Over the past couple of weeks I have been looking into kegging my beer. I have come to the conclusion that bottling is tedious and takes a really long time. Beer usually has to condition in bottles for at least 10-14 days, whereas keg conditioned beer only needs about 5 days. Also, force carbonating the beer is really the only way to ensure that each beer is consistently carbonated. I recently purchased a keg refrigerator, or kegerator. I've been pricing kegerators, online and on Craig's List, and finally came across one for sale at an antique shop in Raleigh. The owner wasn't even really aware of what he had. It is an old U-Line "Keg-Meister" complete with tower and CO2 tank. This model was discontinued around 1994 or 1995. It was rusted, dirty, and in need of lots of work, but worked fine and got cold in a hurry. It also has tons of space. It will easily hold two 5-gallon Cornelius (corny) kegs. He was asking $295, but I got him down to $250 once I told him about all the parts I was going to have to replace and modify for home-brew kegs (it was set-up for commercial kegs). I jumped on it immediately.
What I've Done So Far:
- Scrubbed down all the exterior metal--it looks silver again
- Scrubbed the interior--it's still rusted, but not as bad as it was
- Cleaned and scrubbed the drip tray and drain
- Replaced the beer line
- Soaked and cleaned the shank and faucet
- Replaced the commercial couplers (gas-in and beer-out) with ball-lock couplers for corny kegs
- Replaced the regulator and gas hose for the CO2 tank.
- Found a Sam Adams tap handle and put it on instead of the little black knob it came with
I eventually want to replace the tower with one that has two faucets so that I can tap two kegs at once. I'm not sure that I'll keep this one forever, but it's a great start. I already have a keg and am planning to keg condition my latest batch (see the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Porter post). It's a great investment and I've been told by many who have made the same leap that I got a great deal. Pictures below.
Until Next Time,
RHSC
Looks great! You should be very excited.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am very excited!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone should have a kegerator. Congrats on the new toy! You will love it!
ReplyDeleteI just found the same kegerator on Craigslist and bought it but I am concerned that I will not be able to get two corny's inside. I am picking it up on Saturday. Is it a tight fit for two? The fan thing on the side kind of takes up space (if this was turned to match the bump for the compressor in the rear it would give lots more room). Is your still working well?
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