Converting a fridge or freezer to a kegarator

It is generally cheaper to do it yourself, especially if you get a good deal on the fridge/freezer. Personally, I think keezers (chest freezers) are the way to go. I have a converted upright fridge at the moment, but should have gone with the chest freezer.

 

I had a fridge. Just swapped it out for a freezer. This might be helpful for information between the two and how to build. Of course, there are others on here that use the fridge with great results. Mine didn't work well for me in my situation.

 

I am just about to make something like this..

http://homebrewacademy.com/how-to-build-a-keezer

Worth a look.

 

@jbakajust1 That's your blog right? How was it making the mitered edges with a circular saw? I'm using 2x10 boards and I just realized my borrowed chop saw isn't big enough to make it in a single cut. Did you use a guide or did you just eyeball it? Looks pretty clean.

 

I would have much rather used a real miter saw. I didn't use a guide, I suspended the board over two tables and then kept to the line I drew. The fit is fairly good, the most annoying part was having to do double cuts on one edge so that the grain wrapped on the corners. I had to do the miter cut on one board then cut on the same edge to the opposite angle on the next board. Were I to do it again I would much prefer some sort of guide and clamps for the boards. After cutting I took a sander to it to clean up the edges and give a slight curve to the sharp corner.

 

Also, as an added point of reference, when checking for a leak in your system, it is much easier to spray soapy water on keg tops you can view in a keezer as opposed to trying to hook up, spray, and view the top of a keg in the back of a fridge.

 

I just finished a kegerator build. I haven't added the total yet, but it was around $500. As far as cost, it will cost you the same amount if you build it,you'll just get more bang for your buck and more taps. I got stainless everything along with the Perlick taps.

As far as deciding what makes sense to you, you need to ask yourself;
How much beer you want on tap?
Can you drink that much beer? (You don't want an IPA sitting for 6 months)
Where you going to put it at?
Will it fit?
Does it have to look nice?
What does your other half think?

My build:

 

Build your own. So much fun to build and "tinker" like post #5's author says.

 

Just finished mine. Here are some pics. I still need to stain it, but will wait until I get my handles so I can match them. Good luck with yours OP.