to rig some sort of setup that will top up the keg with CO2 at low/zero pressure to prevent oxygen from entering the headspace of the keg as the beer is drawn off. Otherwise the beer will go bad inside of a week or so. (In a traditional English pub this was not an issue since the cask would be completely consumed by then.)

Kegerators have a temperature control just like any fridge. The only limitation is if you've got multiple kegs in it, obviously they all will be at the same temperature.

Guinness has been dispensing under pressure for quite some time now. But they use a special nitrogen/CO2 mix that results in lower carbonation levels (nitrogen is not very soluble in beer).

So I suppose a follow on question from dispensing beer is what sort of glass are you dispensing it into?

I've got a motley collection of pint (568mL) and half pint beer festival glasses that I've picked up over the years.

EDIT: I've have thought that 8% stout would require a 1/3 pint glass or a wicked hangover cure.

cheesyking wrote:

So I suppose a follow on question from dispensing beer is what sort of glass are you dispensing it into?

I've got a motley collection of pint (568mL) and half pint beer festival glasses that I've picked up over the years.

I generally use a normal pint glass if I'm just "havin' a beer". If we're sharing unusual/rare beers around I'll use a small sampler glass. I'm not a stickler for the whole "Belgian ales must be in a goblet, Pilsners in a tall Pilsner glass, etc." thing.

cheesyking wrote:

EDIT: I've have thought that 8% stout would require a 1/3 pint glass or a wicked hangover cure.

A pint of 8% beer is only the equivalent of about 2 "normal" beers. What's the issue?

Generally I combine

and


in a glass, and enjoy!

just brew it! wrote:

I'm not a stickler for the whole "Belgian ales must be in a goblet, Pilsners in a tall Pilsner glass, etc." thing.

But what about the special Sam Adams glass that makes it taste better? I saw it on TV!